Food and Drink on Board

Sailing trips in Croatia tend to follow one of three patterns. Some include provisions or meals in the price. Others ask guests to pool money into a shared kitty for groceries. Others leave food entirely to the guests. In each case, dinners are usually paid for separately in restaurants ashore.

Where guests buy their own food, the first afternoon usually includes a supermarket run near the marina. The group agrees a list, often built around:

• Breakfast: coffee, tea, milk, yoghurt, eggs, fruit, cereal
• Lunch: bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, pršut, tuna, pasta, salad
• Snacks and drinks: crisps, nuts, biscuits, soft drinks, beer and wine
• Water: plenty of it, in large bottles

The fridge on a yacht is small, so buy staples at the start and fresh bread, fruit and vegetables as you go from bakeries and markets in each town. Shops on smaller islands stock less, cost more and may close early on Sundays.

A kitty is a shared fund that everyone pays into at the start. One person holds it, keeps the receipts and tops it up when it runs low. Whatever is left is split at the end of the week. A shared spending app makes this painless.

Breakfast is eaten in the cockpit before setting off. Lunch is usually a simple spread at anchor between swims. Unless your trip includes a host or cook, guests share the preparation and washing up, which is easier when everyone takes a turn.

The galley is a small kitchen with a gas hob, sometimes an oven, a sink and a fridge. A few basics keep it safe and working:

• Turn the gas off at the valve after cooking, as the skipper shows you.
• Keep the fridge lid or door shut. It runs on battery power.
• Avoid cooking hot food while sailing in rough water.
• Wash up with as little fresh water as possible.
• Sort rubbish and take it ashore. Nothing goes overboard.

Water from the yacht's tanks is fine for washing but is usually not recommended for drinking. Most crews buy large bottles of drinking water and keep refillable bottles to cut down on plastic. Follow your skipper's advice for your yacht.

Sun, wind and salt dehydrate you faster than you notice. Drink water through the day, especially when alcohol is involved. See sun and heat at sea and alcohol and safety on board.

Vegetarian meals are easy to put together on board and in most restaurants. Vegan and gluten-free eating takes a little more planning: larger supermarkets carry specialist products, smaller island shops often do not.

Evenings are when Dalmatian food comes into its own: grilled fish, black risotto, octopus salad and local wine in a family-run konoba or on the waterfront. Dinner starts late, and popular places fill up in July and August, so book ahead when you can. The guide to Croatian food to try by the sea covers what to order, and the cost guide helps you budget for meals out.