Cruising Around the World on YouTube

[Midpack]

I realize this will appeal to a small audience here, but for any sailors...

With many boats on the hard for winter, I stumbled into the YouTube world of cruisers, and was surprised and fascinated by what I found! There are way more couples/friends/families who have sold everything and/or put careers on hold, to sail all over the world.

• These are NOT racers, and most of them are in no hurry, letting weather and other factors dictate when and where they go.
• Some are island hopping (usually sailing 1-4 days between stops), many have or plan on ocean crossings (provisioning for 3 months)!
• They range considerably in ages and budgets
• Their stories are made up in varying degrees of sailing footage, boat handling, boat maintenance, adapting to living on a boat full time, fishing, storm sailing, seasickness, culture/travel (prominent in some), how they fund their adventures (some work, some don't), their boat and video equipment, etc.
• Some are a little racy*, others not at all **.
• Some of these folks are accomplished sailors, others bought boats with no prior experience.
• The production quality is outstanding, multiple cameras and some regularly use drones.
• Some put out videos once a week or more, others just a handful and some are no longer adding episodes.

My favorites in no particular order:

• RAN Sailing
• Gone with the Wynns
• DrakeParagon **
• Shaun & Julia Sailing
• Sailing La Vagabonde
• Monday Never
• Team Giddyup
• Annie Ford
• Sea Change
• Chasing Bubbles
• Cruising Off Duty

Some others I liked less or haven't gotten to;
SV Delos *, Chase the Story, s/v Prism, The Sailing Family, Wicked Salty, Sail Life, Follow the Boat, Sailing Nervous, Sailing Baby Blue, S/V Catching Rays, White Spot Pirates, Miss Lone Star Travels, Adventure Adrift, Cruising LeaLea, Rick Moore/Sailing Sophisticated Lady, Jessica and Ryan Adventures, Tula's Endless Summer, Christian Williams, Landi Boats, Seadog Cooper, Guazutembo.

I am sure there are many others. If you're looking for other ways to get your sailing fix while your boat is covered in snow...

Maybe I'm among the last to realize it and I've said it before, but YouTube is so much more than cat videos these days - in content and quality!

 

[Options]

I would agree, but it's not just YouTube. For me, it's blogs--I get to hang out with "the smartest people in the room", who I would never have had access to before, and in the most efficient manner possible.

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately as I've recently reviewed my retirement books. It seems there's a theme for retirees and early retirees alike of a dreaded fear of turning into some type of angry, reclusive, lonely, old person in retirement. I believe this fear is no longer warranted if you're smart about it. There's plenty to learn, be exposed to, and enriched by via the internet. I also believe this provides a degree of agency that was never available before. Unfortunately, 95% of it (i.e., YouTube cat videos), is worthless, but the other 5% can be priceless.

BTW, just before I retired, I gave serious thought to chucking it all and living in an RV or aboard a sailboat. Reading blogs and such of the first hand experience convinced me otherwise.

 

[haha]

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately as I've recently reviewed my retirement books. It seems there's a theme for retirees and early retirees alike of a dreaded fear of turning into some type of angry, reclusive, lonely, old person in retirement.

Well, with any degree of luck we will all turn into old persons in retirement. Those other attributes are possible but not required.

Ha

 

[Options]

Yes, and hopefully very lucky. I should have been more specific, as in the sources are anything but flattering when using the term "old".