{"id":45191,"date":"2020-01-07T15:38:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T20:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=45191"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:56:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:56:12","slug":"sailing-totem-the-measure-of-a-year-2019-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/destinations\/sailing-totem-the-measure-of-a-year-2019-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing Totem: The measure of a year\u20142019 reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"564\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GOPR8516-1024x722.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"La Cruz de Huanacaxtle\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GOPR8516-1024x722.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GOPR8516-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GOPR8516-768x542.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\"><em>Totem<\/em> off La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p><i>Totem<\/i> rocks at anchor in the gentle swell off La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico. We approached the end of the year on a mellow passage down the Sea of Cortez, sailing from Puerto Pe\u00f1asco to our winter base in Banderas Bay. It was a little under five days \u2013 four nights at sea \u2013 to transit the 800 nautical miles. Gently sailing downwind, water sliding by the hull, provided a perfect environment for meditating on the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s natural want to chalk up cruising achievement by counting miles. Goodness, we\u2019ve got them, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sailingtotem.com\/2019\/10\/cruising-skill-and-the-mileage-myth.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I don\u2019t think they\u2019re a good achievement measure<\/a>. Miles didn\u2019t play into this year anyway: it was one of our most stationary, other than parking at the dock to work in Australia. We made longer stops in fewer places. Didn\u2019t cross an ocean; didn\u2019t even leave Mexico!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PW-2019-track.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Tracking Totem\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PW-2019-track.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PW-2019-track-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/PW-2019-track-768x512.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The extent of our 2019 range: between Barra and Penasco.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">PredictWind<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>Jamie\u2019s a database guy so we\u2019ve got a few facts and figures to flesh that out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Distance: 2280 NM (one of our lowest ever)<\/li><li>Countries: 1 (\u00a1hola M\u00e9xico!)<\/li><li>Anchored: 182 days (more than average)<\/li><li>Docked: 59 days (less than usual, despite needing to for a bunch of travel)<\/li><li>On the hard: 127 days (longest ever by a wide margin!)<\/li><li>On passage: 8 nights (three weeks of passage nights is about average)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n<p>What did we do, then? We retrenched a bit, to prepare for this year\u2019s anticipated departure for the South Pacific. Totem\u2019s refit was a dominant feature there, as was growing our digital businesses \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sailingtotem.com\/ask-the-cruiser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">coaching<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sailingtotem.com\/cruising-sails-sailmaker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sailmaking<\/a> \u2013 while internet is easy since it won\u2019t be in Polynesia. We also took advantage of proximity to the US to travel for speaking engagements, and for me to visit my parents; as a (budget) rule we don\u2019t fly back, but I traveled four times to see them in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/bundled-to-sail-south.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Bundled up\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/bundled-to-sail-south.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/bundled-to-sail-south-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/bundled-to-sail-south-768x512.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Bundled up to sail south from Puerto Penasco.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>This past year was thinner on the exotic experiences that give cruising its appeal, that make cruising enviable and look good on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC3864.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"coastal shot\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC3864.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC3864-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC3864-768x512.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">OK, so some of them looked pretty good on Instagram.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>It was extraordinary instead in experiences you would not expect to read on a bucket list. Enrichment came from growing relationships with people: those we have come to know by virtue of staying longer in one place, those we helped by supporting the 2019 South Pacific-bound fleet prepare for their big leap, and those who fostered with us <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sailingtotem.com\/2019\/12\/ode-to-a-shipyard-community.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the community that grew<\/a> in the shipyard. Those fellow cruisers who are our found family. These measures make my heart happy. These mean more than miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shirtsleeves-on-arrival.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Banderas Bay\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shirtsleeves-on-arrival.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shirtsleeves-on-arrival-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shirtsleeves-on-arrival-768x512.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Layers traded for shirtsleeves on arrival in Banderas Bay.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>The role of these relationships in making our year crystallized for me upon our arrival in La Cruz, when the first day ashore my feet carried me to seek out those faces I missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Selfie-at-Lupes.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Tortas y Ring\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Selfie-at-Lupes.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Selfie-at-Lupes-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Selfie-at-Lupes-768x576.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Much more than the best chilaquiles in town at Tortas y Ring.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p>Whether a year is \u201cgood\u201d in hindsight is largely about perception. Faced with little mobility, with long hours of hard work, with challenges that didn\u2019t bring easy rewards \u2013 this could have been a\u2026 well, not a good year through the hindsight lens. Yet my heart is full with what it did hold for our family; not what it didn\u2019t. A <a href=\"https:\/\/avedelmar.com\/the-choice-of-happiness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">friend recently wrote<\/a> in an article titled The Choice of Happiness, \u201cHappiness\u2026is being at peace with yourself and the universe around you.\u201d Happiness has a lot to do with attitude, with finding opportunity in frustrating circumstances, and ultimately making the choice to be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Jamie pointed out the other day we are under 100 days from our intended departure for French Polynesia. (Did you hear the POP of my happiness bubble as some mild panic crept in?!) This fact is both thrilling and terrifying, and effort toward that end consumes most of our waking hours. We are both very well planned (grateful for years of practice to be comfortable with our ability to prep!) and not well planned at all (our route is one big question mark: where to after French Polynesia?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Niall-Mairen-Siobhan.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Totem kids\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Niall-Mairen-Siobhan.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Niall-Mairen-Siobhan-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Niall-Mairen-Siobhan-768x512.jpg 768w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Niall, Mairen and Siobhan<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p><i>Next week, the three youngest Totem crew \u2013 pictured above in the Bahamas, 2017 \u2013 will give a presentation here in La Cruz about Growing Up as a Boat Kid. We hope to share a recording of it later (still working on that tripod!).<\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although 2019 may have been low on sailing miles, the year included plenty of the experiences that make cruising great.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Behan Gifford","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20200107","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"162","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Behan Gifford sums up Totem's 2019 and is excited for venturing to the South Pacific in 2020.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"1","arc_story_id":"Z5QO3P5ORFGGLPZY7QETNSXV4I","arc_website_url":"story\/destinations\/sailing-totem-the-measure-of-a-year-2019-reflections\/","custom_permalink":"story\/destinations\/sailing-totem-the-measure-of-a-year-2019-reflections\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":true,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[252,283,182],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}