Behan Gifford

LATEST ARTICLES ( 537 )

• Free Range Cruising Kids

  

  At the moment, we’re with four other kid boats including thirteen kids between our little fleet. All five of us are sharing an anchorage in the Maldives, bound... Read more

  Posted on 17 April 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Glorious Underwater Life in Maldives

  

  Cruising in Maldives is ALL about the stunning water and marine life. Unless we’re in transit from one place to the next, we’re spending hours underwater on mos... Read more

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

• Navigating with Google Earth

  

  Moving south from Uligan, we used Google Earth in conjunction with our primary chart plotter (OpenCPN) to help navigate to our second anchorage in the Maldives. Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Maldives: the Best International Clearance Ever

  

  It’s a pretty good sign when your agent arrives to the boat with ice cream to share that clearing into the country will go off without a hitch. How do you get i... Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage to Maldives

  

  Why leave on a passage when there’s very little wind in the forecast? Having a breeze matters, when you have 700 miles to go. But the seasons are changing. Read more

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

• The $500 Day Trip

  

  Experiencing some of Sri Lanka’s ancient cities was one of our goals during a month-long stay. Two of the outstanding examples are within day-trip distance of... Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Sri Lanka’s Wild Side

  

  Traveling Sri Lanka’s interior meant some long days on the road (or railway tracks). Between that, and the likelihood of many “educational” stops, we thought th... Read more

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

• Exploring Sri Lanka

  

  It’s very rare for us leave Totem to travel inland in countries we visit. This is mostly a function of money: we can’t afford the higher costs of living off... Read more

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

• Beautiful Sri Lanka

  

  Sri Lanka has captured our hearts and minds: one month has flown by. There has been fascinating history, culture, food, and more for us to learn about and... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Trincomalee: from War Zone to Cruising Port, II

  

  We approached Trincomalee with excitement and trepidation. This port is run by the Navy; it’s new to cruising boats after decades of civil war: officials don’t... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Trincomalee, Sri Lanka: from War Zone to Cruising Port

  

  Trincomalee so far has been a feast of sights, sounds, smells, experiences. It has been both friendly and jarring, and I wake up wondering what each day will... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Iridium GO! + PredictWind for Totem’s Indian Ocean Debut

  

  Not long before leaving Malaysia, we purchased an Iridium GO!. This was somewhat unexpected because Totem has long been a radio centric boat. Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Giving Back: the Best Birthday Gift Ever

  

  We’re just over one week in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. It is an explosion of new experiences: it’s so different, full of new sights and sounds and tastes and... Read more

  Posted on 25 February 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Making: Malaysia to Sri Lanka, Part Two

  

  Coastal Cruising has dominated the last couple of years in Southeast Asia. Our passage making skills are rusty. Before we left, I wondered: what habits would... Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Making: Malaysia to Sri Lanka

  

  Coastal Cruising has dominated the last couple of years in Southeast Asia. Our passage making skills are rusty. Before we left, I wondered: what habits would... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Best Places to Sail in Thailand

  

  There are a handful of places we’ll never forget from our months of sailing in Thailand. We found a lot to love (and a lot we could do without). Read more

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

• Cruising in Thailand: What We Won’t Miss

  

  There are a lot of great reasons to sail in Thailand. But for all those things we really enjoyed, there were plenty of things we won’t miss. What didn’t we like? Read more

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

• Preparing for Passage Making

  

  How do you get ready for a passage? We’ve done it enough, but we’re rusty. And the upcoming ~1,200 nm from Malaysia to Sri Lanka is our first passage in a year... Read more

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

• Why We Love Cruising in Thailand

  

  We’ve checked out of Thailand, and don’t know when we’ll be back. While we wrap up pre-passage projects on Totem in Malaysia, it feels like the perfect time to... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Last Days in Thailand

  

  Cruising is hard work. Really. Our punch list to have Totem ready for the Indian Ocean is shrinking but it’s constant daily effort to track towards an end of... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2015 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL