YouTube Sailors - Overly Romanticized Or Just Lacking Details?

[markhatter]

https://youtu.be/L_X88GKaTpA
Sailing Aticus is close to normal.
But it depend on your budget and experience living in the islands. Expectations are diffrent than in North America. Once you learn to slow down and enjoy the people around you and not let the bad get close.... life is good.

[simplesail]

I enjoy Free Range Sailing, an Australian couple, How to Sail Oceans, a guy on gaff rig with no engine, and anything with more how-to than just sandy beaches and sundowners

[swisssailoralex]

Hello!
I got inspired by the same channels and started my "Winded Voyage" about 4 years ago. I documented everything from the very beginning. Choosing a boat. Buying it. Doing a Swiss blue water license. Renovating the boat. And finally sailing from the south of France along the coast of Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Canary Islands and now have been in the islands of Cape Verde. By following my voyage, you'll see what it takes to get to where I am now.

Cheers, Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/c/WindedVoyage

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hukilaumike

I'm surprised no one has yet to mention White Spot Pirates as a Youtube vlog that is more on the "realistic" side. Nike (for those of you who don't know, she is a young German woman who bought a fixer-upper aluminum boat in Panama) shows the good and bad of the cruising lifestyle. And her videos are very professionally edited and well done. She shows us video of her scared during off shore lightning storms, angry and frustrated with her engine, elated during inland hikes, meeting locals (the series is in English, but she also speaks fluent Spanish), and interacting with other cruisers. I think the series has become somewhat repetitive at this point, but I still watch every week.
...

I’ve only seen a few of hers, but I was amazed at how lucky she was to have multiple cameras all set up and rolling just at these “real” crisis moments in her “real” life.

These videos feel as real to me as most reality TV shows. Videos like these are clearly meant to manipulate the viewer so as to generate clicks and donations.

Nothing wrong with that. Media has always done this. But don’t be fooled into thinking what you’re seeing in these videos is reality. Every second is crafted for a purpose.

[Gaphumbala]

Emerald Steel is a real You Tube channel. A good balance of everything in cruising.

[docsnuz]

I'll second a recommendation for the Shards
https://distantshores.ca/
They don't rely on bikinis and never-ending sunny days to hook viewers.

Having said that, I really think Bryan, Brady and Karin balance out the dream and the reality quite well. It wasn't a gross misrepresentation on your wife if they helped spark the interest in sailing.

IMHO you have to watch the "boring" episodes of any VLOG to catch the reality. If you fast forward to the next sunny beach scene, then you're not taking advantage of the experiences of these long-term cruisers. Follow their trials and tribulations clearing in, finding parts, dealing with bad weather, etc. as well as the beach parties and, of course, the bright and sunny beam reaches!

[spsell]

My wife and I are not full time cruisers, but spend 8 weeks a year on a shared 36 ft. monohaul sailboat in the Bahamas. We both enjoy watching YouTube videos when we have a few minutes to get our off boat time fix. Favorites are Sailing Nandji, Atticus and SV Sarean. One of my favorites is Christian Williams Single handing videos to Hawaii. In my younger years, I have done a number of single handed sails and passages and I know the crazy things you go through physically and mentally when trying to pass the time and miles: Talking to the dolphins or ghosts you imagine near by, dancing on deck to the wind Gods, and wondering if anyone in the world actually misses you, among other crazy mental gyrations that come from being alone for days at a time. Maybe it was more apparent when I didn't have all the new conveniences of modern boats. These weird emotions and mental states of mind a person goes through are hard to explain to someone that has never done it. But for me it is fun to relive them through people like these YouTuber's that continue to do these types of adventures. I like watching the couples videos, not because they only show the glamorous side, but because they don't mind showing both the goods and bads of dealing with a maintenance ridden, black hole, cash sucking venture that most boats tend to be. I used these videos to help my wife understand what life was like on a boat before we committed to buy our partnership share. Cruising part-time like we do now, we find the experiences are more in the middle of glorious and disaster, especially if you stay on top of repairs regularly. I have the same issues with the house we live it. There are always things that need to be done. But I think it is all a matter of perspective. These fix-it and maintenance things can help pass the time and create peace or they can drive you crazy. I am in the former group. I honestly believe most of the YouTuber's are trying to show reality as it relates to them. Take the good out of the ones you watch and understand, your experience may be better or worse if you take up this life-style. It is all a matter of perspective. These people work very hard to provide valuable content, I would much rather share my free time watching these types of videos that keep us engaged in the sailing lifestyle than supporting some big movie production studio movies and series.

[gallatin1988]

I don't follow any YouTubers religiously. There are several, whose names don't come to me offhand, that I occasionally watch.


Where I think YouTube is useful is in seeing how different people deal with a specific problems, situations, etc. For instance, I have been watching a lot videos of sailboat surveys since I'm in the process of searching for and maybe buying a boat.I have also watched more than a few videos about composting toilets and sailboats. However, I do take these videos with a grain of salt but they are potentially useful additional data points in to take into consideration. I also will some videos of people who own boats I'm currently considering to see the boat in action, lay down below, motion at sea, sail configurations, etc.

[gallatin1988]

How to Sail Oceans is a good one.

[Shrew]

La Vagabond discussed this exact topic a few years ago. They were gently criticized by a fan for romanticizing their experience and didn't show the more challenging and difficult aspects of long distance, long term cruising.

They admitted they were somewhat guilty, but also mentioned that when things are going pear-shaped and it's 'all hands on deck' there isn't enough time or hands to start shooting footage. They do try to discuss the experience after the fact, but a story in a sunny anchorage simply doesn't have the same impact as them trying to drop sails in a sudden squall, or going aground.

In those instances, the last thing I would be thinking is "OOh, let's film this".

