In mid-November 2019, an unusual crew left Norfolk in Virginia on the US East Coast. An Australian couple with a one-year-old son, a British professional sailor and probably the world's best-known climate activist and her father set course for the wintry North Atlantic.
This trip with Greta Thunberg and her companions attracted worldwide attention. YACHT online also reported on the young Swede's return to Europe for the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid. In order to cross the Atlantic with as few emissions as possible, she had signed on with the popular blue water sailors Elayna Carausu and Riley Whitelum.
Across the Atlantic with YouTube stars
The two, a young couple from Western Australia, had started sailing around the world five years earlier as novice sailors and had documented their journey from the beginning in a video blog. Even before the transat with Greta, they were already well known, which also helped them get their current boat, a new Outremer 45 catamaran, the "La Vagabonde". Over 1.3 million subscribers follow their YouTube channel "Sailing La Vagabonde".
Part 1: preparing for the trip
Now there are also six videos about the Atlantic crossing to Lisbon. The films have already been viewed over three and a half million times. The last one about the arrival in Lisbon, which has only been online for two days, has already been clicked almost 400,000 times.
Storms, time pressure - but still in good spirits
The films, each lasting around 20 minutes, show the phases and challenges of the trip: the spontaneous idea of offering Greta a sailing opportunity across the Atlantic and thus throwing the previous trip plan overboard, as well as the last-minute conversion of the family cruiser for a demanding offshore trip with a heavy weather guarantee.
The approaching low-pressure areas and the stress they cause for skipper Riley, who alternates with ex-Clipper round-the-world skipper Nikki Henderson in a two-hour watch rhythm. There's also the pressure to arrive in time for the conference despite storms and, later, doldrums. There are insights into life on board and how the very different crew members grow together, as well as discussions with Greta Thunberg about her mission.
Chess against the storm and exhausting night watches
The "La Vagabonde" crew is visibly relieved when they finally reach Lisbon after 20 days and 2300 challenging nautical miles. But also a little wistful:
"The magic of the Atlantic crossing is over, everyone is already fully occupied with the arrival",
says Elayna Carausu into the camera just off the Portuguese coast. You can find her documentation of this special journey on the following article page.
A look behind the scenes of the successful sailing video bloggers can be found in the report "The logbook as a script", which was published in YACHT 7/2018 has been published. An interview with Boris Herrmann about his Atlantic crossing with Greta Thunberg from Europe to the USA, shortly before the voyage with "La Vagabonde", is to be read in YACHT 21/2019.
The videos, part 3 to 6
Part 3: Sailing in a thunderstorm, tough night watches, the crew grows together
Part 4: The next storm approaches, the crew grows together
Part 5: Half of the route completed, talks about Greta's mission
Part 6: Is the schedule working? Arrival in Lisbon
