ABOUT US

We are John and Bonny Gifford from Westport, MA. We have been married for 43 years and have two grown sons, Seth and AJ who are both married with children.  Westport is a small coastal town that boasts farm land, stone walls and the lovely Noquochoke River which lies between Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay. As life long residents of Westport our family has enjoyed the river and beaches tremendously. 

Now that we are both retired, we are anxious to get underway on the Great Loop on Slàinte Mhath (Slanj-ja-va), our GB 42 CL. Slàinte Mhath comes from the Gaelic and translates into good health. It’s a traditional Scottish and Irish toast that we became aware of many years ago while enjoying a Guiness in the Settle Inn in Stirling, Scotland. Our bartender (George) greeted us with this hearty cheer, inspiring us to name a future boat with this hearty salute! 

About 10 years ago we did end up purchasing that “future” boat, choosing the stately Grand Banks Classic. We got a taste of parts of the ICW, when we traveled from FL to MA upon purchase. What fun it was to experience dolphins playing in our wake for the first time!. 

For many years we, along with close friends and family, have been enjoying week long trips around the Elizabeth Islands, Shelter Island, Nantucket and Cape Cod areas. We are now looking forward to an adventure on the Loop. Having lived on our Classic for two years during a work stint on Cape Cod, we are pretty sure we are prepared to spend the next year together in close quarters. Our plan is to get UW  within a week or two depending upon preparations and when our boat yard deems weather conditions appropriate for launching.  We’ll be leaving from Westport, MA and will be on the lookout for fellow loopers!