Video Blogs - which do you watch and why?

Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
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.
 
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Aug 16, 2016
38
Pacific Dolphin 24 Phoenix, Arizona
Sailing Sophisticated Lady with Capt. Rick Moore is my favorite. Real life, not just fluff, drama and bikinis...well...just a few but then they are on a boat in the Caribbean.
 
Jan 25, 2007
286
Cal Cal 33-2 cape cod
1- Sailing Uma. Very interesting locations (Norway currently) Impressive boat projects (electrified Old Pearson, redesigned entire interior) both are architects. And good production quality.
2- Sailing Good Bad Ugly. Beautiful girl, so much so I didn't notice anything else.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
The channels I follow share at least one of these characteristics, they have an interesting story, I can learn something, or they are traveling to a place I want to know more about. I also have a penchant for watching wooden boat building/restoration videos.

Sailing Uma: Dan and Kika met in Architecture school, she's from Haiti, he's from Canada. After graduation they bought an old Pearson 36 and have completed a major refit and gone all electric. A fun couple with an interesting story. While the channel is about them, they have a good ethos and try to give back where they can. They supported reforestation in Haiti, a benefit regatta for Haitian fishermen, a handicapped accessible sailing program among others.

Delos: I started watching them many years ago and stopped. Got tired of the seemingly endless parties as they sailed the world. About 6 or 7 months ago I returned, at the same time Bryan and Kazza brought Baby Nugget aboard. Their story become much more interesting and Sierra is a delight.

Calico Skies: Well, they're sailing a Sabre 36, how could I not watch them. :) Ran into them at the Annapolis Boat Show and started following them. A nice couple. They were part of group trapped with Delos in the Bahamas last winter. Bill and Grace often appear in recent Delos videos.

Ryan and Sophie Sailing: Sophie is a riot. She has a tremendous sense of humor and creates entertaining videos. The videos are also very realistic. Ryan is from Iowa, Sophie is French and they met while living in Stockholm. Currently in Curacao.

Adventures of an Old Seadog: Barry is a character. Sailing alone around the world in a steel boat. He, his boat, and the videos are a little rough around the edges but he heads to interesting places. He's in his 60s and living his dream. More power to him.

Ran and White Spot Pirates are channels I drop into once in while. WSP was more interesting in the beginning when Nike was first working on her boat. I admired her honesty and perseverance. Malin and Johan on Ran are nice people who visit interesting places.

Acorn to Arabella, Sampson Boat Co., The Art of Boatbuilding and Louis Sauzedde's Bristol Shipwrights and Tips from Shipwright channel are quite informative if you are interested in wooden boat building and restoration.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I forgot to mention … one of the things I like most about Cloudy Bay is that Glen got into the habit of doing an overview on a chart to show the days' destinations. I love the navigational awareness of this technique.
 
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Likes: jon hansen
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I’m glad this thread was created. I don’t watch any of them very much. This gives me some guidance on what to try. I’m not a big fan of watching others sail. But I like learning about destinations. I can do without the interpersonal dramas.
 
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Likes: 31seahorse
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
One I recently started watching, and forgot to mention, is TimB at Sea. Tim is a Tug Captain based in NY Harbor. He pushes barges around NY and beyond. Something faintly addicting to watching a heavily ladened barge being pushed up to a dock or waiting freighter. The narrative is about what he is doing and why and a bit about the locale he is in.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I like DIY stuff:

Sail Life - this guy is a perfectionist extraordinaire, and is ~4 years into a refit of his current project boat. He finally splashed it, but is still working on all of the interior stuff.

Sailing Cadoha - these Brits own the same boat as Sail Life...but they are just out sailing and living on their boat (still in England I think) and are fixing things as they go... replacing standing rigging, installing diesel heater, etc.

Odd Life Crafting - this young couple in South America (Brazil maybe) bought a steel sailboat that had been abandoned for 20 years or so, and are bringing it back to life. They recently put Odd (the name of the boat) in the water, but pulled her out again to replace the engine....

Free Range Sailing - these Aussie’s are laid up in Tasmannia and are in the middle of a refit...Old boat, not a lot of fancy stuff, but they fabricated a new fiberglass dodger, refit their standing rigging with dyneema, and just painted the hull.

Sailing Yaba - These kids are a bit crazy...they met the Odd Life Crafting crew in Brazil or where ever they were, when they brought their 70-foot wood sailboat in for repairs (she was sinking). Odd Life introduced these kids to the YouTube world. They have now moved to a new location, have hauled the boat out, and are replacing the wood starting at the keel and working their way up...one heck of a project.

Sailing Millennial Falcon - these kids are sailing another good old boat, and learning how to repair her along the way. They have done A bit of a refit and are in the Caribbean now I think.

Sailing Kittiwake - These young people are on a Tayana 37 or so. Left the UK and are sailing all over...in the Caribbean now too I think. But they also said their boats was for sale... not sure what that is about. They had a chainplate come right off the hull and have had to deal with other maintenance issues since they purchased SKUA.

Lots of entertaining video to watch while stuck in a winter layup.

Greg
 
May 27, 2004
1,964
Hunter 30_74-83 Ponce Inlet FL
I'm with Talley Ho on this. I'm older than Barry Perrins on "Sea Dog", and like him, I've experienced enough 'drama filled' relationships for two lifetimes.
So, I watch for repair, refurbish, retrofit, replace and refresh ideas on those Vlogs.
Can you say Arrr?
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I’m glad this thread was created. I don’t watch any of them very much. This gives me some guidance on what to try. I’m not a big fan of watching others sail. But I like learning about destinations. I can do without the interpersonal dramas.
Surprisingly, most of the episodes we watch have very little sailing. That actually gets pretty tedious when I have seen a few document their passages. They typically spend most of their time showing their water-based and land based activities. They reveal quite a bit about their lives, and I would say that they are never about negative interpersonal dramas (at least the ones we watch). It's actually very refreshing to watch couples whom have obviously great relationships. If they don't they must be great fakers, but I'm finding them to be refreshingly genuine.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I like Old Sea Dog and first saw him when he was in White Spot Pirates episodes. Sue has no interest in an old sea dog, though, so I don't get to catch up with him very often!.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,371
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
I've watched some of the above mentioned. One I like is Drake Paragon. Mainly because he is currently sailing across Greenland. Has been for a time. Has an interesting mixture of sailing, fixing, route planning, talking with locals. I haven't watched all shows of any one of these listed. I don't have the patience.

There are two others I can't think of their names sailing in the high latitudes I watch from time to time. One guy is single handing, and he is pretty crazy, but he does talk about how he makes single handing work up there. The other is a couple. The guy does most of the talking. His girl friend is quite attractive but is rarely in the videos - so they aren't selling the sex as so many of the youtubers seem to be doing... This couple is sailing the coast of Norway and their videos are varied, sufficiently short, and sufficiently information filled. Sorry, I'd have to dig up the names...


dj
 
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Likes: Scott T-Bird
May 17, 2004
5,026
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Great question. Lots of similarities between my list and some of the ones above. I tend to prefer boat projects, whether how-to or just “how we did” as Expedition Evans recently described their channel. Destinations don’t really interest me unless it’s someplace I’ve been and can relate to. My YouTube subscribed list, in order of my preferences, is:

1) Sail Life. I really enjoy all the projects and attention to detail. Plus he seems very personable and it’ll be interesting to see how his plans evolve once he leaves his day job and starts cruising with his fiancé.

2) Boatworks Today. Great how-to for fiberglass and paint work.

3)Expedition Evans. Their enthusiasm makes up for their relatively lower level of experience. Seeing how they take on the challenges that the boat gives them and just make it all part of the journey is fun to watch. A lot like Sail Life in that sense - the work doesn’t feel like drudgery.

4) Cloudy Bay. I think Glen’s dry humor is pretty darn funny myself. Good mix of boat work, life, and places that I could imagine myself sailing.

5) Onboard Lifestyle. Lots of interesting boat projects. Earlier this summer they started cruising in the PNW and I sort of tuned out, but now they’re back to projects again.

6) Ryan and Sophie. Lots of fun to watch for their perspective, and a good mix of various boat life topics.

7) Ran Sailing. I’m not too interested in the destinations around Sweden, but then they go back to good boat project episodes too.

8) Patrick Laine. Posts when he’s back from singlehanded trips around the North Atlantic.

9) Erik Aanderra. This is probably the crazy single handed high latitude guy dlj meant above. Fun to watch for his passion.

10) Tim B at Sea. Like Dave said it’s pretty fun to watch him move the tug around and talk through what he’s doing.

11) Sailing Soulianis. Fun to watch the mix of boat projects and destinations that I’d want to sail one day.

I do watch Vagabonde and Delos from time to time. I don’t care for their sightseeing so much but when they’re doing projects or on a passage I try to catch up.
 
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Oct 2, 2008
3,807
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Nope, too busy watching paint dry.

OK, checked on two sites, could have sworn we met one couple. Interesting but time consuming. Might look into the little swim faster gadget, might be a way to check the boat bottom.
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,043
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
There are two others I can't think of their names sailing in the high latitudes I watch from time to time. One guy is single handing, and he is pretty crazy, but he does talk about how he makes single handing work up there. The other is a couple. The guy does most of the talking. His girl friend is quite attractive but is rarely in the videos - so they aren't selling the sex as so many of the youtubers seem to be doing... This couple is sailing the coast of Norway and their videos are varied, sufficiently short, and sufficiently information filled. Sorry, I'd have to dig up the names...
You're probably thinking of "Alluring Arctic". That's Juho. I'm interested in their travels as well, but Sue doesn't understand cold weather sailing. I like that he mixes skiing in with sailing. I'm fascinated with that idea. These are blogs that Sue & I watch together, so I have to follow the ones she is most interested in and she generally doesn't want to see snow and sailing in the same episodes. Recently, Ran came across this couple in Sweden, I think. They were very briefly introduced.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,371
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
@Scott T-Bird and @Davidasailor26 seem to know what I'm watching better than I do! Hahaha

Alluring Artic is correct as is Erik Aanderra!

There was an episode in Alluring Arctic where they anchored in a Fiorde and the method they used was really very well done given the constraints of he anchorage.

dj
 
Feb 27, 2004
172
Hunter 335 North East, MD
Two more to add to the list which I have enjoyed:
1) Gone with the Wynns
2) Sailing Yacht Talisman
Both imho have a nice mix of actual sailing and doing maintenance and changing boat systems
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
cloudy bay, i like the sailing
sailing nandji, i like the kids.
sam holmes sailing, i like the kid
 
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