I started watching YouTube sailing videos in about 2014 when I discovered Sailing la Vagabonde. I’d never really considered that sailing was something I could be interested in, I didn’t know anything about it at all. I remember being on holiday with my wife in Greece a few times and seeing sailing yachts moored up in the harbours, and I think there was a curiosity about the boats, and the people eating what I probably assumed were fancy lunches on them. I must have seen yachts in the sea, or in harbours or marinas, but I don’t really remember. They were just part of the view, not something to be interacted with. A different world. Billionaire bosses and boat shoes.
Anyway, I ignored sailing, and sailing ignored me, until one day a cooking show I watched linked to la Vagabonde. I was suddenly given a peek behind the curtain, a view into a previously unknown world and I was pretty curious, so I kept watching. These people seemed… normal, approachable. I started to consume the la Vagabonde back catalogue, and was curious if there were more people making these videos. A quick google later and I’d found Delos, and after a couple of tries (their early videos were hard to get through) I started working my way through their back catalogue too, and so started my interest in sailing that has lasted 8 years, and has now seen us buy our own boat.
Over those years I’ve gathered a number of YouTube subscriptions and figured I’d share them here, save people having to dig through the less great content out there to find some gems.
- SV Delos - Try to push through the earlier videos, this one of the most widely respected sailing channels out there, but the early videos don’t do them justice.
- Sail Life - First several years are a re-fit (which was very well filmed and I loved), but they’re sailing now.
- Ran Sailing
- Sailing Uma
- Sailing Millennial Falcon
- Erik Aanderaa
- Sailing Yacht Florence
- Sailing Project Atticus
- Christian Williams
- Sailing cos I love it
- How to Sail Oceans
- Sailing Sweet Ruca
- Calico Skies Sailing
- Magic Carpet
- Parlay Revival
- Sailing La Vagabonde - I don’t watch them as much anymore, they do a lot less stuff I’m interested in.
- Gone with the Wynns
- Sailing Soulianis
- Sam Holmes Sailing
- MJ Sailing - Currently doing a rather dry, no pun untended, boat build, but see old videos.
- Sailing Kittiwake - They seem to have stopped posting now
- Sailing Ruby Rose - Currently rather dry Catamaran videos, but the earlier stuff was good.
Some of these are pure sailing, some more “lifestyle” sailing. I like each for different reasons. Some I tolerate and only watch when I’ve run out of other stuff, but see what you like. Bear in mind not everything these people do is a good idea, but it’s a pretty easy way of immersing yourself in the scene without any outlay.