BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide
Provisioning for a week-long charter: the grocery run before you cast off
Where to shop before boarding, how much to buy for a week, and how to manage the onboard fridge: provisioning a week-long charter without waste or last-minute gaps.
Before you even cast off, provisioning a week aboard a sailboat or catamaran often comes down to one big shop, and not necessarily the one right on the marina. Handled poorly, it can eat half a day of holiday; planned ahead, it takes about an hour.
The real supermarket is not always on the pontoon
Marina grocery shops generally charge more and stock less than a proper supermarket a few kilometres inland. Many charter bases can point you to, or even arrange, a taxi or shuttle to the nearest large store: it is worth asking at booking stage rather than on embarkation day, which is usually busy enough with paperwork.
How much to buy for a week
Still water is usually the bulkiest item: buy generously, even though the boat carries its own fresh-water tank, since that supply is mostly needed for washing and dishes. For the rest, favour items that keep without constant refrigeration (tins, pasta, crackers) to complement the onboard fridge, whose real capacity is almost always smaller than a home fridge.
Onboard fridge or a backup cooler
On most charter sailboats and catamarans, the fridge runs off the boat's battery bank and its cooling power varies with how you sail (the engine recharges the batteries; a long spell at anchor can drain the reserve). A backup cooler, covered in more detail in our guide to the perfect cooler for a day at sea, remains handy for the most sensitive items or for a day trip away from the base.
What takes up space for nothing
- Oversized packaging: repack into boxes or bags that stow flat in the boat's lockers.
- Glass bottles, heavier and riskier aboard than cans or plastic.
- Large quantities of fresh produce bought all at once: a partial restock mid-week at a stop that allows it works better.
The last stop before you cast off
Many charters start on a Saturday, as covered in our guide to Saturday-to-Saturday rentals: on that day, supermarkets near the big departure bases are often swamped by late morning. Doing part of the shop the day before, or right at opening, avoids most of the queue and leaves more time for the technical briefing before you leave.
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