You might think a trip around the world on a luxury yacht is, well, plain sailing.
But one glamorous Australian couple have lifted the lid on the more mundane reality.
Elanya Carausu, 25, and Riley Whitelum, 34, Speaking to FEMAIL they were eager to quit the daily grind to sail more than 40,000 nautical miles around the world on a luxury yacht funded by their hundreds of thousands of YouTube fans.
However, the prospect of this brilliant lifestyle did not include some of the difficulties they had to cope with.
From sickness to broken bones, getting lost and the lack of clean clothes, here Elanya explains to Daily Mail Australia what a life on board is really like.
Elanya Carausu, 25 (pictured), revealed how they quit the daily grind to sail more than 40,000 nautical miles around the world on a luxury yacht funded by YouTube fans
However, while you might think this sounds like a brilliant life, the young woman – who sails with her partner, Riley (pictured) – have revealed that it’s not always easy
The couple say that while you might think sailing looks glamorous, in fact there are constant arguments and never any clean washing
Elanya recalled when she and Riley (both pictured) first set sail after meeting on the Greek islands – both had little to no experience in sailing, but wanted an adventure
Five years later, they have travelled Europe, the Caribbean, Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and more – all the while documenting their experiences in YouTube videos
According to the 25-year-old – who first set sail from Australia with her boyfriend in 2014 after they met on the Greek islands – the couple were unlikely adventurers.
‘I remember meeting Riley in the Greek islands, and he asked me to sail around the world with him and I just said yes,’ Elanya told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Riley barely knew how to sail, having just bought the 43 feet monohull, and my sailing skills that I’d learned in high school were fairly outdated.’
Yet the couple was confident enough to take to the seas, travelling around Greece, Turkey and other parts of Europe until summer turned to winter and they began to feel the chill.
‘Rather than give the whole thing up, we turned to the Caribbean,’ Elanya recalled.
‘We Googled how to cross the huge Atlantic ocean and off we went, sailing through the Caribbean, through the Panama canal to the Galapagos Islands, across the 3150 nautical miles of the Pacific Ocean onto the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.
‘We spent three years just travelling around before we sold our boat and bought a new one in France. Recently our adventure has taken us back through Europe, down to the Canary Islands and Florida.’
‘It’s nothing like what you see in the movies – calm waters, sunshine, champagne, smiles and spotless white clothing,’ Elanya laughed (left) laughed of their experiences
‘The reality of sailing the globe is sleepless nights, unexpected horrible weather, days when you question why you do it all in the first place, and there’s NEVER a clean white shirt to wear on board,’ the 25-year-old (pictured with Riley) explained
The couple said that they have often argued on board, but most of the arguments can be traced back to the stress of sailing
Elanya said that often spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year on a boat is often not what you might expect:
‘It’s nothing like what you see in the movies – calm waters, sunshine, champagne, smiles and spotless white clothing,’ Elanya laughed.
It’s nothing like what you see in the movies – calm waters, sunshine, champagne, smiles and spotless white clothing
‘The reality of sailing the globe is sleepless nights, unexpected horrible weather, days when you question why you do it all in the first place, and there’s NEVER a clean white shirt to wear on board.
‘Of course, we have argued on board. Most of the arguments can be traced back to the boat and the stress of sailing and living on a boat, however. The good thing is this means they never last long.
‘The first six months were the hardest,’ she added.
‘We were figuring out our roles on board, dividing up the chores and at the same time trying to love and take care of each other. But now, thankfully, the hardest part is well and truly over.’
‘The first six months were the hardest,’ Elanya (pictured) recalled of their early adventuring around the world
When it comes to dangerous or scary experiences, Elanya said there have been many – notably when the 25-year-old thought her boyfriend had broken his neck ‘weeks sailing away from anywhere’
The couple had to ‘lie on the floor for hours while we cried and discussed our options’, before Elanya (pictured) led them onto their original destination and Riley had an X-ray
When it comes to dangerous or scary experiences, Elanya said there have been many – notably when the 25-year-old thought her boyfriend had broken his neck ‘weeks’ sailing away from anywhere’.
‘A wave had thrown Riley off his feet and on impact to his head he had pinched his nerve leading to his left arm,’ she explained.
‘I remember Riley’s entire arm went numb, like it had done when he had first broken his neck in Brazil many years ago. He lay on the floor for hours while we cried and discussed our options.
I remember Riley’s entire arm went numb, like it had done when he had first broken his neck in Brazil many years ago. He lay on the floor for hours while we cried and discussed our options
‘An emergency helicopter wouldn’t come as far off shore as we were, a container ship diverting course to pick him up would mean I would either have to sail the boat for weeks by myself to the Caribbean, or we’d have to abandon it.
‘And turning the boat around to sail against the wind to where we’d left from would be a rough trip and a big no no for a possible broken neck.
‘We decided to keep sailing downwards to our destination for another ten days, the entire time thinking that something in his neck holding his spine together may have come apart.
‘We didn’t know he was okay until Riley had his X-rays done in Antigua. It felt like a narrow escape.’
The couple (pictured) have had other ‘narrow escapes’ with the weather
‘We have over 2000 patrons now who each donate anywhere from $2 to $200 per video that we make,’ Elanya (pictured) explained – speaking about where the money comes from
The couple (pictured: Riley on board) are very thankful to their followers and fans, who continue to let them travel the globe
These days, Elanya said they are still making the bulk of their money on Patreon, a crowdfunding website, where family, friends and strangers can donate to their adventures.
‘We have over 2000 patrons now who each donate anywhere from $2 to $200 per video that we make,’ she said.
‘These people are the ones keeping us afloat, helping the videos to keep coming and helping us to grow and learn.
‘To be able to call what we do our full-time jobs really is a dream come true. We don’t plan to stop sailing any time soon. Riley and I both get itchy feet when we’re living on land. We love the feeling of freedom that comes with sailing.
‘We haven’t managed to circumnavigate the world yet, so that remains a goal for us both.’
To follow the Sailing Le Vagabonde adventure, visit their YouTube channel here.