Behan Gifford

LATEST ARTICLES ( 537 )

• Forever Boat: Bigger Upkeep on an Older Sailboat

  

  Totem turned 36 this year. We treat her like our forever boat, and prioritize maintenance to ensure our sailboat / home remains a sound vessel with a long futur... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cooking Aboard: Totem’s Galley Essentials

  

  Returning to Totem recently provided fresh perspective on land kitchens vs boat galleys. Last night, as our dinner cooked in the oven, Jamie and I wondered to... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Silver Linings to an Extended Haul out

  

  Early morning shadows stretch across the gravel lot of Cabrales Boatyards hardstand where Perro Negro (black dog) holds court. Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• 10 Signs It’s Time to Go Back to the Boat

  

  On Tuesday we begin the two-day journey back to Totem. It’s time. It’s past time. Here’s how we’re sure: The socks are on, and we’re not talking about Boston... Read more

  Posted on 29 October 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Limited Offer: Personalized Copy of Voyaging with Kids!

  

  Engaging pictures are a great way to get kids excited.Thanks hamsterescape for this awesome photo! Do you have a partner to convince to go cruising? Do relative... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2018 FAMILY, TRAVEL

• Connecting with the Tribe in Annapolis

  

  “Drink this. Now.” The Annapolis Boat Show was in full swing, but my friend Nica wasn’t handing me one of Pusser’s famous Painkillers with her demand. She had... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cascading Events: Preventing Crisis at Sea

  

  Fears of disaster at sea can loom large; even for adrenaline junkies, misadventure is not the desired companion to adventure. Jamie shares one facet of... Read more

  Posted on 18 September 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cruising Gear: What About the Phone?

  

  Ah, the freedom of cruising! No commute, no schedule, no phone ringing… WAIT A MINUTE THERE. Phones? We gave our cell phones up when we took off in 2008 for a... Read more

  Posted on 01 September 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Lessons in Flexibility, Nurtured by Cruising

  

  Last week we crossed into our eleventh year of cruising aboard Totem. Except we aren’t aboard Totem right now, and this summer has taken a different trajectory... Read more

  Posted on 28 August 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cooking Aboard: Migrating Kitchen to Galley

  

  We love to cook. Moving from a spacious, well-equipped kitchen on land to a compact galley on a sailboat did nothing to impact our enthusiasm for creating and... Read more

  Posted on 21 August 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cruising and Social Media: What Works?

  

  Swing a cat in an anchorage and you’ll hit a boat with an active online presence. When we were in the planning phase of our cruising adventures (the early... Read more

  Posted on 31 July 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Then and Now: Sailing Baja Nine Years Later

  

  What’s your favorite place? We’ve heard this question a lot lately. Jamie’s current answer to the “best place” question is that he has 100 top ten favorites. Read more

  Posted on 17 July 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Turning Sailing Dreams into Reality

  

  Welcome, newcomers to Sailing Totem! For our family’s backstory to a decade of sailing around the world, see Who and Why.  For hopeful cruisers, articles... Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Summer in Seattle, After Detour to NY for the TODAY Show!

  

  Fireworks flashed in the distance last night as the Bainbridge Island ferry pushed through Puget Sound’s dark water. This was supposed to be our last leg for... Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Optimizing Iridium GO Use on Board

  

  Desert and sea are the incongruous pairing when sailing along Baja, where cactus-studded mountain ranges plummet to a Gulf full of marine life. Miles of isolate... Read more

  Posted on 22 June 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Sailing Mavericks, Unapologetically Motoring

  

  Sailors, like fisherman, can be a little boastful. Fishermen are better at it – complete with battle reenactment, culminating in outstretched arms indicating... Read more

  Posted on 13 June 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Guests on a Boat: How Our Friends Nailed It

  

  “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” When Benjamin Franklin said this, he wasn’t thinking about fitting two families – a total of nine... Read more

  Posted on 10 June 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Wet Bottom: a Haulout Story

  

  Totem cruises the Sea of Cortez;  in about three weeks, we haul at the Cabrales shipyard in Puerto Peñasco, a small harbor surrounded by the Sonora desert.... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Circumnavigation, Check! What’s Next?

  

  Motoring north from La Paz, parched mountains reach up on Totem’s starboard side along a gently winding channel. On the far side of a wide blue bay bask the... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Rags From Riches: Common Pitfalls with Cruising Sails

  

  Jamie periodically shares his expertise in a technical article: here he reviews typical problems cruisers experience with their sails, and how to address them. Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL