The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew

by Lin Pardey, Larry Pardey

Despite the title, this is hardly a cookbook; rather it s a primer on successful cruising. Certainly, anyone contemplating, or preparing for, off shore passages would want to read and then keep this volume aboard. A 50 day passage from Japan to Victoria, Canada in 1979 provides Lin a base for discussing everything from menus to clothing, to choosing a fresh chicken, to dealing with port officials, to preventing sea sickness, to buying liquor abroad as well as the best material for underwear. Lin and Larry have been full time cruisers and professional sailors for some 40 plus years, it s all that they do. They ve learned a lot and a great deal of their wisdom appears in this book, where specific situations mix with general guidelines. As a bonus, Lin writes very well. She s able to seamlessly tie one subject to the next in a style that seems like great conversation rather than reading a how-to-do-it text. By structuring the flow of information in and around the process of food preparation while experiencing the joys and travails of a very long passage, she provides the reader with a good cruising tale enhanced with a thousand useful tips. Tips vary from entertaining aboard to coping with money transfers. There are great tips on provisioning in foreign ports as well as a strong suggestion to only go a short distance before anchoring following a farewell party. Excellent chapters will help insure your crew stays healthy and well rested. Others deal with creating an ideal galley. From big ideas to small tips, all are presented logically and with useful illustrations. Learn why credit cards are safer to use than debit cards, how to keep eggs for up to 3 months without refrigeration. How you can determine which engine parts are likely to fail, which plastic material makes the best water jugs, how Lin outsmarted weevils and learned to bake fresh bread. Find out which galley layout works best offshore. Rain water catchers how to make the best kind. On board trash collection and dealing with "black water" in boats lacking holding tanks. Which cutlery and dinnerware holds up best. Standing watches, getting rest and using Dramamine as a sleeping aid. The book covers everything from the value of "a little black cocktail party dress" to the safety of double sinks. Finally, intertwined in the cornucopia of wisdom is meal after nourishing meal sure to lift the spirits of a weary crew. Those recipes and cooking tips alone make for a book of great value. All the other info is just priceless gravy. This fourth edition of The Care and Feed of Sailing Crew incorporates ideas and information gathered by Lin and Larry during their more recent voyages through the Line Islands and south through the Pacific to New Zealand. The majority of chapters have been expanded to include the most up-to-date information on sources, supplies and new technology. Additional recipes and cooking ideas for use on cruising boats of all sizes have been added to ensure this valuable reference source continues to be relevant for all sailors who venture away from home, be it for a weekend cruise to nearby islands or a voyage around the world

Genres: Nautical, Food

412 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2013

About the author

Lin Pardey (aka Mary Lin Pardey) is famous internationally for her expertise and experience in small boat sailing. Together with her husband Larry Pardey she has been sailing and writing for many years.

Lin's (& Larry's) sailing records speak for themselves:
Smallest boat to have circumnavigated contrary to the prevailing winds around all the great southern capes

Only couple to have circumnavigated both east-about and west about on boats they built them selves, using traditional means of navigation and having no engine.

Their awards tell about their dedication to the world and spirit of ocean cruising:

Ocean Cruising Club Award - for contributions to Seamanship for small boat sailing. Presented to Lin Pardey 1996.

Geoff Pac Memorial Award- to both Lin and Larry for fostering and encouraging ocean cruising in small yachts

Cruising World Hall of Fame-2000
Ocean Cruising Club Merit Award -To Lin and Larry for inspiring voyages including a west-about rounding of Cape Horn

Seven Seas Cruising Club Service Award - To Lin and Larry for their lifetime voyaging achievements 2004

Cruising Club of America Far Horizons Award – To Lin and Larry for life time achievements and contributions to seamanship 2009

Sail Magazines Top 40 Sailors who made a Difference – 2010 – As America’s first couple fo cruising, Lin and Larry have inspired countless sailors.


Lin and Larry currently make their home port in New Zealand.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

We were sailing from Las Palmas in the Canaries to Fortaleza in Brazil. A couple of night before we set sail, the Captain said there was no need for five of us to do watches. Four would do watches and one would cook. Did anyone want to cook apart from him? Barry, one of the four of us crew said he did. So the captain said I will cook the first night and Barry the second and the three of you can vote on which one of us you want.

So the first night the Captain cooked us fried luncheon meat (Spam!), instant mashed potato and canned mushy green peas and then a Heinz steamed pudding with a melted jam sauce for dessert. The next night Barry made French onion soup, followed by boeuf bourguignon and finishing with a light chocolate mousse.

Who do you think we voted for?

Barry was a chef in Switzerland in the winters, so there had been no contest. He was wonderful. I really liked the night watches, alone on the helm sometimes with dolphins for company and steering by the stars (only the compass in rough weather). Barry would always make hot chocolate or coffee at the start of the watch. He'd get up early to make breakfast, coffee and home-made bread and marmalade for whoever had done the morning watch 2 am. to 6 a.m.

