"Boy, if I'd only known then what I know now," is the wish of all adults thinking about their youth, and of most cruisers more than a month into their voyage, thinking of before they left After six and a half years of sailing around the world in Dolphin Spirit on top of twenty years of sailing, five years of planning, one year of searching for the right boat, and three years of real preparation, we think we now know what we should have known before casting off

Sailing around the world for six and a half years and visiting 56 countries, meant we had to buy food and other necessities in almost all of them Because we deliberately sought out-of-the-way places, shopping for food and other necessities was mostly directly from the local producers, or at local markets

We sailed around the world in our Mason 53 Dolphin Spirit for six and a half years, visiting 56 countries, so developed a good knowledge of the requirements of checking into and out of countries, and a simple rule for dealing with officialdom: "You are in their country; the rules are their rules; so smile, do what you are told without complaint, or leave

During our six and a half year circumnavigation in Dolphin Spirit we visited 56 countries and ate in 50 of them The only time we were ever sick was after eating at a McDonalds in Egypt – that exotic food will get you every time

Carole is very fastidious The only public bathroom she will use willingly is the one in Trump Tower in New York

You and your co-captain have read Chasing Sunsets and both are now convinced that ordinary people just like you can go cruising in comfort and safety Then you read Steering You Straight and got all the real practical information you needed to prepare, but now let's take a little time to make sure that you have the critical matters well in hand