[john61ct]

I just can't stand the medium, video is just 99% a waste of time.

If you want to pass on solid information, put it in writing afaic. Then if some aspect like a technical procedure would benefit, do a quick and dirty video, but keep it to just a few minutes, and don't use that medium to verbally communicate the stuff that's much more quickly absorbed by reading.

[hamburking]

I also watch these youtube shows. And since you asked, here are a few of my thoughts:

Sailing is slow. They gloss over how long a day of sailing can be if you want to go 50 miles. Thats 10 hours at 5 knots. TEN HOURS. Ocean passages are even longer. I crossed the atlantic from Gran Canaria to Antigua in 20 days. No wifi, no tv. Just wind and rolling back and forth for literally weeks. Sailing is really slow, and according to my kids...super boring.

Worry. Unlike watching a video, you don't know how the story will turn out. Will your anchor hold overnight? Will your boat be there when you come back from a day trip ashore? Will a sudden storm cause instant catastrophe. And even if you do everything right, that doesn't stop some idiot on another boat from crashing into you and ruining your dream.

Dirty work. Boats take constant cleaning and minor repair. Changing fuel filters can be stinky and messy. Oil changes even worse. One time doing an oil change on my own boat, the oil was so acidic that it burned off some of my fingernails. They eventually grew back. You get really dirty working on engines and in the bowels of a sailboat.

Money. Boats are expensive. Boat parts are expensive. Ask any sailor. I've often gone to a boat store to buy some simple little part that I figure would cost maybe $4 at most, just to find it costs $104. I kid you not. I got stuck at a marina once because of high winds, and had no choice but to stay and pay, and pay, and pay. And heaven forbid you need a marine diesel mechanic to come down to your boat....it can cost hundreds of dollars even before he steps aboard.

But there is also good stuff they can't even begin to show. The incredible sense of success, accomplishment, satisfaction, achievement, and dare I say...happiness....at completing a long passage, or making it through a storm, or arriving at a place that is so wonderful you think you are living in a movie. It is that wonderful feeling that is my drug, that keeps me sailing in the rain and the cold, spray stinging my eyes, the boat stinking of diesel, my gut churning with sea-sickness and bad food....ahhh....I can't wait!!!!

[MWhite]

Oh boy. I rarely post but do feel compelled to answer you on this one. I live aboard our 47 foot ketch, S/V Galapagos, currently on the Pacific Coast of Mexico motoring into big swells because we need to move north. We've been cruising full time for 2 years and sailed down the west coast of the U.S. from Tacoma, WA. You Tube videos cannot possibly tell you how things are going to go out here. No matter how 'real' they are, they are not ever going to prepare you for the 24/7 of living on a boat. No one wants to watch the day to day grind of living aboard a small vessel, no matter how much click bait is offered. To think that a You Tube video, no matter how 'reality based' can accurately reflect this life is like thinking people's Facebook pages accurately reflect their lives. Sailing is the least of it. You might actually sail 20% of the time and I'm being generous there. (Of course, that depends on the boat). A liveaboard course is great. But that, too, is no substitute for the long haul. Other people have done a good job of answering the stuff about how you need to enjoy working on boats, etc but I don't have the bandwidth to go through all the responses. Has anyone alerted you to how this is going to completely change the dynamics of your relationship? Has anyone mentioned that the power dynamics are going to be up for grabs? Has anyone talked about how one person's risk aversion can impact the other person's fun? (Surf landings in the dinghy, anyone?) I'm glad your wife is now interested in sailing. Sailing is fun most of the time. But, again, sailing is a very, very small part of the overall picture. Please ask yourselves the hard questions such as how much discomfort you are willing to experience to reach a goal, how risk averse each of you are, how well you communicate during times of stress (because there is a LOT of that), how many times you need to get up to pee during the night (because let me tell you this: crawling over your spouse 4 times a night is, as we say here in Mexico, NO BUENO), how important is your personal space to you and your personal privacy? Any and all relationship issues you currently have will be magnified many fold when you move onto a boat. (30 years as a psychotherapist talking here, and also an experienced cruiser.) I'm not trying to discourage you. But I'd like to see you be successful. I personally know three boats who left the Pacific Northwest when we did and have sold their boat after the first year. Why? Because the fun/suck ratio was out of whack for at least one partner. I feel lucky every single day that we had several years of cruising for weeks in the summer, away from everything, to work some of these things out before we left the dock. And still there have been many, many challenges. It's a great life once you get through those, if they don't break you first. I'm going to go out on a limb here and recommend you get in touch with Behan and Jamie Gifford on board Totem. They have a great coaching service for potential cruisers and are good people. Just google them. All the best of luck to you and your wife in your future retirement, whether it's on a boat or not.

[Birchcraft]

Just finished this highly realistic book. Biggest mistake? Cruising while trying to maintain loan payments on the boat. Really gets into the details of maintenance such as having enough spare alternator belts. A Sail of Two Idiots by Renee Petrillo.



https://www.mhprofessional.com/97800...aribbean-group

[SailnBlue]

Originally Posted by edselby

I was interested in sailing before the explosive popularity of YouTube sailing channels, but I confess that it was Uma, Delos, Vagabond, and Wynns that was able to get my wife equally excited.

Now we are incorporating sailing in our retirement plans, and will likely do a couples live-aboard learn to sail course in the next 6-12 months.

As with anything billed as "reality TV", I am entertained by but skeptical about the content from the YouTube sailors, and I need a reality check from real life sailing veterans.

Who gets it right?

Who almost gets it right?

Who is just full of bilge scum?

Here are two sailing couples that have likely forgot more than most of us know..

Patrick Childress
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC7DRvfDAoFn5eMyfTnaA8w

Sailing Emerald Steel
https://www.youtube.com/user/sujules