Cruising Snack Food

When you are between meals and still craving a quick snack, what should you grab? Oh! You can only grab from the selection you chose while on shore at a grocery store where you didn't think about this feeling, this sensation, this yearning for something to munch on?!

One of the best snacks that we have found is roasted peanuts that are salted and still in the shell. Now, I would much rather munch on cookies or candy, but if I did that all the way across an ocean my teeth would rot out and I would get fat!

By best snacks, we refer to a few requirements that must be met.

First, it needs to be tedious to eat. You can buy a can of nuts and pour out a handful and throw it into your mouth. You just ate a ton of nuts in no time, and at that rate you will run out! Having the shells on means that you need to open each one at a time. This will slow you down and make the snack more of an activity and less of a meal.

Second, it needs to be tasty. Who doesn't like eating peanuts at a ball game? They come in different flavors and salinity levels, so you can pick your favorite.

Third, it needs to have a manageable trash method. This is where cookies and candy drop the ball on cruising snacks. Prepackaged snacks tend to come in plastic containers or bags. As you eat them up, plastic trash will start to pile up in your boat. Cruising should be about sailing somewhere neat, not sailing to the next plastic recycling facility! Peanuts come in huge bags that can then be opened while at shore and placed into reusable mason jars. Now, as you eat your peanuts, you end up with a bunch of empty jars that you can refill at the next port. As you eat the peanuts, the shells will pile up, and you can just as easily throw them into your wake.

The shells are biodegradable since they are a natural product, so no major harm in tossing the shells over the side.

Eating the peanuts is fun, and so is watching the shells flow away in the wake. It takes time and takes your mind off of the fact that you are bobbing around in the middle of the ocean for the next few weeks!

Lastly, the price needs to be right! Pistachios meet all the same requirements as peanuts, until you look at the costs. Peanuts in the US can be purchased for $4 for a 2 pound bag, or $2 per pound. Pistachios can cost around $10 per pound! Since peanuts are so cheap, fun to eat, entertaining, and easy to dispose of, Maddie and I feel that they are a great cruising snack food for out in the cockpit.

What snacks do you like to eat while at sea? Let us know in the comments section down below!

Somer's Supermarket, Bermuda

Food in Bermuda is slightly more expensive than in the states. Yes, some items are ridiculously overpriced, but there is usually a cheaper alternative right next to it.

For example, Arnold's Oatmeal Bread costs $8.95 for a loaf. Right next to it is a house brand loaf that is twice as big and only $5.

So, if you insist on buying your favorite name brand foods, expect to pay through the nose. If you are willing to buy local brands, the prices are still manageable.

To help alleviate the pain of provisioning in Bermuda, shop at Somer's Supermarket in St. George's on the northern end of the island. It's a short two block walk from the dinghy dock and very cruiser friendly.

If you tell them you are on a yacht, they will give you a 5% discount on the total bill. Also, for a $10 deposit, they will let you take a grocery cart down the street to the dinghy dock, making it much easier to get all you food back to your boat. When you bring the cart back, they give you back your $10 bill.

Bermuda is such a gorgeous place to visit, and if you can avoid buying fuel there, you will find the cost of cruising there to be comparable to cruising on the East Coast of the United States.

Provisioning in the Bahamas

Food in the Bahamas is much more expensive, there is no way around this fact. Now, if you are going to pay more, you might as well get better food for your money. 

We have found that the produce sold at the local grocery stores, while more expensive, is pathetic. Apples have brown spots on them, lettuce is already wilted and rotting. You pick through and hope to fill your basket with enough good produce to make a nice salad back on the boat. 

We then discovered that the marinas who cater to the very wealthy have "mini grocery stores" in them. The brands of food on the walls are those sold in Costco in the United States. What they do is send a fast boat to the US to stock up, then run back to the marina to supply the shelves. This means that you are getting American portions at Bahamian prices, but most of all, fresher foods. 

The selection and bulk may be limited, but we have found that the foods are of wonderful quality and it is easy to fill up your stores with fresh and wonderful produce.