Behan Gifford

LATEST ARTICLES ( 537 )

• I Admit It: I Was Wrong About the Caribbean

  

  I’ll be honest: I didn’t think I’d like sailing the Caribbean very much. Too many people. No unique experiences. Credit-card captains on holiday.... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Scruffy Cruisers, Coming Soon to New England

  

  Tomorrow morning begins the last chapter of our journey back to the USA. We’ll leave St Martin for Bermuda, and at the first weather window from Bermuda, we’ll... Read more

  Posted on 25 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Skipping Through the Caribbean

  

  Slow travel is one of the benefits of cruising. Lingering weeks or months in a place let us better understand the cultures we encounter along the way. Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Mainsail Trim: Luff Tension

  

  This post comes from Jamie, one in a series where he shares his knowledge as a tenured sailmaker. For more about Jamie’s experience in the field, see Sailmaker... Read more

  Posted on 16 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• On Not Playing Tourist in Barbados

  

  Across many of the countries we’ve visited most recently—South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, the British Overseas Territory islands—we stepped into the role of... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Mainsail Features: Headboard Vs Head Ring

  

  This post comes from Jamie, one in a series where he shares his knowledge as a tenured sailmaker. For more about Jamie’s experience in the field, see Sailmaker... Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Crew’s View: Joining Totem for a Passage

  

  This post is penned by our crew across the Atlantic, Ty Anderson. We’ve known Ty for a long time (backstory in this post); he’s also been aboard for legs in... Read more

  Posted on 30 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Notes: Ascension to Barbados Wrap

  

  Seventeen days (and five hours) after leaving Ascension, we made landfall in Barbados on a sunny afternoon. Impending arrival was heralded by small fishing... Read more

  Posted on 27 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Trashing the Ocean: Sending out an SOS

  

  Carefully sealed into the wine bottle was a message from afar. Fisherman in Florida found and read the drift mail, learning that it was from a woman that... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Ascension to Barbados: Notes from the Passage Part III

  

  Continuing notes from the passage… installment three. We’re in the home stretch! Our crew, Ty, is working on a guest post: what do you want to know about life o... Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• South Africa in Hindsight

  

  South Africa leaves an indelible impression. During our three month stay we fell in love with it for a multitude of reasons, but frequently felt uncomfortable. Read more

  Posted on 18 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Mainsail Features: Loosefoot Versus Attached Foot

  

  This post comes from Jamie, one in a series where he shares his knowledge as a tenured sailmaker. For more about Jamie’s experience in the field, see Sailmaker... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Notes: Ascension to Barbados, Part II

  

  Continuing notes from the passage… from just beyond the halfway mark. Our crew, Ty, is working on a guest post: what do you want to know about life on Totem fro... Read more

  Posted on 14 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• A Week in Walvis Bay, Namibia

  

  A month in Namibia felt like a month less than we should have spent in this wild and beautiful and interesting country. But we went, and a lot of boats... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Notes: Ascension to Barbados, Part I

  

  Totem has been heading west for five days now. So far it’s been a beautiful passage: more gentle breezes than squalls, more pretty sunsets than gray skies. Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Weather and Communications on the Passage

  

  If you’re following along, you know we left Ascension Island a few day ago. Now, most of passages over time seem to top out around five days. Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Ascension Island: Remote South Atlantic

  

  Uninhabited before it was encountered by Portuguese sailors in the 1500s, Ascension’s lonely position in the middle of, well, more or less nowhere in the South... Read more

  Posted on 04 April 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Notes: St Helena to Ascension

  

  Graying dawn had barely begun to lighten the sky when we left St Helena under a nearly full moon. The distance to Ascension – a little over 700 nautical miles... Read more

  Posted on 30 March 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• St Helena for Cruisers

  

  On one hand, St Helena is an obvious choice for boats heading NW from Cape Town: it’s along the path of a logical route, whether you are pointing to Brazil or t... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL

• Passage Meals: What We’re Eating at Sea

  

  What do you eat on a passage? How do you prepare food for everyone, and have enough on board? This question came from a few different places after our weeklong... Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2016 FAMILY, OUTDOORS, SEA, TRAVEL