‘Harrowing’: Aussie couple’s sea horror

An Aussie couple who quit their day jobs to travel the world by sea have revealed the most “harrowing” ordeal of their lives following a mysterious incident.

An Aussie couple who quit their day jobs to travel the world by sea have revealed the most “harrowing” ordeal of their lives following a mysterious boat crash.

Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, popular Australian YouTubers, have been sailing around the world for the past 10 years after uprooting their lives. They have been traveling with their two young children, aged five and two.

The pair, who have almost two million YouTube followers, nabbed a $900,000 catamaran in 2017 which they now call home, after striking a deal with French firm Outremer, according to the Daily Mail.

Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, from SA, have revealed a ‘harrowing’ encounter at sea. Picture: Instagram/elayna.carausu

In a statement released on their Facebook page last week, the couple said they had anchored their catamaran La Vagabonde when it was struck by another vessel off Japan’s Okinoshima Island. They were sleeping at the time of the collision.

He said the ordeal left them “shaken and deeply impacted”.

“We are immensely grateful for the messages of support and understanding from everyone during this time,” he wrote in the post.

“As we process and recover from this incident, we kindly ask for your patience as we take some much-needed time to regroup and assess the situation.”

Riley said no one was physically harmed, which they are deeply grateful for, however, the damage to their vessel is extensive and has halted their sailing journey “indefinitely”.

“While we will provide further details in due course, we are aware of an article circulating in Japan that contains inaccuracies regarding the incident,” he said.

“We ask for your understanding as we address these discrepancies and manage the legal complexities involved.”

The popular YouTuber’s had anchored their catamaran La Vagabonde when it was struck by another vessel off Japan’s Okinoshima Island while they were asleep. Picture: KSB News

Riley didn’t disclose any further details and news.com.au has contacted the pair for more information.

The duo go by the YouTube name, Sailing La Vagabonde, with 595 videos and counting documenting their travels.

They had a dream of circumnavigating the globe by sailboat and turned their dream into a reality back in 2014, despite having “no clue of how to sail”.

“We have now sailed over 90,000 nautical miles each, across many oceans,” they wrote in their YouTube bio.

“Through our videos we hope to inspire others to explore alternative options of living and to spread ocean awareness.”

In November 2019, the Aussie couple made global headline for giving a lift to climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg on her journey to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Spain.

“Day 2. In the Gulf Stream. Yesterday was quite rough conditions in the shallow waters off the coast. Today much nicer. Slept really well. Great to be back on the ocean,” the then 16-year-old said in an X post, tagging the Aussie couple at the time.

Thunberg needed help travelling from the US to the UN conference and both Riley and Elayna reached out to her on social media offering their help after seeing her predicament.