GUNVØR XL - Gunvør XL Log Nov 18th 2011 - The Food Addict

The Food Addict

Karsten and I are living parallel lives here in Gran Canaria. When we stroll
through the harbour hand-in-hand, ostensibly enjoying the atmosphere,
he’ll say “stop thinking about your butter supply” and I’ll answer
“stop puzzling over your compressor”. Yes, he is obsessing about the
fine details of all his gadgets, while I am obsessing about the food
supplies. I have to admit, his concerns are more important: at this point I
have probably provisioned enough for a non-stop circumnavigation of the
globe - we are definitely not going to starve over the Atlantic.

It all started with Karsten, though. I have provisioned lots of delivery
trips for his German & Danish crews and lots of long-distance Baltic Sprint
Cup Races: like many provisioners, I have my tried & tested menu plans.
However for this new adventure, Karsten wished for a new spin on the menus,
considering my fully-appointed galley, as well as the more “tropical”
ingredients we will be buying along the way. So I became inspired (alright,
obsessed).

For the first leg across the Atlantic with the ARC (Atlantic Rally for
Cruisers), I have not gone full-on tropical yet, but I do have a rather
ambitious menu plan – we have a crew of Danish men who all love to cook
(we have a rotating cook scheme) and we have lots of time every day during
the crossing (it IS a rally, not a highly competitive regatta). A typical
menu plan is fresh-baked bread for breakfast w/ butter, cheese, jam/nutella
optional w/bacon and eggs, then fresh mango/ buffalo mozzarella /red onion/
chili salad w/ open-faced black bread sandwiches for lunch and finally beef
tenderloin with veggies and gravy for dinner. There are also biscuits for
tea time, lots of nibblies for the all-important cocktail hour, hot snacks
for the night watch, and various cake mixes including decorations for the
¼, ½, ¾ crossing celebrations. I think we may be putting on some weight
during the crossing.

But the real problem is that I just can’t seem to stop provisioning! We
have a rental car here in Gran Canaria and do some food & drink shopping
every day; I think it is becoming an addiction. I lie in my bunk thinking
that I may need some more cooking oil or pasta packages or tins of cola, or,
of course, ketchup. God forbid that we should run out of Heinz mid-Atlantic.

Not to mention all the fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh-frozen meat
I’ve ordered for delivery to the boat for the day before departure.

Twenty-five years ago, we crossed the Atlantic in 19 days with no fridge or
freezer and ate well. This time with a bigger and faster boat we hope to
cross in 14 days. We now have a freezer and fridge but my mind keeps
thinking: ‘what if the systems conk out?’ Hence all the “back-up”
tins. Plus I have bought just as many eggs as last time we crossed, when
they were our main source of protein: over 80, just in case!

Even worse, I have to admit that I already provisioned the boat with dry and
tinned staples back in May in Hamburg. I stowed it all, with help from my
visiting brother Andrew (he was surprised but enthusiastic), under the
floorboards & settees. And despite a “stowage list”, I forgot the fine
details. So, I am really double and triple provisioning now. I have soothed
my conscious with the thought that Birgitte, Ian and the rest of all the
crew who will take the boat on through the Caribbean and the Pacific are
going to be incredibly grateful - if they can just find all those 50 tins of
butter, 40 tins of tomatoes, 30 tins of Dutch cheese, etc.…..because, of
course, fingers crossed, I won’t be using them: I have loads of fresh
butter, tomatoes, cheese, etc., for the Atlantic!
Sheila Witt, Yacht Gunvør XL