What to eat on board on a boat vacation?

When you decide to take a boat vacation, you should know that it is a different and original experience. And as such, it requires some flexibility. The spaces of a ship, the refrigerator and the kitchen, and sometimes the lack of places to stock up on islands or semi-deserted beaches, make meal planning on board something very important, even more than in a home on land.

In the past, when there were no refrigerators, the old sailors resorted to conservation methods such as drying meats in the sun, preserving cheese with cloths soaked in vinegar, butter dipped in fresh water with salt, or preparing preserves with oil and lemon. important role in feeding on board, as well as the transport of live animals, to ensure the intake of fresh food and thus avoid beri-beri or scurvy disease, caused by the lack of vitamin B 1.

Joshua Slocum, the first solitary navigator to go around the world, carried a goat aboard the Spray, to have a glass of fresh milk every day. And Guillermo Brown, in command of the Argentine fleet that coordinated with San Martín his attack on Upper Peru, returned from the Pacific through the mythical Cape Horn, feeding his troops with Galapagos tortoises to avoid the beri-beri.

Today, luckily we have technological advances and the ships that offer vacations have a refrigerator. That makes things much easier, since despite its small space, it allows you to store food for many days, which complemented with vegetables, dry pasta, legumes and cans, gives us great autonomy to enjoy the beautiful beaches and dreamy bays. they are generally not near a supermarket.

What to eat on board a ship? Starting the day with a good breakfast in the cockpit, watching sea turtles, stars, the flora of the area and a dive in crystal clear waters, is a good therapy. Coffee, tea, milk, breads, cookies, spreadable cheeses and jams are a good base. And some fruit such as mango, papaya, orange or melon, complete a good breakfast on board!

For tropical areas, where the midday hours are hot, it is advisable to go in the shade and eat cold lunches. They can be varied salads based on the products of the region. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce or arugula are the ones that last the least time, so it is good to eat them in the first days. Cabbages or cabbages usually last a long time and combine very well with sweet and sour, such as oranges, honey, prunes or dried fruits. If we are going to buy tomatoes, let’s try to make them green so that they take time to ripen. Potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and rice, combined with tuna, mackerel or sardines, mixed with mayonnaise and lemon, achieve refreshing and profitable salads. And the seeds are an excellent complement.

For the nights, when it usually refreshes, a hot meal is more conducive, and if the trip is for a week, it will be necessary to combine some meat dinners (cow, pork, chicken, fish, seafood or seafood), with a good pasta or some risotto.

It is very good to fish, either with a line and a hook, a trawl with a lure, or a harpoon. And if you are not lucky, it is good to chat with the fishermen and buy what comes fresh from the sea. You should not miss on board, soy sauce, red onion or lemons, since you never know when we can surprise ourselves with a fresh catch that lends itself to sashimis or ceviche.

In short, if you want to rent a boat, you already know that with dedication and a little knowledge of cooking, you can eat on board a boat just like at home. For your boat vacation, that is priceless, for everything else …