London Boat Show draws near and as usual I will be helping out Drascombe by Churchouse on their stand SB001 - come along and say hello - last year I met several people who read these pages and it was great to hear their thoughts.
Although it is a shorter show this year, there are two other events being run alongside which should ensure it is a busy place to be.
Video blogs - Vlogs
Love them...hate them.....there is a mixed bunch out there. I have to admit I alternate between extreme jealousy and bouts of frustrated rage that I can't be out there having the same adventures.
The best I find, strike a balance between white sand and palm trees, bums and bikinis and some real life experiences, dramas and the reality of sailing and living aboard a relatively small boat.
I have a top three or four that I watch and find that they consistently deliver this mix :
Top without a doubt is La Vagabonde - which follows the adventures of Riley and Elayna, two young Australians who hooked up together to sail the world.
Riley bought his first boat without any sailing experience or knowledge and taught himself by trail and error - by the time he meet Elayna he had obviously learnt enough not to scare her to death and they continued on the adventures together - they fund their travels through a variety of means - their You Tube channel attracts Patreons and they have achieved a level of success that must be almost unique - to the extent that they have managed to swop their faithful mono hull for a brand new 45 ft Outremer catamaran. They are currently in the Med and intend to spend the summer of 2018 in the US so some long trips ahead
Follow their adventures on their You Tube channel - La Vagabonde or visit their website
A close second but with a slightly different take on it must be SV Delos.
Brian, his brother Brady, Karin are the main crew joined currently by Alex,, Lisa and Elizabeth are the current crew - between them they represent the US, Sweden, Austria and good old Blighty.
The boat, Delos, is a ketch rigged
53 foot Amel Super Maramu , built in 2000 in which they are travelling the globe.
The three permanent fixtures the skipper Brian, Karin and Brady have been joined periodically by friends and people who follow their adventures and are invited to join them. The main emphasis is sailing but they do explore the places they visit and using their network of 'followers' they get to see the local area and enjoy adventures away from the water. They are currently in Recife, Brazil.
Their You tube channel is - SV Delos and their website can be reach by this link
Third and perhaps not as polished as the other two is RAN Sailing
A Swedish couple, Malin and Johan, decided to give up the rat race in 2016 and set off from the cold climes of northern Europe on their adventures - they are currently in San Blas Islands, Panama.
Johan had travelled extensively before and many places are a return visit for him. For Malin it s all new territory.
Theur boat is a custom built aluminium Beason 40 built in 1987. Easy to watch and with many practical issues to address it is interesting seeing their transition from the early days to their current location in Panama.
Their video log can be found at
RAN Sailing and their website using this
link
No mention of San Blas, Panama can pass with out a look at White Spot Pirates - Untie the Lines.
These are the adventures of Nike Steiger, a young lady from Hamburg, who defines White Spots as undiscovered areas in the map of her life. She sold up and bought a fairly dilapidated boat she called
KARL who is a Reinke Super 10, built in 1992 in aluminium.
Together they have ventured as far as Cuba and it's fair to say watching the videos can leave you feeling exhausted. Nike is very practical and determined and seems to weather all sort of problems, certainly in the early days that would have made less resolute people run for the hills.
Her You Tube channel is here and her website can be found here
Do you have any favourites or recommendations??
Keep Turning Left seems to be the best of the UK bunch but I gather that Dylan Winter, the author, is in two minds whether to continue. I hope he does and I will look at his site again after Christmas but I do understand the pressures of keeping it up to date - even my little effort takes time which can be hard to find theses days.
