Welcome aboard!

I’m Behan. In 2008, my family went through a radical lifestyle change. We sold most of our belongings, moved onto our boat, and sailed away from home. With a deep commitment to sustainable living and a desire to live life to the fullest, we’ve been slowly sailing around the world ever since.

Similan Islands, Thailand: January 2014

We hope to encourage anyone thinking of taking the leap to live a differently by sharing a slice of the cruising life through inspiring stories, practical tips, and destination information. If you’re new, these posts will help you get oriented. If you have questions, get in touch with us though the contact form, or read on Ask the Cruiser about how to get in-depth 1:1 mentoring from me and Jamie. Here’s a jump list for categories with selected blog posts to introduce you to our crazy life, how we make it work, and some of the incredible adventures we’ve had.

Channel Islands, California. 2008

Cost of cruising

We hear this question a lot, and the simplest answer is that cruising costs whatever you have. People travel on all manner of budgets, from micro to macro. Of course, it does take money.

You don’t have to be rich to go cruising.
How much does maintenance cost?
How costs affect our plans
Eight years down: how we fund the cruising life (and how it’s changed over the years)

Choosing a boat

There is no perfect cruising boat. We do not take any stand in the mono vs multi camp: a good boat is the one that meets your needs, carries you safely, fits your budget, and makes you happy.

Choosing Totem
A racier take on the cruising boats
Burmese teak beauty: the more traditional Kalalau
Go-anywhere catamaran: my crush on Nalukai
Taking off on the the perfectly adequate Mary Powell instead of wasting years saving funds

Downsizing

Living afloat is minimalist living, and truly liberating. The less we have, the lighter we feel, the happier we are.

Focus on what you actually need to getting off the dock
How cruising gets you off the cycle of acquisition
On Black Friday: how cruising changes your perspective on Stuff
The unspoken code to help your fellow cruiser make it easier

What do you need?

You need less than you think. With limited living space and a goal to live simply, we are well trained to think of Stuff as the enemy. That said, your new boat won’t come with everything, and while you have time (and an income), sourcing in advance by trolling eBay and Craigslist so you minimize paying retail at the last minute. The hard part, though, is knowing what you really need vs succumbing to something shiny.

Start with books
Don’t forget field guides
Consider personal gear
Water toys are fun
Not more Stuff
You do need inspiration: our giant map of dreams

Staying inspired before cruising with our Giant Map of Dreams

Passage making

We sailed thousands of miles in the inland waters of the Salish Sea, then coastal for more than a year as a family before taking off on our first major passage: nearly 3,000 miles from La Cruz, Mexico to Hiva Oa, in French Polynesia’s Marquesa islands. Each step along the way has taught us more.

Passage Safety: Boat handling and communications, dealing with fatigue, and other notes on safety underway
South Pacific bound: a semi-typical passage day
Reflections on crossing from Mexico to the Marquesas
Hindsight thought on prepping for a Pacific crossing
Passagemaking questions from readers: Part I, and Part II
Before you leave, have a float plan
Efficient sailing: big-picture passage routing.
Sail trim and sail handling: for safety, performance really does matter
Weather always wins: how we use PredictWind for passages
It’s not just the wind, it’s the current: how to get ocean current data at sea
Downwind sails 101: what you need to know about those white flappy things

The Gifford family on their cruiser yacht, Totem, moored in James Bay, St Helena. L-R: Siobhan, Behan, Niall, Mairen and Jamie.

St Helena, April 2016: photo (c) Darrin Henry, www.whatthesaintsdidnext.com

Homeschooling

I worried about this. I worried a LOT. I wish I could tell my pre-cruiser self to worry less! Hopefully my hindsight perspective will help others find their homeschooling legs more easily.

Safety

There are different ways to evaluate safety as a cruiser. We’re most often asked about pirates, although it’s very, very, VERY low on our likely risk scale.

Staying healthy

Getting medical care in a foreign country
Managing seasickness
Sun protection for pasty-white cruisers
Preparing for dengue and malarial zones and our rationale for skipping anti-malarials

Provisioning

Before we went cruising, stocking the pantry (and fridge, and chest freezer) was easy. We sourced much of our food from local producers. The gaps were filled in at the neighborhood grocery store. It turns out, everyday provisioning as a cruiser- without a car, in a foreign country, is a little more complicated. What it’s not, however, is a problem. It’s just different.

A general approach to provisioning
How to stow provisions, or, don’t pack the apples with the onions
Do you really need that? Avoid over-provisioning
When it’s time for long term provisioning
Best provisions for our Pacific crossing
Passage meals: what we’re eating at sea

Beef vendor at the public market: Ambon, Indonesia, 2013

Transitioning into cruising

The cruising life has a different rhythm. For most people, it takes time to adjust to the cruising life. For our children, that time was about twenty minutes. For Jamie and me, it was much longer.

Reflections after the first six months
Vacation vs lifestyle
Facing fears about cruising
Unstructured doesn’t mean unoccupied
Be ready: cruising will wreck your life for the better

Everyday life

It may be a little harder to picture how some aspects of everyday life translate into cruising. Here’s a peek.

Doing laundry on board
Life has a new pace: a slow day in Barra de Navidad
What do cruisers do all day?
What do cruising kids do all day? Here’s a sample from our stay in San Blas, and another from Barra de Navidad, another from Vanuatu, and another from Papua New Guinea… there is no “typical”

kids-from-several-boats-banded-together-to-put-on-a-production-of-the-wizard-of-oz-malaysia

Cruising kids put on a performance of The Wizard of Oz. Malaysia, 2013

Local Culture

Experiencing other cultures, to learn, share, find our differences and commonalities are one of the joys of cruising for our family. Here are a smattering of examples to give you a peek.