What to stock up with prior to leaving the UK.

[MARNEN]

Our departure is now only 12 months away. Leaving the UK , heading towards the Med.
The conversation this PM was what to stock up with that we may find difficult to get once on our way.
Marmite ? Peanut butter ? Beer kits ? Engine spares are mostly with us all the time but what about some other bits and bobs.
All help very much appreciated. Space limited as boat is 32ft but only us two onboard most of the time.

 

[Downsman]

I found that invariably there is a shop somewhere selling 'British' supplies, at least in the touristy places, certainly in Portugal and Spain anyway. One thing I always seemed to find difficult to find was ordinary Malt Vinegar..shelves everywhere full of wine type vinegars and other strange varieties but not the brown stuff. Dodgy flavoured tea/ bags are common too but they seem to be slowly coming round to proper tea...

 

[Tranona]

Unless you can't live without your Marmite, not really worth stocking up with anything in the food line. Nobody starves in Europe due to lack of availability of food and on average costs are similar to or lower than UK - plus of course greater variety and often "better".

Anything manufactured and "marine" is mostly more expensive, but it is difficult to predict what you might need except Antifoul where it is worth taking enough to do a couple of recoats. As you say a 32' is short of spare space and there are better uses for the space than carrying things you might not need.

 

[john_q]

If you are doing long passages, we found that there was a much more varied range of tinned food in the UK than anywhere else we have been since so it you want variety on passage then hit the cash and carry before you go

Also if you drink tea take it with you

 

[Davegriff]

Go native.

 

[Mad Pad]

Memories,take up no space.

 

[Ashman]

Decent teabags

 

[Davy_S]

If you have a preference for branded cans, ie peas ,soups, beans etc, take all you can carry from the uk as they are a quarter of the price in the uk, the Greek unions control the market. supplies of fresh produce are cheap and the quality of veg, chicken and meat in the Med is far superior to uk produce, take your pick. If you are a Fray Bentos fan, they are a quid in the uk, 3/4 euro in the Med

 

[jordanbasset]

Bear in mind if you stop at Gibraltar you can get everything you could in the UK.
Do echo the suggestion re anti-fouling, if you do have room it should make financial sense

 

[Artic Warrior]

Our departure is now only 12 months away. Leaving the UK , heading towards the Med.
The conversation this PM was what to stock up with that we may find difficult to get once on our way.
Marmite ? Peanut butter ? Beer kits ? Engine spares are mostly with us all the time but what about some other bits and bobs.
All help very much appreciated. Space limited as boat is 32ft but only us two onboard most of the time.

You can stock up on as much as you can BUT you will run out at some point so rely on your taste buds adjusting to the local foods, so don't worry too much unless your vessal is 300 ft plus,,etc,,,,,enjoy as you go as we do

 

[AndrewB]

Only starry-eyed newbie cruisers think they will be happy on local produce alone. Sooner or later, everyone gets a craving for something familiar that is unobtainable. For me, it was Branston Pickle, Custard, and Cider (though the last is available in Francophone countries). But I'm afraid you will have to go cruising first before you discover what you truly miss.

PS Not really relevant for the northern Med, but if going further afield make sure you have a few cans of good quality meat in store. Sooner or later you'll find yourself in some god-forsaken place where the supermarket choice is restricted to anaemic flabby beef-burgers, frozen drumsticks that smell of disinfectant, and greasy corned beef. If the locals fish, they're not letting you have any. You'll bless having something decent tucked away. They are good for local trades, too. Decent canned meat - the best is 95% meat - is only available in better supermarkets and delis in Britain, France and Holland. Vegetables, fresh, frozen and canned, are available everywhere.

 

[hartcjhart]

write a list of your top 20 must haves,the trim it to 10 then stock those, only you can say what you need

 

[duncan99210]

Tea bags - obtainable everywhere but at a cost, so take lots. Cadburys instant drinking chocolate - great for long night watches as it doesn't need milk. That's about it as far as I'm concerned. SWMBO would add fruity tea bags to the list. Everything else is findable and in any case you soon forget much of what you thought you'd miss. Even stuff like English cider is starting to appear in Greece.

 

[charles_reed]

Unless you can't live without your Marmite, not really worth stocking up with anything in the food line. Nobody starves in Europe due to lack of availability of food and on average costs are similar to or lower than UK - plus of course greater variety and often "better".

Anything manufactured and "marine" is mostly more expensive, but it is difficult to predict what you might need except Antifoul where it is worth taking enough to do a couple of recoats. As you say a 32' is short of spare space and there are better uses for the space than carrying things you might not need.

Agree about Marmite, but I've always found local antifouling cheaper and more effective everywhere in Europe, except France.

On the whole UK is a more expensive place to buy marine parts than most other places in Europe, though one may have to search outside the normal yottie traps.

As to teabags - can't stand the things, so take with me 6 x 250 mg loose Yunnan tea. Only place I found a decent array of tea was in Kalamata (of all places). Most of the rest of Europe offers tea inferior to even tea-bags.

 

[vyv_cox]

Although the quality of meat outside UK is generally far higher, especially in Greece, there is a distinct lack of packet and bottled sauce mixes such as Chicken Tonight, curries, chilies, etc. once east of France. This year we brought a box of them out here. Tinned vegetables other than tomatoes (fruit?) are totally absent. Very few convenience frozen foods, although a few seem to be creeping in to the freezer compartments. As said, nobody starves in these countries but food preparation probably takes twice as long. Fine if that's what you want, but we don't.

 

[NornaBiron]

When we stocked up to leave the UK in 2008 I bought loads of the wrong stuff and some of the right stuff! Now when we go back to the UK we stock up with tea bags, marmite, bovril, spices (curry spices are few and far between in Greece) and other items for specific types of cooking. I love to cook and experiment endlessly so having a well stocked galley is important to me - hence the suitcases full of gram flour, spices and mung beans etc on our return flights!

As others have said, only you know what you will miss and the first year away will fill in any gaps. Amazon deliver some groceries within the EU so it is often possible to get items that you can't find here quite easily as long as you have an address for delivery.

 

[chinita]

With Aldi and Lidl expanding apace in Portugal and Spain you are well covered in the Western Med.

Some things seem oddly expensive - sweets, choc bars and biscuits for example, so if you have a sweet tooth.....

Your favourite air shampoo and other toiletries may be difficult to find. Stuff like paracetamol/ibuprofin and multivitamins (€22.00 for 30 in pharmacy but €3.90 for 100 in Aldi).

Just realised I am probably sounding a bit weird in my selection! - but these are some of the things people comment on.

Try to anticipate needing stuff you cannot carry on a plane - general chandlery is much better quality in UK. Trying to find a can of Plus Gas or good masking tape can waste a lot of your time.

I don't agree with Charles on antifoul (certainly in Portugal); here it is eyewateringly expensive (at least 3X UK cost - and no special offers) so take that if you have space. If you still have space, pack in enough oil and filters for two engine services. Similarly, take spares for your outboard. I one spent an entire Saturday in a taxi driving around Menorca searching for an elusive spark plug.

 

[prv]

When my parents lived in Moscow (recently, not Cold War queues and shortages) we were always taking them marmite, Branston pickle, salad cream, and cling film (my mum said that Russian cling film was rubbish).

Pete

 

[Roberto]

If you think you may need them, buy a handful of various size imperial fittings (bolts, nuts, etc) and also monel rivets, they are very difficult to find on the Continent.

 

[Appleyard]

Agree about Marmite, but I've always found local antifouling cheaper .

Interesting idea!