Yup, those decisions/choices made before ever leaving the dock are so often the most important...
http://www.morganscloud.com/2014/01/18/two-yacht-losses-many-lessons-learned/
btw, here's the brief account of the loss of EASY GO, I was always a bit surprised this one wasn't more widely noted at the time, he was a pretty experienced voyager on a tough little boat... Classic example of cascading failures exacerbated by the conditions...
http://sveasygo.blogspot.ca/2013/11/easy-go-lost.html
A series of small equipment failures (sails, electronics and water ingress), that in lesser conditions could have been rectified relatively simply, could not be addressed. My own fatigue and deteriorating condition was a major contributing factor.