Preparations

There is a lot involved in getting ready to sail across oceans both for the skipper/crew and the boat. Of course, different people have different views on how much to prepare upfront, risk management and what can be solved 'on the fly'.
We met a family (ex-military) who saw a TV show and were inspired to take their young children on a RTW trip. With no previous sailing experience the parents booked a one week RYA day skipper course, resigned their positions the following month and flew to Curucao to buy a boat. And off they went! 
We met them three months in after everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. But they were all still alive and, although a large portion of their travel budget had been used recovering from mistakes, they were undeterred and pressing on.
There will always be gaps in your knowledge when you depart. How big they are and the efforts you expend to minimise them is a personal decision. Similarly, you will not get everything right in boat preparation. More thought usually means less mistakes. In the following pages I highlight our preparations in the hope that it is useful to somebody.