Provisioning

Provisioning plans are well underway. Questions remain however, such as how many tubes of toothpaste and rolls of toilet paper does one need? And most importantly, how many days do I provision for? The record Bermuda to Bermuda is 150 days but I must add three days to get there from St. Augustine and three days back - so 156. But what if I have an emergency such as a broken mast or weakened mast support and must sail more slowly? How many days now must I provision for? I must finish, as the one record I am most wanting to break is to be the oldest to complete the sail at the age of 76. Thus I am provisioning for 200 days just in case.

Of the 200 days, I shall provision sufficient meat and fish in the freezer for 100 days. Of course I could lose all of this food if I lose power from a systems failure, or more likely from a lightning strike. After that, I will be dependent on dehydrated foods and emergency (tasteless) life raft supplies. Both are an incentive to get home fast.

I will also be bringing two fishing rods and a box of lures. Any fish caught will be in addition to my provisioning and no doubt a welcome change to the diet.

Making and collecting water will be important for cooking, drinking and for hygiene purposes. I will leave with full tanks. I have designed the sails and deck to catch rain water and send it to the tanks. Then I have two water makers, though they are prone to failure. In sturdy plastic containers I will keep twenty gallons in an emergency reserve. At my sink I have both fresh water and salt water. When supplies are low, washing will be in salt water only. The same will be true for personal hygiene.