When you’re not drinking, you should be eating

Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kg (lbs ÷ 2.2 = kg)

A 170-lb person should eat/drink as much as 77 grams of carbs per hour of heavy exertion

Is your brain foggy? Eat fruit or juice (carbs), and follow it up with protein

A 170-lb person should eat as much as 154 grams of protein per day on a hard day of sailing

Nuts & legumes are the best quality plant protein; animal protein (milk, cheese, hard boiled eggs, fish, meat) provide a good balance of amino acids

Fatty foods are good; energy from fat will last the longest

A 170-lb person should drink 85 oz of water every day. Increase to 8 oz during every 30 minutes of intense activity

Rule of thumb: budget for one gallon per day for drinking. Budget more for cleaning, etc.

If your urine is dark yellow, drink more water!

Replace electrolytes with EmergenC or coconut water/juice (both available at Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joes); Gatorade is high in refined sugar, so dilute by ½ with water

When you’re not eating, you should be drinking

Nut butter & jelly sandwiches (peanut, almond, cashew, all-fruit jelly) – the body digests the butters better than whole nuts

Canned or packaged fish or chicken. Good source of protein.

Protein powders. Make shakes, or make an ‘icing’ with honey and drizzle on granola

Jerky – good protein, though low on fat.

Fig Newtons – especially health food brand, have good fruit and fiber.

Rice and beans — a staple.

Use a quality Thermos to cook rice – 1:4 rice-water ratio. Add ½ cup rice & 2 cups boiling water to Thermos. Shake well. Let sit for 8-12 hours.

Honey or Agave nectar for carbs – excellent sweeteners, easily metabolized

Energy gels, drinks or bars – these are mostly sugar and often caffeine, so use sparingly, if at all

Quinoa is a grain that provides a complete protein. Excellent substitute for rice and tastes great.

Trader Joe’s — Go early or very late on a weekday and just browse. Indian food in boil-bags, sauces for rice, etc, lots of granola, dried fruits, nuts. You’ll want lots of snack foods.

Hard cheeses, such as romano, parmesan & asiago; salami & jerky; instant soups; cabbage; bag of oranges and/or apples. All keep well.

Applesauce & baby food — small containers are easy to grab at night

Mt. House meals, or similar — available online or at REI

Vacuum seal food and papers with a FoodSaver - $30 on eBay

Make up one- or two-meal packets of food — soups, rice mixes, etc, that have all the ingredients included and instructions on pkg. Tons of mix recipes are available online. Find soup mixes to use as bases.

Never take untested foods aboard — you might hate it. Bob Johnston likes Heater Meals (find them on Amazon.com). I bought similar (but VERY different) meals for Rob and they gave him a very unwelcome side effect. Lesson: ALWAYS try new foods before buying a bunch!

Watch the sodium on all prepared foods. Salt removes water from cells, causing weak muscles.

Bring plenty of treats, but make them treats not meals.

Books – Kindle/Nook/iPad

Music – Rob got Sirius halfway across

Digital camera/GoPro – Vary your shots!

Drybags and/or Ziplocs – you’ll use them

Baby wipes

Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm w/SPF

Spare glasses/contacts

Spare batteries for all electronics in Ziploc

Headlamp

Timers

Fishing gear – squid hoochie (Mexican flag, yellow & green, purple), double-barbed stainless hook, 100-200 lb test leader, 150-200 feet of parachute cord (easy on hands, West Marine), and bungee cord. Get details from Rob.