‘It’s not rocket science’: How a family of novice sailors started travelling the globe

Erin Carey never imagined she would sail across the Atlantic Ocean with her husband Dave - especially not with three young children in tow.

Back in 2015, they were perfectly content, living in Adelaide and working well-paid jobs for the Australian government. So why did the couple leave their home to sail the globe?

“We weren’t sailors. We'd never dreamt of doing anything like this,” says the 41 year-old. “One night, we sat down to watch Netflix and my husband randomly chose ‘Maidentrip’, about Laura Dekker, the youngest person to sail around the world. Something in that documentary made us completely change our lives.”

Their first thought was, could we do this ourselves? A quick Google search helped them discover dozens of families who lived full-time onboard yachts. The couple made up their minds. They would spend the next two years saving and planning to buy a boat, then take a two-year sabbatical to sail around the world with their kids.

Seven years later, the family-of-five are still following their dream. Two years in the Caribbean was followed by an Atlantic crossing to Portugal, followed by Spain, Tunisia, Malta, Italy and Croatia.

Erin and her family are part of a growing community of cruisers, who have given up the rat race to live on a boat. The global sailboat market has grown exponentially in recent years, from €5.7 billion in 2021 to an expected €6.7 billion by 2026, according to The Business Research Company.

So what does it take to go from a complete novice to full-time liveaboard?

Firstly, Erin and Dave needed to learn how to sail. Over the next 18 months, they joined sailing, sea survival and First Aid courses, as well as completing their boat licences.

Secondly, they needed a vessel. “We didn’t have the money