"Reality" Youtube Sailing Channels

[chrisr]

we occasionally watch stuff showing destinations or island that we are heading to, to get some background info. some are quite well done with drone shots etc that give a really useful idea of what a place is like before you arrive.

very selective though as so much is tits n bums for the folk back home

cheers,

[Bobby Lex]

There are 168 hours in a 7-day week. When you condense those 120 hours into a single 20-minute video how "realistic" can it be? You're leaving an awful lot of your actual activities during that week out of that video. That doesn't mean you're intentionally misleading anyone.

In fact, the channels I find the most boring are the raw footage ones where all they do is show one camera angle endlessly. Or the ones where all they do is talk into the camera. You may be getting "everything" with nothing edited out. But it's boring as heck to me.

There are several sailing channels out there that offer excellent content without any cleavage. The Sailing Brothers, Ryan and Sophie Sailing, Distant Shores TV, and many others, including some of the channels noted in previous posts.

I think that there is really a good range and variety of boating content out there to suit most everyone's expectations. And if there's nothing out there that interests you, that's ok too. No one's forcing you to watch.

Bob

[shrspeedblade]

I watch several channels, but for different reasons.

One I have some personal insight on is "Salt and Tar", since until recently they were building the boat at Napa Valley Marina. Very authentic- they really did grind for over 6 years to build a wooden sailboat and are probably nicer in person than even on screen.

As they go cruising I'm glad to see they still plan to include plenty of the "building" aspect of it because of course of boat like that is never "done" just adequate to your needs. I think it helps them stay unique and keep their fan base as well.

[Marathon1150]

I used to watch several channels from time to time, including some of those mentioned in previous posts. Having just spent two months on the boat, I didn't really need any videos to help me understand boat life. But the "how to" vids are often very helpful, despite having worked on my own boats for more than 30 years.

There are now only two channels that I watch from time to time and neither is about living aboard - they are about sailing. Christian Williams offers excellent commentary, terrific music and serious introspection regarding this weird affliction of wanting to be at sea in a small boat and in his case, as a single hander.

The second, "Life is Like Sailing" is beautifully created and presented. This series evolved from fixing up a C&C something, into a videographic catalogue of sailing on the BC coast. As others have noted, it is an excellent way to learn about new routes and anchorages as a prelude to being there on your own (or someone else's) boat.

[fsuklee]

I only watch a couple, typically only monohauls. Mostly people fixing up small trailerable sailboats. There is one channel, Chasing Lattitudes. The guys personality and all of his videos are not for everyone. But he did a few live feeds from his audience that had them doing a livefeed from the boat. One in particular the guy had an engine issue and was losing power and it was basically a live troubleshooting show. I learned more watching that than 20 hours of people running around in the Exumas.

[Iron E]

We've watched Sailing YouTubers when we're at home and bored. So, not very often

No, we don't give sailing YouTubers patronage... It would be like sending some stranger money to enjoy a vacation while I work... F that

We've watched sailing Youtubers mostly for entertainment value. Christian, No BS Guy, and we used to watch some smiley guy named Sam. We joked that we could watch as a drinking game, where we took a shot every time he broke out the Ryobi to drill a hole in his boat.
Oh, and we enjoy Captain Q's channel

I have made it a point to avoid a guy that calls himself a "Rigging Doctor" -an irritating and horrible channel with stupid (and possibly dangerous) advice.

Currently, a channel, where we find value is HowNOT2
The guy's name is Ryan and I would definitely send him $$ for what I've gleaned from his channel.

[nwdiver]

Follow the boat are real people out there…

[fsuklee]

Originally Posted by nwdiver

Follow the boat are real people out there…

I agree some of their stuff is travel channel worthy (actually better). They also cover areas many do not.

[Bowdrie]

I enjoy a few.
1, Adventures of an old Seadog, Barry. (I can commiserate with him).
2, Sam Holmes, (keeps a good attitude in the midst of semi-disasters).
3, Sailing Attica, (they seem to really enjoy more than just the boat).
And because of my background.
1, Salt and Tar, (how to go sailing on a boat built from "house building wood").
2, Acorn to Arabella, (talk about a true Luddite).
3, Tally Ho, Leo, (a somewhat rare person among the younger generation).

