I started by watching Cruising Lealea with Chuck & Laura Rose several years ago. Then I found S/V Delos and White Spot Pirates ("Untie the Lines"). I didn't get Sue interested until she started watching Delos regularly with me. She is mostly interested in the relationships & gets an emotional attachment, as if they are actual friends. We lost interest in Lealea because Sue couldn't imagine living on a 27' sailboat in Alaska in the winter. I liked White Spot Pirates for awhile because Nike was so brutally honest, but the problems with the boat are overwhelming, I don't understand having any attachment to that boat and it's always a mess, and I got tired of her never being able to leave Panama. I did enjoy her constant interactions with people, but I finally got tired of Central America and don't need to see any more of it. I do intend to catch up with her, though, and hope to see her travels.
So basically it is the relationships that keep us hooked. It seems obvious to us that the ones we watch have really solid relations and Sue really likes that. I don't think they can be faked. She follows them on Facebook and comments all the time. She has "Top Fan" status on every one that we watch. Our line-up is:
1. S/V Delos - obviously the most long standing. We loved the destinations. The filming has great videography, under water, above and on land. The crew combinations are always interesting. The core relationships are always solid. I do miss Josje, but she needed to go her own way. Sue loves following them even more now that Brian and Karin have a baby.
2. Ran Sailing - I was fascinated to follow their winter travel from Sweden and around the European coast to Canary Islands. Sue saw an episode with Malin and said, "oh, I love her red dress!" She was hooked from there on and now they have a baby. Sue loves that. We've followed them from the beginning. Sue loved seeing Sweden this summer and we both like that they keep very current.
3. Sailing Soulianis - I started watching them because they started on Lake Michigan and places familiar to me. I liked their early travels and was particularly interested in their trip down the Illinois/Mississippi/ Ohio/Tennessee/Tom Bigbee river systems to the Gulf. They are a little short on interesting travel and too long on boat processes to me. But they do give some interesting information. I can't binge watch them, so it is fortunate that they aren't regular and take longer breaks. They are over a year behind, though, which is not a plus.
4. La Vagabonde - I always avoided watching them just because of their apparent popularity. I kind of figured that they thrived on voyeuristic teases. Then I got intrigued when they sailed across the Atlantic with Greta Thunberg. Ever since, we've been hooked. I couldn't have been more wrong. They are real personalities, whom are easy to like. We haven't caught up with the 4 years of back videos, but we're slowly getting there. Sue thinks Riley is hilarious and she loves little Lenny. I found that I think he really is a good guy, even though I think that Aussie accent is tiresome. One of the latest episodes had Riley getting chased bare-assed with the drone until one of the propellers nipped his ass. They have a great mix of humor, beautiful destinations, great videography, and a great mix of music. Behind it all is a really close relationship and you get the feeling that Riley knows he is the luckiest guy on the planet. Sue is convinced that a catamaran could make her happy.
5. Tula's Endless Summer - Billy & Sierra are great together. They make their episodes fun. Sierra is incredibly corny, which makes her a delight. Billy is obviously in love with her. I like the constant variety of water sports, especially the kite sailing. Billy also takes on a lot projects that are interesting. Their energy is infectious. The back-story is perfect ... Billy's original boat, Tula, broke down in Florida, where Billy then had to stop and find a job. That's how he met Sierra.
6. Cloudy Bay - They do the best job of showing their destinations and making them interesting. Glen is ridiculously corny and I can make fun of Oana's accent all day long. Sue loves the boat and it's interesting how fastidious they are with it. They take long breaks, so I'm interested when they come back.
So there you have it. It's all about the relationships and the interesting episodes. We don't need to see any more of the Bahamas, though. I'd love to sail there because I know it is far more interesting in person. The Bahamas don't really make a very interesting travel show, though. Too much of the same all the time.
So basically it is the relationships that keep us hooked. It seems obvious to us that the ones we watch have really solid relations and Sue really likes that. I don't think they can be faked. She follows them on Facebook and comments all the time. She has "Top Fan" status on every one that we watch. Our line-up is:
1. S/V Delos - obviously the most long standing. We loved the destinations. The filming has great videography, under water, above and on land. The crew combinations are always interesting. The core relationships are always solid. I do miss Josje, but she needed to go her own way. Sue loves following them even more now that Brian and Karin have a baby.
2. Ran Sailing - I was fascinated to follow their winter travel from Sweden and around the European coast to Canary Islands. Sue saw an episode with Malin and said, "oh, I love her red dress!" She was hooked from there on and now they have a baby. Sue loves that. We've followed them from the beginning. Sue loved seeing Sweden this summer and we both like that they keep very current.
3. Sailing Soulianis - I started watching them because they started on Lake Michigan and places familiar to me. I liked their early travels and was particularly interested in their trip down the Illinois/Mississippi/ Ohio/Tennessee/Tom Bigbee river systems to the Gulf. They are a little short on interesting travel and too long on boat processes to me. But they do give some interesting information. I can't binge watch them, so it is fortunate that they aren't regular and take longer breaks. They are over a year behind, though, which is not a plus.
4. La Vagabonde - I always avoided watching them just because of their apparent popularity. I kind of figured that they thrived on voyeuristic teases. Then I got intrigued when they sailed across the Atlantic with Greta Thunberg. Ever since, we've been hooked. I couldn't have been more wrong. They are real personalities, whom are easy to like. We haven't caught up with the 4 years of back videos, but we're slowly getting there. Sue thinks Riley is hilarious and she loves little Lenny. I found that I think he really is a good guy, even though I think that Aussie accent is tiresome. One of the latest episodes had Riley getting chased bare-assed with the drone until one of the propellers nipped his ass. They have a great mix of humor, beautiful destinations, great videography, and a great mix of music. Behind it all is a really close relationship and you get the feeling that Riley knows he is the luckiest guy on the planet. Sue is convinced that a catamaran could make her happy.
5. Tula's Endless Summer - Billy & Sierra are great together. They make their episodes fun. Sierra is incredibly corny, which makes her a delight. Billy is obviously in love with her. I like the constant variety of water sports, especially the kite sailing. Billy also takes on a lot projects that are interesting. Their energy is infectious. The back-story is perfect ... Billy's original boat, Tula, broke down in Florida, where Billy then had to stop and find a job. That's how he met Sierra.
6. Cloudy Bay - They do the best job of showing their destinations and making them interesting. Glen is ridiculously corny and I can make fun of Oana's accent all day long. Sue loves the boat and it's interesting how fastidious they are with it. They take long breaks, so I'm interested when they come back.
So there you have it. It's all about the relationships and the interesting episodes. We don't need to see any more of the Bahamas, though. I'd love to sail there because I know it is far more interesting in person. The Bahamas don't really make a very interesting travel show, though. Too much of the same all the time.
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