Meet Elayna Carausu and Riley Whitelum—a pair of Australian dreamers who traded the hum of city life for the rhythmic lap of waves against their 48-foot catamaran, La Vagabonde. What began as a reckless gamble—buying a boat with zero sailing experience—has evolved into a decade-long odyssey that’s captivated over 2 million YouTube subscribers, redefined family sailing, and turned two rookies into unlikely ocean advocates. Their story isn’t just about circumnavigating the globe; it’s a testament to the power of vulnerability, the beauty of imperfection, and the urgent need to protect the blue heart of our planet.
The Leap: From Firefighter and Travel Agent to Sea Nomads
Elayna, with a passport stamped by 40 countries, spent her 20s selling travel dreams from a desk in Brisbane. Riley, a rugged Queensland firefighter, found solace in weekend surf trips but craved something wilder. They crossed paths in 2014 aboard a Greek island ferry, bonding over shared restlessness. “We joked about buying a boat that first night,” Elayna recalls, “but Riley showed up the next day with a listing for a 43-foot Beneteau Cyclades. I thought he was crazy.”
Their first vessel, a monohull they named La Vagabonde (French for “the wandering vagabond”), became their classroom. They devoured sailing manuals, practiced knots on their living room floor, and launched into chaos: their maiden voyage from Turkey to Greece included a near-collision with a cargo ship (“We forgot to turn on the radar,” Riley laughs sheepishly) and a midnight rescue when their anchor dragged in a storm. Yet their raw, unfiltered vlogs—documenting spilled coffee in rough seas, tangled sails, and Riley’s panicked “Is this normal?!” shouts—struck a chord. “We weren’t experts,” Elayna says, “but we proved that anyone can start, even if you’re clueless.”
Upgrading to Purpose: When a Boat Becomes a Platform
By 2019, the couple had sailed through the Mediterranean, crossed the Atlantic, and welcomed their first son, Lenny, into a life of swaying cribs and saltwater baths. A partnership with Outremer Yachts gifted them La Vagabonde II, a sleek carbon-fiber catamaran, but it was their next mission that shifted their trajectory: escorting climate activist Greta Thunberg across the Atlantic for the UN Climate Conference.
“Greta changed everything,” Riley admits. “She asked us, ‘Why sail the world if you’re not going to protect it?’” The 15-day voyage, free of fossil fuels, became a crash course in oceanic crisis. Off the coast of Portugal, they dragged a net and pulled up 17 pounds of microplastics; in the Sargasso Sea, they watched as sargassum mats, once teeming with life, choked on chemical runoff. “We realized our platform could be more than just ‘look at us sail’—it could be a megaphone for the ocean,” Elayna says.
Raising Pirates: Family Life in 30,000 Square Feet of Saltwater
Life aboard La Vagabonde with sons Lenny (6) and Darwin (3) is equal parts magic and madness. Lenny’s first word was “wind”; Darwin’s first steps were on a heeling deck. The couple homeschools using the ocean as their textbook: tide charts for math, marine biology for science, and “boat chores” as life skills (Lenny now ties a bowline knot faster than most adults). But it’s not all sunny days: during a 2021 squall in the Caribbean, lightning struck their mast, frying electronics and leaving them adrift. “I clung to Darwin in the cabin while Riley hand-steered for 12 hours,” Elayna remembers. “Lenny drew us a ‘courage map’ with smiley faces and X’s for safe harbors.”
Their videos thrive on such honesty: Elayna breastfeeding Darwin while troubleshooting a watermaker leak; Riley laughing through tears after repairing a snapped halyard in pitch-black seas; even the mundane, like 晾晒 diapers on the lifelines or rationing chocolate during long passages. “We want parents to see that adventure with kids isn’t about perfection,” Riley says. “It’s about letting them grow up believing the world is their backyard.”
Sailing as Protest: Confronting Crisis, One Port at a Time
The couple’s activism has evolved from observation to action. In 2022, they sailed to the Arctic, filming melting glaciers calving into acidified seas; in Indonesia, they worked with Sea Shepherd to document illegal fishing nets destroying coral reefs. Their “Plastic-Free Ports” initiative challenges marinas to ban single-use plastics, while partnerships with Reforest’Action have planted over 50,000 mangrove trees along vulnerable coasts.
But their most powerful tool remains storytelling. In a 2023 episode filmed in the Philippines, they followed local fishermen who dive 60 feet without gear to catch fish—only to find reefs reduced to rubble by dynamite fishing. “One fisherman showed us his scars from blast injuries,” Elayna says, voice steady but eyes shining. “He said, ‘We destroy our home because we have no choice.’ That’s when it hit us: conservation isn’t just about saving ecosystems—it’s about saving human stories too.”
The Next Horizon: Speed, Sustainability, and Legacy
In 2024, La Vagabonde transformed again—into a 60-foot Rapido trimaran, a marvel of sustainable engineering with 12 solar panels, electric motors, and a hull designed to slice through waves with minimal fuel. “We want to prove you can sail fast and light without sacrificing planet,” Riley says. Their first mission: a Pacific voyage to Fiji，where they’re training local youth to become “Ocean Guardians,” teaching them to read currents, repair boats, and advocate for marine protected areas.
“Lenny asks us every day, ‘Where are we sailing next?’” Elayna says, smiling at the chaos of toys and charts strewn across the saloon. “We used to think the answer was a place—Bora Bora, Antarctica, everywhere. Now we know it’s bigger: we’re sailing toward a world where our kids can dive into clear waters, where fishermen don’t have to choose between survival and destruction. That’s the horizon we’re chasing.”
Join the Voyage
Elayna and Riley’s journey proves that adventure and purpose aren’t mutually exclusive—that a life at sea can be both a thrill and a calling. Dive into their world:
- Website: sailinglavagabonde.org (download their free “Sailing with Kids” guide, read expedition reports, and join their ocean conservation hub)
- YouTube: Sailing La Vagabonde (subscribe for epic storms, heartwarming family moments, and hard-hitting environmental docs—no filters, no scripts)
- Instagram: Elayna.carausu (get up-close with underwater photography, port sketches by Lenny, and real-time updates from the helm)
As they often say: “The ocean doesn’t need more sailors. It needs more protectors.” Whether you’re trimming sails or scrolling from shore, their story reminds us that every wave carries the power to change course—for ourselves, and for the blue planet we all call home.
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