Youtube sailing channels have become our new TV Series. During lockdown we searched for reminders of how “other people” were living their lives while we were trapped indoors. The sailing blogs became a source of inspiration as they shared dreamy locations and a sense of freedom. And they have motivated us to put a plan in motion to go cruising one day. These are our top channels.
Sailing la Vagabonde (1.64 million subscribers)
Made famous while transporting Greta Thunberg across the North Atlantic, Elayna, Riley and now little Lenny and baby Darwin, have captured our hearts from the get go. Elayna and Riley set off sailing with no experience in 2014, visiting many cool and interesting places. They have crossed all the major oceans, sailing more than 74 000 miles to date.
Their honesty and sense of humour has really grabbed us. It’s not all sunsets and sunshine while cruising, there can be some challenging days too, and they don’t hold back when they are having one of those days. Lenny has us reeling with laughter as he reminds us of just how busy a little boy can be while exploring. They have sold their beloved Outremer and are in the middle of a new build of a trimaran in Vietnam. Building delays due to Covid made them restless to get back on the water. So what did they do? They got back onboard their Outremer and will be sailing in the Bahamas for the next few months.
What we love: little Lenny and Darwin, their super fast, cool catamaran – the Outremer, their Ozzie humour, their brutal honesty and Elayna’s cool style.
SV Delos (756000 subscribers)
We started following the SV Delos crew when they came to Cape Town in 2016. They visited our local yacht club and gave us a talk on how they lived this life. We were all enthralled by their lifestyle. Brian, Brady and Karen (Kaza) had sailed around the world for many years, picking up new crew members at ports along the way. The crews would stay for a major crossing or for a few weeks. We got to meet so many different characters from all over the world – each providing a new view on the cruising lifestyle. Flash forward many years of dreamy sailing, with loads of fun, adventures and laughs in between, to a wedding and a baby. Brady and girlfriend Blue have moved on to their own adventures, and now Brian, Kaza and baby Sierra are touring the Northern coast of the US.
What we love: the unique concept of picking up new crew along the way, the crazy adventures and laughter, Brian’s handy tips and electrical work – he installed an entire heating system while in the Bahamas, and little Sierra of course – she is a real cutie pie.
The Wynns (491000 subscribers)
We first met Jason and Nikki a few months ago while trawling through Youtube looking for another sailing channel to watch. We came across them just as they had been forced into lockdown in Fiji while trying to get back to their boat in Tonga. Their boat had been on the hard and squared away for over a year. They had a big challenge ahead of them to get the boat sailing-ready. We loved watching their practical and no-nonsense approach. They shared with us how they had prepared the boat for time on the hard with very practical tips. And we enjoyed their honesty about what they could have done better. Nikki is hands on and is a whiz with any power tool. She also has amazing ideas for food provisioning and storage in the galley. After a few months on the hard for maintenance in New Zealand – made longer by the lockdowns – they are getting closer to setting sail again – once borders have opened up properly.
What we love: their story-telling, their practical tips from boat maintenance to budgets, Nikki’s sustainable and eco-friendly tips on cleaning, storage and repurposing everything, their electric bikes, their nerdy sense of humour.
The O’Kellys (83200 subscribers)
Meghan and Nick have been cruising for many years now too. They move between their boat home and their land home. This couple is sailing without children so one can gain good insight into how to achieve this lifestyle at their life stage. They first started cruising on a monohull and are now their Leopard 46, Clarity, sharing very practical advice like: how to afford this lifestyle, how to choose between buying a monohull or a catamaran (besides the obvious cost difference) and how to run the boat efficiently from a budget and maintenance point of view.
What we love: their practical nuts and bolts finance advice, perfect for couples sailing without children, self- sufficient living, cooking tips, and Meghan’s proven that you can do yoga on a boat.
Feel the breeze family (28400 subscribers)
Although new to Youtube, stylish Hollanders Gerben and Rianne, and their little boy Ben have caught our attention. They refurbished a Beneteau 57 (centre-cockpit) in Didum, Turkey. They couldn’t fly to Turkey during lockdown, so they decided to drive their Landrover Defender from Amsterdam to Turkey instead! Overland travel and cruising provides the best of both worlds. They set sail and spent the summer in the Med. They have developed the ideal way of working to fund their sailing lifestyle with their many online businesses. They have also been very frank about how they went from “bankruptcy to cruising”.
What we love: you can cruise with style, refurbishing can be better than new, Turkey is a good option for a refurb, and anyone can go cruising – no matter what your financial past.
The Sailing Family (66.5k followers)
Seth, Elizabeth and their three boys Hale, Rhys and Pierce are sailing around the world on their Outremer 51 performance cat. They were new to their around the world voyage when they had to change course to accommodate the lockdowns last year.
“We are a family of five sailing around the world on our “dream boat,” a performance catamaran named “Archer.” Ten years ago, before kids, we sailed a Lagoon 380 named “Honeymoon” halfway around the world to Sydney, Australia. Along the way we shared our experiences with family and friends via YouTube, and landed up creating one of the earliest sailing channels. We also realised what an incredible experience we were having and that someday we wanted to do it again, only this time with our kids. Our boat is a Ferrari red Outremer 51 performance cruising catamaran. We chose this boat as it has been specifically designed for the purpose of bluewater sailing. It was designed and built to withstand the stress of “sailing multiple times around the world safely and in comfort.” And yes, she’s nice on the eyes too. Our route has taken us from the Boston/Cape Cod area of the United States down to the Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal. We have dealt with the Coronavirus lock down in New Zealand, a category 5 Cyclone in Fiji, and are now cruising again in Covid Free Australia”, says Seth.
What we love: the idea of sailing around the world with a young family is so appealing. It makes us want to turn back time and set sail around the world with our young girls. Seth is a racing sailor, so he also adds in a lot of info about trimming and performance tricks to reach an optimum experience.
