Grocery Shopper's Curse

CRUISING WITH A BUNCH OF FOLKS IN THE FUTURE? MAKE SURE SOMEBODY ELSE DOES THE GROCERY SHOPPING. REALLY!

- Capt. Bill Pike

Believe it or not, there used to be a big Costco store in Panama City, Panama. And years ago, when I was working on oceangoing tugs, hauling bulk cargoes around the planet, Costco was a regular stop on trips back from the ports we frequented in South America. The point, of course, was grocery resupply. Most of the

tugs I served aboard back then carried a crew of a dozen and all of us tended to be voracious feeders, in large part because there’s way more work to do—and calories to burn—on an oceangoing tug than you’d think. Fact is, a first assistant engineer I used to sail with was a muscle-bound giant who could polish off a dozen eggs for breakfast without batting an eye, along with a pile of bacon, toast, orange juice, and a hash brown or two if available. My friend John was the best cook in the fleet. He was retired