Most of us during our work day will escape to the kitchen to dream about sailing off into the sunset whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, but for Riley and Elayna, life at sea is no daydream – they live, work and raise their son Lenny on their boat, La Vagabonde, as they sail round the world.
Luckily, they’re up for sharing their lives with us, so we can turn our tea-making reveries into a weekly twenty minutes of sun, sea and sand. For the last six years, the Australian couple have been living on a catamaran and sailing around the world full time, making weekly videos documenting their lives as full time sailors. There have been Atlantic crossings, island hopping in the Whitsundays, Caribbean beach trips and free diving quests, all captured by the pair and shared with their 1.6 million followers. They show the trials and tribulations of living in such a small space, and how life at sea isn’t always all sunsets and white sand beaches. So, in a way it’s a bit like Below Deck, but without the shagging, and all the scraps. Ok, it’s not like Below Deck at all. But it’s equally as binge-able.
If trashy reality TV is what you’re after, it doesn’t get much better than Below Deck
YouTube vlogging is a bit like indie reality TV – we get to keep up with these people living lives we can only dream of, whilst sitting at home in our joggers sipping a cup of tea and whinging about the weather.
But these two are much more fun to keep up with the Kardashians. Especially since they added their little son, Lenny, to the mix – a brave parenting choice if there ever was one. They’re environmentally conscious, and always chatting with their subscribers about how they minimise their impact on the environment through food choices and their consumption. Their boat, too, is designed to be as eco-friendly as possible, with a solar powered water maker, and despite having a motor, they avoid using it. And Riley tells us all about the technology behind their lifestyle, discussing the impacts of weather fronts and how to sail safely with a kid on board.
It’s a good job they know about this too, as the couple actually sailed everyone’s favourite eco warrior, Greta Thunberg, across the Atlantic in early 2020, so that she could attend a UN summit – they’ve handily organised these videos into a playlist for you. We don’t blame Greta for choosing them to get her across the ocean – these two are a right laugh, and unafraid to talk about the downsides to life at sea.
We also have to mention, that these ‘movies’, as they call them, are impressively well shot and gorgeous to look at – they shoot incredible drone footage of their boat, La Vagabond, and make the most of the beautiful scenery they are surrounded with. And with regular episodes dropping every Monday, it soon starts to feel like your favourite new TV show.
New episodes every Monday. You can watch a day on board by pressing play on the show image, or by clicking here.
