Behan Gifford

LATEST ARTICLES ( 537 )

• Guna Yala (San Blas) Practicalities for Cruisers

  

  Guna Yala, Kuna Yala, San Blas: an evolution of names for the archipelago that stretches from Panama’s border at Colombia very nearly to the canal zone. Read more

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

• Circumnavigation: FAQs from Totem’s Circle of the Globe

  

  Courtesy flags reaching from Totem’s bow to masthead flutter in the breeze, a colorful strand representing most of the countries we’ve visited while sailing... Read more

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

• Northbound to Mexico: Lessons from the Country-per-day Plan

  

  The Pacific side of Panama felt palpably different even before the channel markers switched near the continental divide, green buoys replacing red on Totem’s... Read more

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

• Anatomy of a Panama Canal Transit

  

  What’s it like to transit the Panama Canal? How much it costs to go through is the first thing most people want to know, if only out of curiosity; those... Read more

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

• Exploring Panama’s Guna Yala

  

  Plumes of spray shoot up where waves strike the rocky spires of a reef off the coast of Guna Yala. Totem is bashing west to our next pocket of protection for... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Like Nowhere Else: the Allure of Panama’s Guna Yala

  

  Headwinds. Choppy seas. Eyeball navigation through reefs where the usual tropical cues are absent. Days of gray skies. Taciturn communities. Few supplies. Read more

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

• Mochilas and Memories in Colombia

  

  Posts about why Colombia is a great place to visit and a practical orientation to Colombia for cruisers were written to help others with decisions about... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Panama Canal: the Cost for a Big Shortcut

  

  Totem rocks gently at anchor on the Pacific side of the Panama canal. There’s more to share about our transit, but “how much does it cost?” comes up frequently. Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Cruising to Slow Down the Clock

  

  This is all going too fast. Events that impressed deeply on our memories, still fresh, have tallied months distance despite feeling like they just happened:... Read more

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

• Colombian Practicalities for Cruisers

  

  What should you know before sailing to Colombia? Planning details often clarify with hindsight. What we loved about Colombia is a start for anticipation: for... Read more

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

• Suddenly Without Steering in the Caribbean Sea

  

  Losing steerage is stressful at the best of times. Losing it when hand-steering gnarly seas that threaten to broach the inattentive sailor, on day one of a... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Colombia for Cruisers: a Different Attraction

  

  It wasn’t many years ago that Colombia was considered dangerous to visit: cruisers lured by pretty Venezuelan islands towards South America rarely made the hop... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Pictures from the Passage: Colombia to Panama

  

  Photos of sea state never do it justice. It is a truth and occasional lament, as it’s difficult to convey the feeling of being at sea. Read more

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

• Trials at Sea and Ashore: Sailing from Colombia to Panama

  

  Gentle ripples stream in the wake of an ulu as a lone paddler sets out in the gray light of early morning. By the time the sun has inched above the horizon, a... Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2018 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Bonaire for Cruisers: More Than Diving

  

  Bonaire: more than a dive destination? For most visitors, diving is THE reason to go, and it was certainly the lure for us to select Bonaire among the Dutch... Read more

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

• A Cruising Year: Milestones and Introspection from Totem’s 2017

  

  Inspiration and gratitude flow from the mundane in an annual review of Totem’s year by the numbers. We’re serious about tracking data on Totem; Jamie but can’t... Read more

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

• Bonaire’s Underwater Wonderland

  

  Tucked low in the Caribbean sea, a skip above Venezuela but hundreds of miles from the popular cruising grounds of the lesser Antilles, the ABC islands are a... Read more

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

• Dissecting a Passage: Bonaire to Colombia

  

  This dreaded passage unleashed one true horror. It was not a failure in rigging or other key systems. It was not the feared washing machine sea state. Read more

  Posted on 29 December 2017 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Planning a Passage: Bonaire to Colombia

  

  There is a good chance our upcoming passage will suck. Yay… How do we know it’s not a simple downwind run in the trades? Enough friends, cruisers with miles,... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2017 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Notes: Westbound Across the Caribbean

  

  Totem is sailing toward sunsets again. Turning towards the Dutch Antilles from Martinique was more westbound than south. This passage brought back more than a... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2017 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL