Windquest's successful bid to take line honours in the 1994 Newport-Bermuda race was due to a lot of hard work on the part of her 20-strong crew.

Technology, training, experience and gut instinct also figured into the equation.

But behind the human engines which ran the racing machine to victory was the food which fuelled them, and here skipper Brian MacInnes took a modern, fairly standard approach.

To begin with, he dispensed with an official cook, using instead a variety of what he termed "sewer men''.

Unappetising as that sounds, it is the soubriquet by which an individual from each watch "takes care of the internal side of the boat, keeping things clean, getting sails up on deck, and making sure there's food ready to go''.

Food in this case, skipper MacInnes explained, was a combination of homecooked meals, revived offerings from the world of freeze dried technology, and junk food.

"For breakfast the first morning out we had a pre-cooked, frozen casserole of eggs, bacon, and cheese,'' he related. "There is a girl in Michigan who is a caterer and she does the food for us.'' Ditto the first evening meal.

By the second evening, Sewer Man has switched to freeze-dried fare. Edible results are arrived at by one of two routes, Mr. MacInnes said.

"Either you add boiling water to it, let it stand for five or ten minutes, and then eat it; or you put a foil pouch into a pot of boiling water for a while and then slit it open.'' Detached as this sounds, the skipper said he kept a keen eye on nutrition, and main meal choices could include a chicken casserole or lasagna, for example.

He also ensured that there were regular supplies of carrot sticks and celery aboard to pass around the rail with dips.

"These have vitamins and water and keep everybody going better,'' he explained. "I have to make sure the crew don't get dehydrated, so we constantly make people drink as much fluid and eat as much healthy food as possible.

"Of course, we also have unhealthy food too: chocolate bars and chips. They are a good energy pick-me-up.'' From the second day, breakfast fare consists of "things that keep a little longer'' -- cereals, milk, muffins, bread.

Lunches consist of "typical'' sandwiches and fresh fruit.

A "dry'' ship, Windquest offered hot and iced tea, coffee, sodas and powdered drink mixes as an alternative.

As always, provisioning was done with weight in mind. This was, after all, a racing event.

"Powdered drink mixes help to use up water,'' skipper MacInnes said. "You have to start with a certain amount of water and finish with a certain amount.

It's a safety rule.'' Freeze-dried foods also helped with the water equation.

"The general idea is simplicity and something that has a little taste so the guys don't get disgruntled. You don't want an angry crew because they are not being fed well,'' the captain explained. "If the crew is not healthy and strong they are not going to do the job you want.'' With the line honours trophy firmly in his pocket, it is a formula that worked well for Windquest.

Holly Vrotsos -- is a veteran at feeding sailors. See story on Page 36.