We stopped in Sao Vicente, Cap Verde. there wasn't much to buy in the market - lemons and huge thick ropes of tobacco mostly, and everything was covered in big black flies. But somehow Barry managed to provision and from then on it was more exotic food and lots of bacalau, dried salt cod, cooked in many delicious ways.

Now I have a boyfriend with a 43' Beneteau who wants to sail around South America so I'm planning on getting this book, "just in case" everything works out!

[Ben Starling · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a 49 day voyage (49 days!), from Yokohama, Japan to Victoria, Canada, Lin Pardey wrote down just about everything you could want to know about food and crew care on a boat.

The stuff I loved:
* specific info on how long each kind of fruit, vegetable, dairy, meat, whatever, lasts in a boat without refridgeration
* how to store food so it lasts as long as possible
* how to get the right kind of food in the first place
* how to track what you've got
* managing the galley organisation and layout
* planning meals for voyages
* how to cook with salt water - adapting recipes to make use of ocean water (and save your fresh water supplies)!
* managing meal prep and crew care across a variety of weather conditions...

Actually, I loved it all.

Wishes: I wish this could be provided in digital form with spreadsheets for tracking inventory and how long each type of foodstuff probably lasts riiiight in that spreadsheet.

Conclusion: I loved every bit of this book without reservation. Heck, I'd buy two copies if it meant I could get even more info out of it! But Lin seems to have already covered it all.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found an older edition of this book at a used bookshop in Victoria just before we moved on board our boat in the Philippines. I read it as I was preparing for our first extended cruise and creating a provisioning list. The Pardeys spent about 40 days crossing from Japan to Canada. Ours wasn't going to be quite so long. Inside were lots of ideas on how to cook with canned food, as the Pardey's boat lacked refridgeration and a freezer. Fortunately, our diet can be much more varied! And a lot less salty.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have rated this lower prior to cruising but one year out on our own journey I have a greater appreciation for it!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-worth the read for anyone interested in the "human factors" side of sailboat cruising. Lots of useful details on a variety of topics.

This book is structured as a series of logbook entries, each with a recipe or two and an essay. Most of the essays relate in some way to conditions on that particular day. The whole process from finding and purchasing provisions in ports where you may not speak the language, storing and preserving food, cooking underway, dealing with garbage, and customs/agricultural inspection at the end are covered. Other topics discussed include sleep, malnutrition, seasickness, a few other medical issues, clothing selection, water storage, rationing, and rainwater capture, bathing, human waste management, fishing (admittedly, a light treatment, but I like their ciguatera management strategy), wine recommendations, and cooking for company. Laundry is touched on in a couple places but didn't receive its own essay, which I found a little surprising.

Several essays deal with cabin-design features like icebox construction, cooking fuel selection, gimbaling stoves (including fairly compelling arguments against), galley safety rails and straps, tilting and leafed dining tables, bathtub/shower arrangements, water tank fill port setups, cushion materials selection... As someone who largely sails on other peoples' boats and who isn't especially handy, I'm not sure how likely I would be to be able to execute on any of these clever designs. Also, reading the kindle version of this book, some of the diagrams / plans for these features were not very legible. I ended up skimming through some of these sections.

This book dragged a bit in the second half, with several days having minimal or no essay, before a strong finish. I was surprised to see sleep and watch schedules addressed so late, as this is a topic which is of interest from the very start of a voyage.

[Kristi Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Inspiring and Educational Book by Lin and Larry Pardey

An inspiring and educational account of one of Lin and Larry Pardey’s longest passages from Japan to Canada aboard their sailboat, Seraffyn, a must-read before anyone starts their own passage-making. This book not only details the challenges of weather, provisioning in foreign lands, and preparing meals in rough conditions, but also words of wisdom from tried and true experiences in all facets of offshore voyaging.

[Rekka Bellum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book about sailing that I've ever read, I picked it off a shelf in our local yacht club. I was drawn to it right away, especially since their travels takes them to Japan - going to Japan by sail is my dream :).

It's a wonderful book, it's very informative and gives you a great idea of what cooking is like during a long non-stop sail.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive provisioning, resource book for cruising sailors. So. Much. Information. Likely overkill for the type of cruising we do, but valuable information, recipes and ideas. Think of this as a textbook!

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of underlining for future reference for my role on Huakai. Timeless advice.

[Philski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one by Lin Pardee (although she wasn't topless on the cover this time. Oh well! :-P )

Lots of solid advice for provisioning and boat design for long voyages and living aboard.

[Brenda G · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful ideas and advice as we prepare for extended cruising and now on our weekends on the water.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting tale of provisioning and cooking aboard a small sailboat across the Pacific, not as helpful for my 1 week trip up the Dalmatian coast