Get to know us!

We are Riley and Elayna of Sailing la Vagabonde; Aussies, adventurers, dolphin whisperers (so we like to think), sailors, parents, and globe trotters.

We embarked on our voyage together back in July 2014, with a grand, incredible (and possibly slightly crazy) ambition of circumnavigating the world.. whilst.. learning to sail along the way. Teaching ourselves the ropes of sailing has been an adventure in itself! Involving a comedy of errors and some days on the sea that have looked like a proper horror show. Mostly though, this has been the most incredible journey of our lives.

Over the years, we have faced financial disasters, life threatening storms, pirates scares, equipment and communication breakdown, and just plain boredom from being stir-crazy in a small confined space with a family.

Yep, we have two children together. Lenny who’s 5 and Darwin who’s 2.  Fortunately for them, we are far better sailors than when we first started out. In fact, I'd actually go so far as to say we are better human beings than when we first started out - sailing and the inhospitable ocean tends to do that to people. 

It brings us so much joy that we’re able to share what we’ve seen and learnt.. with the whole world. 

Meet Elayna

I grew up on the west coast of Australia, a windy town called Geraldton. After school, I’d fallen in love with scuba diving, traveling and playing guitar and singing. I met Riley on the Greek island of los, whilst I was there working as a musician for the summer. It was sort of your "boy meets girl, boy asks girl to sail around the world" kind of story. He was sailing his first monohull he’d just bought in Italy and named ‘La Vagabonde’ single-handedly at that point.. and he and his friend Jimmy bumped into my friend and I one night out, in the village. A few weeks went by and he’d come to watch me play music.. and he’d taken me for a day sail. Riley was due to leave the island with some good weather and asked me if I wanted to join him for “a month long island hopping adventure”. Of course I said yes! When I moved aboard, I noticed a DSLR camera lying in the corner of the saloon that he never used. He told me one day “mum wanted me to take some photos and videos but I can’t be bothered.. so if you wanted to use it, you’re welcome too”. My want, to document what Riley was doing, and this unique life we were living, was strong. The videos I began making, started off being a way to share the adventure with my friends and family back home in Australia, but it quickly became obvious that a larger group of people out there were interested in seeing what we were doing too. Being a musician, I naturally loved to entertain.. so after the first couple of what we’re calling ‘viral videos’ we posted, it was decided that we’d give this whole YouTuber thing a crack. Alongside what developed into a new relationship.. and Riley asking me to move aboard indefinitely.. whilst we were still learning to sail. YEAH.. it was a wild time! We couldn’t have expected what would happen after posting our first (terribly edited) videos to YouTube. Here we are, quickly approaching a decade of living on the ocean in this exciting way, with our beautiful children. We feel incredibly lucky.

- Elay xx

Elayna recently wrote some books, to help inspire young sailors into loving life out on the ocean.

Meet Riley

I grew up in South Australia, in a town called Cowell. You might have heard of it before, there’s a famous black stump in the town centre there. The video here explains our story in a lot more detail so I recommend you watch it but basically I’d worked for 8 years offshore (in oil and gas) in Western Australia as a rigger, to save up for my first sailboat. I wanted to escape the rat race and I was tired of living out of backpacks. The dream was to find a way of seeing the world, where I could take my house with me. A sailboat seemed like the best option. I’d quit my job and was sailing the Mediterranean single handed, when I met Elayna. She was (still is) this bright, talented, funny young lady who was up for anything. I was grateful to have her by my side as we took on some big oceans together. Neither of us knew much about sailing to begin with, but I never doubted that we’d figure it out. I hope when our kids look back, they’ll see what an amazing life we've built together. A lot of what we’ve done now, has been for them.

- Riley

Together, Elayna & I made some stuff…

After almost a decade at sea, our creative juices started flowing. As we weathered storms and navigated life on a sailboat, many ideas fell by the way side… but these ones stood the test of time. Little by little, with the help of our followers, we’ve birthed them into reality.

We couldn’t be prouder.

Sea People.

Changing the world of sailing, one download at a time.

Vagabonde Adventures

Vagabonde Adventures gives you the unique opportunity to sail some of the most epic locations with an experienced crew. Whether you’re looking for a holiday with friends and family, sail coaching to level up your skills, or American Sailing certifications, we can tailor the perfect sailing adventure to you.

Vagabella Swim

Vaga Bella Swim™ by Sailing La Vagabonde. For mamas and children (bambinos coming soon!). Proudly made with 100% recycled fibers.