challenges in ‘normal’ life apply to our little floating home: good communication and respect for each other can avoid (or solve) conflicts,” says Behan. She adds that on top of this there is also the financial challenge. “After shedding most of our possessions and leaving our jobs, we have almost no other income and live from our savings. There isn’t much to spend money on in the remote places we visit, so what we spend in a year sailing is what we used to spend in about six weeks of our old ‘land life’.” But she says that despite this, the transition from sprawling house to compact boat was easy. “One change we don’t notice is the radical reduction in things we own. We’re living with less, but don’t think about it much. If we do, it’s usually to lament that we still have too much on board- things get in the way.” Behan says while at first they wondered how the kids would handle this, actually having less material things has brought out new ingenuity in the children’s imaginary play with each other. As well as chilling out below deck with Lego, books and games, Niall – now 13 – helps out on deck occasionally. “The kids spend a lot of time looking at sea life, make friends with other kids on boats and love to explore the local environment,” says Behan. Other major changes the Giffords were faced with were the change to routine, and having to allow much longer to do everything. “Nearly everything takes longer,” says Jamie. He says simple tasks such sending an email, laundry (which involves a bucket
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and a plunger), getting groceries (no more minivan - now it’s carted by hand and ferried by dinghy), or tracking down an item can easily morph into a full-day activity. “But time is what we have, and the absence of time pressure is truly marvellous.” But like the oceans the family call home, life onboard Totem does have its ups and downs – especially when it comes to sibling clashes and family tensions. The way to cope is to be realistic, is the Gifford’s advice. “Expecting harmonious togetherness all day, every day, isn’t a realistic expectation,” writes Jamie. “If we weren’t suited for this kind of life, we probably wouldn’t be here and one of the big reasons we’re out cruising is because we wanted more time together as a family. But meanwhile, I think that the occasional relationship tension or family problems that crop up have pretty much nothing to do with the fact we live on a boat. They’d almost certainly happen if we were back in suburbia, too - just with different window dressing.” The family puts Suwarrow in the Cook Islands and the Sea of Cortez and Papua New Guinea as top of their list so far of places to visit because of the combination of rare natural beauty and remoteness. “All these places take work to get there, and to stay there, but if you’re into that kind of thing the rewards are tremendous,” they say. Others include the opportunity to visit historical sites (from retracing some of Captain Cook’s stops, to visiting crumbling Dutch forts in Indonesia) and to learn