Sailing La Vagabonde is one of the most popular sailing channels on YouTube, created by Australian couple Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu.
Known for documenting their adventures across the world’s oceans, the pair have built a loyal audience through YouTube, social media, sponsorships, merchandise, and various business ventures.
2026 estimates suggest that the Sailing La Vagabonde Net Worth is around $1.5 million to $2.5 million as the combined wealth of the couple.
Get the most updated information regarding their earnings and other aspects.
Table of Contents
Basic Profile
| Real name | Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu |
| Elayna Carausu Net Worth | $500K-$900K |
| Riley Whitelum Net Worth | $1 million- $1.5 million |
| Birthday | Riley Whitelum- May 26, 1984; Elayna Carausu- July 30, 1993 |
| Birthplace | Riley Whitelum- Australia; Elayna Carausu- Australia |
| Age | Riley Whitelum Age -42; Elayna Carausu Age -32 |
| Height | Riley Whitelum Height– 5 ft 8 in; Elayna Carausu Height-5 ft 5 in |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | sailing YouTubers, video bloggers |
| Website | sailinglavagabonde.org |
How Does Sailing La Vagabonde Make Money?
Sailing La Vagabonde generates income by building a large audience around their sailing lifestyle. Their primary revenue streams include:
- YouTube AdSense: They earn money through ads played on their highly viewed sailing videos.
- Patreon: Dedicated fans support them via the Sailing La Vagabonde Patreon in exchange for early episode access and behind-the-scenes content.
- Brand Sponsorships: They partner with boating, marine, and lifestyle brands.
- Merchandise: They sell custom apparel and gear through their La Vagabonde Shop.
- Vagabond Adventures: They offer paid instructional courses for aspiring sailors.
- Business Ventures: They have developed and launched proprietary apps (like “Sea People”) for the boating community.
How Much Does Sailing La Vagabonde Make?
The pair have been creating videos to inspire others to explore alternative lifestyles while also dedicating themselves to raising awareness about ocean conservation.
Sailing La Vagabonde monthly earnings go around $14K to $25K. Yearly earnings are around $168K to $300K.
Income generation streams
The sailing YouTubers usually choose to generate revenue from multiple paths of income. The same goes for Sailing La Vagabonde who earn from varied sources as follows:
| Income Generation Stream | Amount Generated |
| YouTube (including ads) | $8K – $15K per month |
| TikTok | $300 – $1.5K a month |
| $300 – $1K per sponsored post | |
| $1K – $2K a month | |
| Product and service sales (Sailing La Vagabonde merchandise – sailinglavagabonde.shop, Boating community platform Sea Sailing Guide App – seapeopleapp.com, Newsletter – vagabondeadventures.com, Vaga Bella Swim™: Elayna’s sustainable swimwear line – vagabellaswim.com, public speaking, book sales, charter income), Brand Sponsorships, Brand Collaborations, Affiliate Commissions and Brand Deals | $8.5K – $9.5K a month |
| Streaming platforms – soundcloud.com/lavagabondemusic | $500 – $2K a month |
| Sailing La Vagabonde Patreon | $700 – $3K a month |
Sailing La Vagabonde has already signed deals with Audible, AG1, AkzoNobel, etc.
The earnings estimates are based on publicly available social media statistics, YouTube performance data, sponsorship activity, merchandise sales, and industry-standard creator monetization rates.
Key Possessions
In this section, we will discuss the couple’s key possessions in addition to mentioning the Sailing La Vagabonde Boat Cost.
The estimated market values and original costs for the three primary vessels in the Sailing La Vagabonde collection are detailed below:
- Rapido 60 (La Vagabonde III): approximately $1.8 million to $2.2 million USD. This massive luxury trimaran originally cost around €2 million to build. The couple officially listed the trimaran for sale on Boat Trader with an asking price of $2.2 million USD as they transition to a self-sufficient farm lifestyle on land.
- Beneteau Cyclades 43 (La Vagabonde): approximately $100,000 to $140,000 USD. Riley bought this secondhand 2007 monohull in Italy using his savings from working on oil rigs.
- Outremer 45 (La Vagabonde II): approximately $750,000 to $1,000,000 USD. They acquired this high-performance catamaran through a unique marketing and lease-to-own agreement with Outremer. They later sold it on the used market via The Multihull Company for an asking price of $750,000 USD.
Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu own houses in Australia, though not their primary residence. They are building an off-grid, self-sufficient permaculture farm located on a piece of land in Vanuatu.
