A Selene 53 Owner Shares Their Provisioning Tips for Cruising to the Bahamas

Hi! This is Cindy aboard our Selene 2008 Classic Explorer, “Kallisto.” My husband Steve and I have
owned our vessel for four years, enjoying our time cruising the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. During
this period, we’ve been equipping the boat to travel out on longer-distance cruises along the East
Coast and The Bahamas in preparation for Steve’s retirement.
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To name a few upgrades, Steve has installed a new navigation system, solar panels, lithium
batteries, and Starlink. Steve’s retirement day finally arrived on November 1st, and just two weeks
later, we put our plans into motion, leaving our home port to cruise down the East Coast to Florida
and spend the winter months in The Bahamas.
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One question I’ve been asked by several people is, “How do you provision for food while out
cruising?” While I’m not an expert and everyone develops their own approach, here’s the method
behind my madness—it might be helpful to others.
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First, I talked to seasoned voyagers to get their advice. I listened carefully to what worked for them
and what didn’t, incorporating some of their ideas into my plan. One useful tip I received was to
bring steaks onboard for trading with locals in The Bahamas for fresh-caught fish—especially since
we aren’t experienced fishermen (yet!).
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Next, I invested in a small vacuum sealer. For extended cruising, frozen food is essential, and
vacuum-sealed items last much longer. Even though provisioning is possible at various East Coast
ports, I didn’t want to risk not having access to certain products. I’m also particular about some
items, especially meat.
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Two months before leaving our home port, I stocked up on organic chicken and beef from my local
Amish market and vacuum-sealed meal portions for two. I also prepared some of our favorite
dishes like lasagna and packaged them into individual portions. Once ready, I filled our lazarette
freezer, the galley freezer, and a portable freezer we keep on the flybridge. (We just love the storage
capacity of our Selene!)
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To save space, I removed the original packaging from any prepackaged frozen items. This also helps
reduce garbage while cruising, always an issue – especially in The Bahamas where waste disposal
options are limited. For items with cooking instructions on the packaging, I took photos and saved
them in an album on my phone for easy access later.
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To stay organized while planning for our cruise, I’ve relied heavily on spreadsheets. For provisioning,
I created a master spreadsheet listing all food items, categorized by sections such as breakfast,
protein, baking, cooking, appetizers, snacks, and vegetables. I track quantities and have been
updating the sheet as we’ve consumed items, so I’d know what needs to be replenished.
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In addition to frozen foods, I stocked our pantry with plenty of canned goods. I never buy items we
don’t enjoy, such as canned vegetables, as there are plenty of good frozen vegetable options and
we have freezer space for them. I also try to reduce paper good waste. We use dishes instead of
paper plates and we use reusable food storage bags or containers instead of disposable.

Provisioning is, of course, limited by the space you have onboard, and you sometimes need to be
innovative. For instance, on Kallisto there’s an open space under the cabinet drawer below our
stove that initially seemed useless. Steve had the idea of creating custom 3D-grooved inserts to
store wine bottles horizontally. That small cabinet now holds 21 bottles of wine – perfect! We also
lined every cabinet with non-slip liners to prevent items from shifting while underway, especially in
rough seas.
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As an interesting side note, I was curious how artificial intelligence (AI) could help in planning my
provisioning, so I askedChatGPT for a 120-day food provisioning plan. It provided useful
suggestions for food items, quantities, and even recipes using those ingredients. It also saved me a
lot of time typing everything out! I printed out the lists (with some modifications) and now keep
them in a binder onboard. While I appreciate having digital tools, I like having hard copies of certain
information as a backup.
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The use of AI in provisioning worked so well that I also asked ChatGPT for suggested anchorages
and marinas along the east coast and it provided me with a list for that as well! As a cautionary
note, if you’re going to use AI, you need to be specific with the questions you ask and read over the
response carefully to ensure accuracy. While I’ve found the results to be helpful, there are always
little areas requiring review. Trust, but verify!
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So, that’s a brief overview of how I prepared for food provisioning (and more). I hope this helps
anyone to plan a similar adventure!

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