When writing your passage plan it should include a previsions list that will cover the duration of the passage plus say 10% extra for waste and delays. Dependent on your passage plan duration your previsions list should be made up of a healthy balanced diet, some dried foods, tinned foods, sealed packets and spices, try to avoid glass bottles. If you are taking part in a yacht race then weight takes precedence, so tins, bottles or any heavy containers are not the first choice. Vacuum packed dried foods will weigh less and sometimes go a lot further in your menu.
The choice of cooking pots and utensils are also important for the different types of sea state that you may encounter on your passage. At least one hot meal per day should be included in your previsions list and if sailing in heavy weather conditions the pan size is important, a large pan that a casserole or stew could be cooked in is ideal. Then when the cooker is swinging away on its gimble in a force eight gale, you only have to contend with one pan. For serving suggestions it would normally be a bowl and a spoon, easier to manage when bouncing about!
Storage of you food onboard should be considered carefully, for dried foods and vacuum packed foods when opened, plastic containers are ideal. Tinned food due to its weight can be good ballast for your yacht so should be stowed low in the hull but clear of the bilge with similar foods placed evenly about the centre line of your yacht.
Water storage should be checked before departure and if a long passage then extra water contains should be use. Purification tablets can be added to your supply to maintain the water hygienic state. Some yachts have water makers onboard which are small desalination plants enabling the use of sea water, a must for long distance passages but and rain water collection and storage facility should also be available.
For those evenings when the sea state is slight your caught fresh fish can be BBQ on the stern of your yacht. You can purchase from your chandlers special purpose BBQ'S that be bolted to the stern rails and cantilevering over the stern of the yacht for safety. BBQ coals can help save on your yachts gas consumption, of which your gas bottle requirements and correct stowage should be checked prior to departure and not forgetting to turn off the gas at the supply after use. Your yacht should have fitted a gas detection alarm to notify you on any potential leakage.
Storage of any fresh or frozen food depends upon your yachts fridge / freezer capacity, it is advisable to make sure that both fridge and freezer compartments are completely full on departure and if possible maintained that way throughout your passage. This helps on the fuel consumption of the fridge freezer.
Waste storage is as important as food storage and should be considered seriously before departure, plenty of heavy duty plastic sacks for dry stowage waste would be required. For degradable waste bio-degradable plastic bags should be use and when disposing of the sacks overboard holes should be made in the sack so enabling sinking of the sacks.
When you're learning how to sail, hygiene must take a prominent part of your passage planning as the safety of yourself and the crew is paramount!