Cat Family
Sailing La Vagabonde is a popular sailing vlog that chronicles the global voyages of Riley Whitelum, Elayna Carausu and their son Lennon aboard their Outremer 45 catamaran, La Vagabonde. The couple began cruising together more than five years ago, originally sailing a Beneteau Cyclades in the Mediterranean before moving up to the larger catamaran that serves as their floating home. Their videos document life at sea: navigating between ports, exploring coastal towns, diving and fishing, and coping with the practical and emotional challenges of long-term liveaboard cruising.
Their YouTube channel blends day-to-day cruising routines with longer-form storytelling that highlights seamanship, boat maintenance, and family life under sail. Episodes often include footage of passage-making, anchorages, provisions, and weather planning, giving viewers both inspiration and practical insight into catamaran cruising. In 2019 the couple gained international attention when they transported climate activist Greta Thunberg from Norfolk, Virginia, to Lisbon, Portugal, en route to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid. That voyage underscored the channel’s emphasis on low-carbon travel and real-world ocean crossings.
Beyond entertaining vlogs, La Vagabonde’s content can be a resource for sailors interested in catamarans, sustainable cruising, and the lifestyle trade-offs of living full-time on a boat. Their footage shows how an Outremer 45 handles long passages and day-to-day life for a small family, offering valuable examples of provisioning, energy management, onboard schooling, and child safety at sea. For anyone researching family sailing, catamarans for liveaboard use, or the realities of ocean passages, their channel provides a thorough, personal view of modern cruising.
More salty reads
Cantankerous Cooperation — In Carol Newman Cronin’s novel Ferry to Cooperation Island, James Malloy is a gruff, old-school ferry captain who once ran the route between Brenton Island and Newport, Rhode Island. After being quietly replaced by a new female skipper, Courtney Farris, Malloy is forced ashore and retreats into a bitter, solitary life. The story begins to change when Malloy discovers survey markers and taped stakes laid across an undeveloped parcel of land that means everything to a terminally ill Narragansett friend. Faced with the prospect of a golf-course development that would erase open space and damage a culturally significant landscape, Malloy is drawn into a fight to protect the shoreline and the memory of his friend.
The novel explores themes of stewardship, community, and reconciliation as Malloy reluctantly seeks allies, including the very skipper who replaced him. As he opens up to cooperation and broader perspectives, he confronts long-buried secrets and learns that personal pride must sometimes yield to shared purpose. Cronin’s story is both a coastal drama and a character study, appealing to readers who like maritime settings, small-town politics, and thoughtful portrayals of friendship and loss. (Paperback available; publisher: She Writes Press, approximate price listed at time of release: $17.)
Pure Class — Nathaniel Herreshoff’s S Class sloops, first designed in 1919, rank among the most elegant small racing yachts in American sailing history. Over the next two decades, 94 wooden S Class boats were built, and many survive today as lovingly restored and actively raced classics. The coffee-table book Setting Sail in America: The Remarkable Story of Herreshoff’s S Class Sailboats celebrates these little yachts with rich photography, historical research, and personal narratives from owners and restorers.
The book showcases the graceful lines and craftsmanship of S Class boats as they sail on Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, Buzzards Bay and other coastal waters nearly a century after their introduction. Readers will find detailed accounts of individual boats, restoration challenges, and the communities that keep this tradition alive. It’s an ideal volume for anyone who appreciates classic wooden yachts, maritime history, or high-quality boat photography. (Approximate price at time of publication: $80.)
This Old Boat
Andy Miller is a professional boat mechanic and restorer who runs the YouTube channel Boatworks Today, where he documents a wide range of repair and refit projects on sailboats, sportfishing yachts and other vessels. Miller’s videos are hands-on and instructional, covering tasks such as replacing teak decking, repainting topsides, fabricating custom fiberglass parts, repairing gelcoat, servicing outriggers and much more. His approach is practical and detail-oriented, with step-by-step demonstrations that demystify many common boat projects.
Boatworks Today is particularly useful for DIY-minded boat owners who want to tackle maintenance but lack experience. Each episode typically runs 15 to 20 minutes and balances clear explanation with visual demonstration, making it easier to understand tools, materials and techniques. Miller’s channel is a useful companion for people restoring older boats, maintaining cruising vessels, or simply learning the basics of marine carpentry, fiberglass work and boat systems. Whether you’re preparing for a refit or troubleshooting a problem underway, his videos provide realistic, actionable guidance without oversimplifying the hard work that boat maintenance often requires.