[shrspeedblade]

As someone else mentioned another big thumbs up for Captain Q Yacht Hunter.

Very fun pair wandering the East Coast looking at a variety of classic yachts. I don't know how you could like sailboats and not enjoy the channel!

[dabizi]

I watch a few as well during the off season to kill some time but not when we’re cruising.
Always remember that this is show business. A lot of scenes are setup to make it look more or less real. It’s sometimes fun to watch but there is very little real about it. You typically see a few ‘fake’ minutes of a day but nothing about the other 23.5 hours.

Many are sponsored by companies and they just need to say something nice about all the free stuff they receive so you will also buy it for your boat. (Another 5 minutes done).

Like other people mentioned, many channels appear to be ‘experts’ but are providing sometimes wrong and even dangerous advice. Some are nicely made and entertaining to watch. There are a few real sailors out there that make videos as well and are very informative.

[ben2go]

I watch quite a few sailing channels. I do not throw money at any channel. I don't watch channels that constantly post videos dedicated to products or services. I am 45 years old as of this post. I'm twice divorced, working on getting out of my current relationship. I don't care for scantly clad females in pretty scenery. What I look for in a sailing channel is sailing and making repairs on the move. I want to see how the person operating the boat is handling it. How is the boat rigged. How does the reefing system work. At what wind speed do they reef. What tactics do they use during heavy weather sailing. How do they handle situations that go bad. I really like on the fly repairs using what's available. Almost anyone can replace parts with new parts. If the boat pops a leak hundreds of miles from shore and all they have is bubble gum, duck tape, and hope, I want to see what they do to make their situation better. Real sailing, real situations, and real problem solving on the fly.

[Motorsailer4me]

I like The Sailing Brothers. Two brits who show sailing all over in a 34' Rival. No bikinis just sailing. Sail changes, weather, challenges making food.

[jalmberg]

I tend to watch YouTube for information rather than entertainment, though I like a well filled bikini as much as the next guy. My interests evolve over time, depending on what we are doing. For the last couple years we were gearing up to cross the Atlantic, which mainly meant steeling our nerves since we had the right boat and experience. I especially liked Sam Holmes and Eric the Norwegian sailor for different reasons. Sam, because my inevitable reaction to one of his videos was, “well, if he can do it in that boat, then we can definitely do it!” And Eric because he always reminds me that well built boats are strong. Really strong. The boat is going to get there; it’s your job to be on it when it arrives!

I would say most YouTube videos are snippets of reality, barely edited, because taking, editing, and uploading videos is really hard and time consuming. I really wanted to film a lot of our crossing, but found it really difficult. First because the exciting bits don’t get filmed because you are too busy to mess with cameras. Second, because at sea laptops become flying objects. I really respect people like La Vagabonds, who make high production value videos, because it really requires a huge commitment of time and effort (mainly by Elena, I suspect!) It also took years to get that good. It must be exhausting to always be coming up with new ideas, while dealing with 2 kids and a husband who’s mainly interested in sailing. While maintaining that flat stomach!

Anyway, it’s all a matter of taste.

[Not a spy]

Cruising Meraki
https://youtu.be/RVx1KzKln-I
Cruising Maya
https://youtu.be/WsUOU7zKW_Q
Sailing soulianis
https://youtu.be/6V5lPv8AN0g
Tom Cunliffe
https://youtu.be/8xXB_MPooY4
Sailing Fair Isle
https://youtu.be/0gO-61zpo3s
Searching for coconuts (animated tutorials)
https://youtu.be/8m_ivNgwExI
Maryland School of Sailing
https://youtu.be/iIRLTyp8vhg

Subscribe but not a patreon.
I also check in to many of the channels already listed and also
Wind Hippie
https://youtu.be/_gRK7U2KBIA