Family and Relationship
Are Riley And Elayna Married? – Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu are not married but are a long-term couple who met in 2014. The pair met on the Greek island of Ios, where Riley invited Elayna on a sailing adventure, and she ended up moving aboard permanently.
Both Riley and Elayna are Australian: Riley from South Australia (Cowell) and Elayna from Geraldton in Western Australia.
They’ve been co-creating content, launching businesses, and homeschooling. Riley and Elayna have two sons: Lenny was born in 2018 in South Australia, and Darwin was born in 2021 in the Bahamas. Both spent their early childhood years entirely on the water.
- Boat Adjustments: Upgrading to the Outremer 45 and later the Rapido 60 was largely driven by family needs. They required extra cabin space, safer netting, and better stability to accommodate toddlers.
- Onboard Schooling: As the boys grew, Elayna and Riley managed early-childhood worldschooling directly on the boat, incorporating marine biology and geography into daily life.
- Safety Protocols: Life with kids meant strict rules, including wearing Life Jackets (PFDs) and harnesses whenever they were in the cockpit or on deck while moving.
- The Land Transition: In late 2024 and 2025, they decided to sell their Rapido 60 trimaran to settle down on land in Australia. They made this choice to give the boys a traditional schooling experience, a stable community, and roots on a self-sufficient farm.
Vanuatu Farm Project & Off-Grid Setup
Riley and Elayna officially shifted their focus to land-based homesteading after buying a 26-hectare jungle property in Vanuatu. Their new chapter, documented on YouTube as Sailing La Vagabonde: The Search for Home, details their attempt to construct a self-sufficient homestead from scratch.
The farm project is focused on transforming a raw, undeveloped tropical landscape into a thriving, permaculture-based home.
- Land Scope: The massive 26-hectare (roughly 64-acre) property features deep jungle, fertile volcanic soil, giant banyan trees, and wild horses.
- Initial Challenges: Because the land is completely wild, they had to start by using machetes to clear basic access roads. They are currently using heavy machinery like tractors and excavators to carve out a permanent clearing for their future farmhouse.
- Complications: The project hit early hurdles involving property line disputes and navigating sensitive legal and social conversations with local villagers who were historically working on the land before the bank repossessed it.
The Off-Grid Infrastructure Setup
Transitioning from a yacht to a land-based setup required building utility systems entirely independent of the public grid.
- Hydroelectric Potential: Thanks to the fast-flowing river and waterfall on site, Riley plans to implement a custom micro-hydro power system to generate consistent electricity.
- Solar Power array: Alongside hydro-power, they are designing an extensive solar panel and lithium battery storage system to take advantage of the tropical climate.
- Clean Water Access: The property’s upstream river water is completely clean and drinkable with basic filtration. High annual rainfall in Vanuatu also allows them to rely heavily on rainwater catchment tanks.
- Permaculture Farming: The couple is designing a fully self-sufficient permaculture food forest to provide their family with sustainable, organic fruit and vegetables.
FAQs
No. Riley bought their first monohull, a Beneteau Cyclades 43, in Italy with savings from working on offshore oil rigs. He had zero sailing experience and learned entirely through trial, error, and reading manuals.
They sailed continuously for 12 years. They initially met in 2014 and began documenting their journeys, navigating over 90,000 nautical miles across the world’s oceans.
While they bought their first boat themselves, their second boat (the Outremer 45 catamaran) was acquired through a heavily discounted lease-to-own marketing deal with the manufacturer. Their third boat, the Rapido 60 trimaran, was funded through their diverse revenue streams, primarily Patreon support, YouTube AdSense, sponsorships, and merchandise sales.
In early 2026, Riley and Elayna officially listed their trimaran for sale to transition to a land-based lifestyle. They chose to hit pause on sailing to give their growing boys stable community roots, traditional schooling opportunities, and because the couple wanted to reconnect with nature by getting their “hands in the soil”.
They are building an off-grid, self-sufficient permaculture farm located on a piece of land in Vanuatu. They document this new journey on YouTube under their new video series, Sailing La Vagabonde: The Search for Home.
Wrapping up
From a chance sailing adventure to becoming globally recognized sailing influencers, Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu have built Sailing La Vagabonde into a successful brand. Their income comes from YouTube, sponsorships, merchandise, digital products, and other business ventures, helping them create a sustainable lifestyle at sea. With a loyal audience and multiple revenue streams, the couple’s net worth is expected to continue growing as they expand their content and future projects.
We have been updating the financial aspects of similar other YouTubers lately. Check them out.
