After our first provisioning run, we returned to the boat, dug deep into lockers we never touch, and pulled every scrap of food we own outside into the cockpit. Each item was added it to an inventory list, grouped with similar items and densely repacked. Tearing everything out of the boat like that is a lot of work, but can also be fun; a lot like reaching into a winter jacket in the fall and finding a $20 bill from the previous spring. Among our rediscovered spoils were a bag of Trader Joe’s chili spiced mangoes, a Saltbreaker favorite.
At the store, we had bought 6 kilos of rice assuming we were running low, but after pulling everything out of our dry goods storage I found another 2 kilos. In the compartment behind the stove was another bag. Then, hidden above a panel in the quarterberth, out came a gallon mason jar filled with the stuff.
“I think we have too much rice…”, I muttered every time we found another hidden reserve. I said that a lot. When the cataloguing was complete, we were flush with empty calories, certainly enough for the passage… or is it?
Looking for reassurance that we were massively overstocked, I opened up the appropriately named book “The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew”. Flipping to the section on provisioning, I quickly learned that not only did we not have enough rice, we didn’t have enough of anything.
Here are just a few of the recommended quantities they suggest we stock up on before we cross:
(based on 3 people for 30 days)
105 onions
90 potatoes
75 carrots
75 tomatoes
75 apples
75 oranges
9 watermelons
15 lbs of beans
120 eggs
60 lbs of flour
24 lbs of pasta
24 lbs of rice
60 lbs of flour! What is this, The Oregon Trail?! After spending $200 at the produce market, we now feel comfortable that we’ll be eating like kings for the next month.
So now it’s time to say goodbye to the American continent, and continents in general. From now till November, we’ll see nothing but islands as we hop our way to New Zealand.
The first stop will be in Isla Del Coco, a Costa Rican island 300 miles offshore, followed by a brief stop in the Galapagos before the 3-4 week passage to Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia. 2 weeks into the crossing, Saltbreaker will be just about as far from land as she can get, an island of dry surrounded in every direction by at least 1500 miles of ocean.
Not only does crossing the Pacific represent one of the biggest accomplishments a sailor can make, it also marks the true beginning of the biggest achievement of all; assuming we decide to continue all the way around, we’ll eventually pass through the Panama Canal and celebrate our circumnavigation here in Golfito a few years from now.
I imagine we’ll have a hard time finding internet, but fear not, we’ll be able to update the blog with text only posts via our SSB radio.
So farewell Americas, you’ve been great. Farewell also to tacos, casados, Pacifico, and Imperial. From here on out it’s coral atolls, coconuts, and kava as we explore corners of the globe only reachable by boat.