Behan Gifford
Behan has sailed more than 50,000 miles with her husband, Jamie, and their three children. When they set off from the Pacific Northwest in 2008 aboard their Stevens 47, Totem, Niall was 9, Mairen was 6, and Siobhan was 4. Since then they’ve visited 22 countries, from Mexico to Madagascar. Before cruising, the Giffords lived in Bainbridge Island, Washington, where Behan built a career in management consulting, software marketing, and digital advertising. She holds master’s degrees in international studies and business administration. Behan maintains a blog for SAIL magazine and chronicles her family’s adventures at www.sailingtotem.com.
Sara Dawn Johnson
Sara has lived aboard boats for 12 of the 17 years she’s been together with her husband, Michael. When their two girls were young enough to be strapped into car seats secured in the cockpit, they set off from their Pacific Northwest home waters and went on to explore the length and breadth of the Pacific. They’re now back on land, with their sights set on more family travel. Michael was himself a cruising kid. When he was 13, his parents set off aboard their 37-foot steel cutter to explore Mexico, Central America, Panama and the Caribbean. Sara’s articles appear in several magazines in both the United States and Canada. Her blog, www.wondertime.net, actively encourages other parents who are considering setting sail with young children.
Michael Robertson
Michael and his wife Windy began cruising aboard their Fuji 40 Del Viento in Mexico in 2011 when their daughters Eleanor and Frances were 7 and 5. Since then the Robertsons have cruised between Mexico and Alaska. As this book goes to press, they’re bound across the Pacific. Long before they had kids, Michael lived aboard a Newport 27 in Southern California. He met Windy through a Latitude 38 crew list, and the two spent seven months cruising Mexico, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean basin. Articles by Michael have appeared in magazines in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. You can follow this family’s adventure at www.cruisingworld.com/blogs or logofdelviento.blogspot.com.