Behan Gifford

LATEST ARTICLES ( 537 )

• I Love South Africanisms!

  

  It started during our first road trip: picking up on sayings, food, treats and more that stood out to us as uniquely South African. Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Dock Walk: Rigging Fails

  

  We’re rarely in marinas, but in South Africa’s harbors tying up is the norm. Jamie and I have fun walking the docks, checking out other boats; I always have... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• 365 Days, 7,988 Miles, 2 Oceans, 1 Boat

  

  What a year! We knew 2015 was going to be big, and eagerly anticipated the change after a year of maintenance in Southeast Asia. In hindsight, it was truly epic... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Port Tack Blues: Thoughts on Comfortable Cruising

  

  Flat water and a consistent breeze provided glorious sailing back in Madagascar. Daily diurnal winds power our passage south on a port tack in the morning and... Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Indian Ocean Lookback: People, the Best of IO Cruising

  

  The Indian Ocean looms large in the minds of many sailors: it’s a challenge, the daunting stretch of water (followed by the big miles of the Atlantic) that... Read more

  Posted on 23 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Indian Ocean Lookback: the Best Gear Over ~7,000 Miles

  

  Sailing across the Indian Ocean made 2015 a big year for nautical miles under Totem’s keel:  6,901 of them, in fact, from the time we left Malaysia in February... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Easy Decisions and New Questions About Sailing Home

  

  It was a snap decision, but pointing to the US in 2016 suddenly made sense (the kicker was learning of people we love with poor health). From that one follow a... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• It’s Time to Go Home

  

  One of the hardest parts of cruising is being far away from people we love. It’s especially hard to be far away and during their times of need, when we can’t... Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Holiday Decorations Aboard: Crafting a Shell Light

  

  Cruising boats have finite storage space. While we haven’t gotten to the point of taking something off for every item that comes on, there are understood rules... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• From the Ocean to the Sky: Land Cruising in Lesotho

  

  Road tripping from our landfall in South Africa, there was time to loop out and see at least one other country. We decided to include the kingdom of Lesotho on... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Gifts for Sailors: Ideas for the Cruisers in Your Life

  

  Who wants to cut into the cruising kitty for gifts that won’t work when you take off? It’s just about that time of year, so Jamie and I came up with a list of... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Gone Wild: a Week in Pilanesberg

  

  For a long time we have looked forward to visiting Jamie’s aunt and uncle in South Africa. They moved to Johannesburg as expats in the 70s, and have made this... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Land Cruising in Africa

  

  We dreamed about the iconic wildlife we’d have the chance to see in South Africa. But when we sketched out our plans to sail across the Indian Ocean, seeing the... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• 10 Reasons to Love Cruising in Madagascar

  

  Madagascar might just be the perfect mix of different things we find to love in cruising destinations. Most boats crossing the Indian Ocean stop in, unless... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Madagascar’s Stunning Barren Islands

  

  South of Madagascar’s Cap St Andre is a sprinkling of islands, around 15 nautical miles off the coast. They’re aptly called the Barren Islands: some are no... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Hindsight: Sailing from Madagascar to South Africa

  

  Sailing from Madagascar to South Africa is technically challenging. The Mozambique Channel separating them is famously dangerous, in particular for the effect o... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Sailcloth 102: a Primer for Cruisers

  

  Jamie is a sailmaker; he periodically shares his knowledge on the blog, and those posts are under the Sailmaker tag. This is the second post in a two-part serie... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Sailcloth 101: a Primer for Cruisers

  

  Jamie is a sailmaker; he periodically shares his knowledge on the blog, and those posts are under the Sailmaker tag here. In this first post of a two-part... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• The Spark to See the World

  When my husband Jamie was 11, he received a copy of “The Boy Who Sailed Alone Around the World” – the story of teenager Robin Lee Graham’s solo circumnavigation. Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Mermaids Are Real: Getting the Kids Swimming

  

  Sitting around a worn wooden table in the open side of a thatch-roofed hut, looking out over the sparkling water of a lagoon in PNG’s Hermit Islands, we listene... Read more

  Posted on 22 October 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL