Join the crew on La Vaga as we sail the east coast of Northland New Zealand and show you a few of our favourite sailing destinations! Meet a few new faces and re-celebrate christmas and new years with us (because who doesn’t want to celebrate christmas and new years like every weekend?). I hope you’re enjoying catching up to real time. Videos made with love, Elayna. Xo
Song Credits:
00:01 Greener Pastures – HEEBLAY
02:37 Seafoam – Gender Work
06:06 Seafood –Gender Work
06:59 Carter – Gender Work
08:54 Hotel 9 – Jack Pen and His Anthropomorphic Orchestra
13:26 Running Late – Jack Pen and His Anthropomorphic Orchestra
20:26 Running Late – Jack Pen and His Anthropomorphic Orchestra
22:59 Jamie Hamilton – I’ve got these strings in my shoulders but I can’t figure out whether I’m a puppet or a kite
24:38 Song I Cover: Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon
33:29 High as Love – HEEBLY
35:52 Now That Chance has Gone – Chris O
40:13 Mandala – HEEBLAY
45:16 Dark Night of the Soul – Frontier Child
47:43 Infant Nascitur – Frontier Child
50:59 Higher – HEEBLY
53:29 Don’t Bi Scared to have a Go – A Wood
56:06 Wait Outside – Getgogetter
Additional Film/Edit – Abbey Mulraney
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FAQ
What cameras do we use?
BIG CAMERA:
HANDY CAM:
GOPRO:
DRONE:
What software do we use?
Premier Pro
Comments 42
These just get better and better. As a New Zealander who only recently discovered this area of New Zealand from Whangarei to the Bay of Islands you have made a great one here. I really appreciate the work that has gone in to this movie. Absolutely fabulous, engaging, informative and entertaining. The key is you are real people doing real stuff. None of this is contrived unlike some You Tubers out there. I think because you started making these videos for friends and family, people you know and who know you, that feeling of authenticity and honesty comes across and you treat your audience as your friends which is truly refreshing. Can’t wait for New Zealand Part III.
I forgot to add. The striped Marlin game fish are special, but are they really any different to sardines, herrings or tuna and those are harvested by the tonne daily. Catch and release is good if the species is under pressure numbers wise but if the species is prolific then fish for food is also good. Marlin steaks on the BBQ sounds great to me. If we end up believing all living things are sentient beings we will starve. Living things are the food chain.
I’m a catch and release fresh water fisher. As long as the fish is not injured, I have the chance to catch it again. Catch and tagged is great as well, we can learn more about THAT fish, and/or its species. I’ll take your word for it, if the Marlin are reproducing well and their numbers are rising and not falling I’m good with eating it if thats your intention. But only if their reproduction is well on the rise.
Seems like so many species are on the decline these days. But some like the Lion fish (too bad they are so hard to eat) are overwhelming our oceans. Funny how that works.
Life is about gathering experiences. One of the exciting experiences can be fishing for game fish and being successful in that endeavour. By releasing your catch you are providing an opportunity for another to experience what you have. I don’t believe it is right to catch and mount on the wall just to be able to show what a beautiful creature you have killed for the sake of decoration. But different strokes for different folks. I am not condemning anyone for enjoying life but would you be proud to tell your children and grandchildren what you have done and why. Will they have the opportunity to enjoy the same experience or will they be rare by then.
Dear Elayna & Riley,
I was surprised and honored to hear from you. I been waiting so long to see another video of your activity. If I weren’t a disabled veteran I would happy to donate to your voyage. All I can do is be your chief engineer and help you with my ten year Navy experience as an electrician and a Project Engineer. I sailed as a teenager on a 26 foot gaff rig. I thank you so much for including me in your mail.
All animals and fish have a consciousness. It appears to me its male dominance or way of showing male as the hunter. Which there aren’t many ways to display this.
I would not be interested in it but would love to be on the water so would probable say yes to go fishing. Catch to eat immediately for needs. Never take more than your share and respect the environment. I think you did all of these.
I understand it is a sport catching the Marlin’s but I could not help but feel like it was a very stressful moment for the fish. I do believe they feel pain. As a vegetarian, I would rather leave them alone to live their lives. I am not sure if tagging them is beneficial because I wonder how would we like to be tagged. Micro-chipped? It seems out of balance to me. Otherwise love the footage especially the drone and you are doing a fabulous job editing. Really awesome to watch and follow.
Awesome vid, as good as a movie. Infact I watched this this Monday night instead of a movie,and glad I did. Beautiful places you guys get too. As far as Marlin fishin goes Riley, I would say that I hunt for the meat, and I eat what I hunt. Fishing to me is the same, I would eat what I catch, I personally wouldn’t fish and release, it stresses them out to much I feel, but this is my opinion. But just the same, those marlin looked out of this world ,close to the water and holding them buy there sword. You guys are great, Tom
As always another excellent video. Looking forward to part3 of your NZ travel. You guys must be in France by now for the soft launching party of the catamaran. Can’t wait to see the new episode. Re Marlin, personally I think we should leave this beautiful creature alone and admire them from a distance. Seems pretty cruel to catch them. I am sure they must be stressed when caught. That’s just my view. Fair wind and safe travel.
Riley that looked like an awesome experience and to be honest I would probably do it given the opportunity. However, with that said I think it probably does cause quite a lot of stress to the animal and would probably bother me a bit. I don’t fish often, but what I do catch we eat, even a Lion fish recently in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Which wasn’t all that tasty. I guess at the end of the day I’m on the fence about this one. Joe
I can’t say enough about sharing a whole hour with SV Vagabond. It really brings an awesome continuity to your activities within your adventures. Loving you both very much, it was a great highlight to my day. Much, better than a seven minute dog bone when you are treated to a buffet so to speak. I may seem a little greedy with your company as I can’t get enough of it. As for fishing for the Marlin and being a fishing maniac myself, I am a firm believer in catch and release. Point well taken with the Marlins when they may be fatigued and are left to fending for themselves from the sharks… But if you kept them both this time there would be no recourse. On the other hand with catch and release there would be a chance of surviving. If given the choice I would prefer to have a second chance to fend for myself. I may decide differently though if the Marlin was bleeding profusely or badly from the gills prior to release. That one, would probably go in the ice box. It would also depend on how long it took to reel him and if it seemed Mr. Marley was to exhausted and wouldn’t revive for release. All variables considered I lean towards C&R.
Thank you for another great escape from the day watch of your great adventures videos. It takes me way to a nice place. Looking forward to the new boat.
Wonderful video. Great filming of a very beautiful and unique area of N.Z. I feel catch and release is the best. Take care.
Dan
I’ve been following you since the Mediterranean and my wife, Denise, and I with our crew of six spent New Years Eve watching the Auckland fireworks and the next three days beating into stiff northeries to BoI, via Tutukaka and Poor Knights (and the “largest sea cave in the world”). We spent 4 days in BoI, enjoying the Tall Ship Regatta and the beautiful scenery and anchorages (including a dock night at Opua) before returning home to a very wet Seattle winter. I would have loved to raise a glass with you and I know you would have loved our crew.
Dave
I love fishing…people though tend to over fish for the sake of $$. I think with these particular fish, I think catch and release is good. Maybe a lottery type system for a catch and keep opportunity.
I love fishing…people though tend to over fish for the sake of $$. I think with these particular fish, I think catch and release is good. Maybe a lottery type system for a catch and keep opportunity.
As a human, it’s cruelty and you’re messing around in a life level that isn’t really your life level. There’s a price to pay…if you don’t see it now ….well someday….no one’s going to be able to tell you …it’s going to come to you from within. You’ll wake up to it and you won’t go back.
Good luck and fair leads.
Great video! Or should I say “sweet as video bro”. And what about those drone shots! Nice. All that editing was worthwhile Elayna. Hope you got that chully bun back…
Re the strippy fush, I do feel a bit sorry for them but I guess they will recover…. won’t they? (has anyone got some mortality data?) Better than killing them anyway, and you get to have the fun of hauling them in.
I notice you didn’t swim at Whangamumu. People do swim there… despite the whopping bronze whaler sharks that live there!
Great video! Thank you for sharing your adventures. As for Marlin fishing…. although they were absolutely stunning, beautiful , and I’m sure an amazing experience to catch, I could not help but feel empathy for how stressed they must have felt. If needed for food I don’t have an issue hunting or fishing but struggle with the sport of it. To each there own but I would choose not.
Hi Riley and Elayna ,
We have made it this far , the longer videos are awesome , no doubt , it take longer to what , that’s why we have auto pilots , iam hooked on your adventures, been watching since your 1st video ,
Now iam 1 of the rare 1’s , iam a pro fisherman , own a 38 foot Australian built stebercraft ,
Currently building a new 46 footer in Tasmania to replace our 38 ,
I have sailed for 21 years also , not many fisherman know how to sail , I have won 2 Australian championships sailing when a little younger ,
Catch and release of marlin is a great sport , our family has fished all our life , Our 2 kids love fishing and it was great to see u out there in New Zealand tag and releasing them , I think it’s a great mix for u to be mixing with fisherman as u sail around the world , and I bet there are many fisherman watching your adventures around the globe ,
As for eating marlin , I think over about 50 lb , they are shit to eat ,
Marlin are a muscle fish , and when u kill them to eat , over about 50 -100 lb , they tense up to much in the flesh and this makes the meat quite tuff to eat , In the pacific Island , they eat them a lot bigger than 100 lb , but there are also feeding maybe a village , and don’t have a look of ice , so what they catch , they eat , as you guys might have seen on ur travels ,
I have been watching ur new boat getting built , what a machine , when u read this , u will b onboard her , congratulations, new boat are so very rewarding , I hope u have time to read this , hopefully 1 day we can meet up when u guys sail into the Gold Coast Australia,
Cheers Riley and Elayna
Grinner
Gold Coast
First, I wanted to let you know that I have (finally) caught up with every single video you’ve done since the beginning. They are thoroughly entertaining and give me the chance to live vicariously through you and your adventures. I do hope that some day your travels will bring you to the New England coast some day. May I suggest Portsmouth New Hampshire? 🙂
Secondly, big game fishing done properly provides a great challenge for the fishermen involved. Or fisherpersons, I suppose. Anyway, if there is a large stable population of a particular species AND a chance to donate some of the catch to those less fortunate, I see nothing wrong with keeping what you catch. If you practice catch and release, I think its important to tag the catch, as that can be used to learn about the species if that individual is caught and the tag number is reported. To those who might be against the consumption of flesh, that’s an individual choice and I respect it. But let’s face it. Our Creator designed us to be omnivores. Seems like a good design to me.
Fair winds, friends. Can’t wait to see the next adventure!
Love watching you guys! Eat the fish, release the healthy ones. Just don’t release the injured to die a painful death.
I have been enjoying your videos and they are all great and fun to watch. You two are such a cute couple. Your love, respect and admiration for each other shines through and is truly lovely to witness. I agree with Michael, the authenticity of your videos is very engaging. But I also love learning from you and maybe someday my husband and I will put some of that knowledge to use and cruise a further away than our usual destinations along the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington State.
With regard to catch and release fishing I’m not a fan. I don’t believe anyone should take their pleasure at the expense of another creatures pain and suffering. Dharma teaches that every creature is equal which is something I felt at a very young age and continue to believe. The heart of humanity’s dysfunction is putting ourselves before others (including creatures). And no I’m not vegan; I just talk the talk – I haven’t succeeded walking the walk yet. So certainly don’t construe these remarks as judgment, it is my personal beliefs which I do not impose on anyone. Chris (the previous comment) said it well, these realizations come to a person when they are able to understand them. But you are already asking the question.
I love Elayna’s singing. Thank you for sharing and keep up the lovely music.
Ahoy Elayna & Riley…bloody brilliant! The long video format is just as easy to watch as the short ones…
it just takes longer! haha. I’m glad you sailed into Whangamumu…I’ve been there once by road in 1972
and again in 2011 by helicopter. My wife’s mum was born there in 1909 at the whaling station so we have
a bit of a connection with the place. Beautiful harbour.
Keep up the excellent vids. and have fun, take care.
Great videography. I enjoy your story especially it’s spontaneity and unaffected nature.
Sport fishing has it’s good and bad nature. Humans by nature are hunters. Once it was exclusively for food, today it is more often for sport. I believe if the sport is regulated and combined with conservation then it is a good thing.
Some people argue it involves unnecessary pain and suffering for the animal. They don’t seem to acknowledge that wild living is not a romantic paradise. In the wild animals suffer significantly from hunger and disease and attacks by predators all the time. Nature is red in tooth and claw.
The question that should be asked is sporting predation by humans significantly contributing to this suffering.
There is no universal answer, each species, each location and each condition for hunting has to be analysed and a decision made on a case by case basis.
Love your vid´s. Stay as you are! I am looking forward to any news with the outremer … and you !
It was great to catch up with you both, and it was a great video thanks ever so much for the fun you have brought to my life.
Riley the Vendee Globe is a real challenge very fast boats and they are not easy to sail, Four months on your own NO comforts only your shore crew to advice you wow go for it.
All the best from Crawley West Sussex
Alan
It’s cold and snowy here in Ottawa.Watching this video put warmth in my heart and soul.
Cheers!
Sport fishing to me means that the Marlin have an equal chance to catch you. If you don’t need the fish to survive, please don’t inflict the pain on the fish.
Riley,
The fact that you even ask the question regarding interest in a response to sport fishing speaks volumes as to why I am addicted to your videos! You are truly a legend mate. BTW, that last response is coming from an Indiana USA boy that now speaks a bit of Australian thinks to hours and hours of Sailing La Vagabonde videos! Yes, I have been known to watch them more than once! Catch and release sure beats catch and mount on a wall as far as I’m concerned. Catching to eat fish that are in no danger also makes good sense as long as the whole fish is put to good use! Keep doing what you are doing! Your videos are truly a highlight of my week!
Cool episode,eat if you hungry or fish is injured, if you can let them out for good.
Loved this episode, great video from the drone.
All the best.
Snowed in here in Baltimore so it’s good to spend 2 hours with you on the big screen. Don’t want to make you too self-conscious; I found myself reflecting on your general equanimity, watching it deepen over the episodes. I know you’re not unfamiliar with this idea being a DFW reader. It strikes me as the long arc of the series. Some people tap out pages on a keyboard. You’re doing it with a 10-ton boat across the oceans. Same idea.
You’re not a travelogue outfit entirely. I don’t think that’s the truest draw here. There’s an itch you’re scratching.
“As I’m sure you guys know by now, it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head (may be happening right now). Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about quote the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.”– from Kenyon University Speech
I’ll watch more and write. Keep in touch. – Danny
JP really knows how to handle that drone – some great sequences there.
Re fishing: my view is if someone isn’t going to eat what they catch then I would rather see it released (and tagged as part of a research activity) than mounted on a wall in the trophy room of a house. Videoing it shows the viewers the size of the fish and the effort taken to land it, and will bring back happy memories for the participants when they watch it again in years to come.
There is an interesting human behaviour element shown in the fishing video, too – the men enjoying together the thrill of the hunt. Despite the impact of civilisation, deep down in our subconscious we haven’t changed much since prehistoric times – it is how we’re wired.
Outstanding!!! We enjoyed the “movie ” clip with all the travels we missed. Can’t wait for the first Cat clips!
I am a sailor and do not do much fishing. But I understand the excitement of the catch. While I am sure its not great for the fish they seem to recover. Such beautiful creatures those marlins. Thank you for the really good shots and I enjoyed the whole Hour!!!! No coffee no beer just watching.
There’s nothing wrong with catching Marlin, although I don’t know if they are good table fare. Marlin are vicious beast in the ocean wielding their sword against anything they think they can injure and eat. They don’t think or feel like people and they are no more stressed by being caught than they are when they are slashing through a pod of fish they’re going to eat. Tagging provides real numbers so scientist can determine how the species is doing. With the data from tagging, the authorities can adjust the rules regarding catching, releasing, keeping, etc. to make sure the species continue to survive.
Great catch and releases! Excellent video, keep them coming.
Riley
My personal feeling is simply this, if your hunting or fishing you eat what you catch or kill to honor the animals. We are all her because the men before us ate what they can when they can. Good game management is of course important for all species and as you well know we have to be good Stewart’s for the blessing we have been given. P.S. how much for the old girl now that you have the new cat coming?
I don’t have any ethical problem with fishing for Marlin, man is, by nature a hunter, just like the Marlin.
They are quite a nice fish to eat and if you catch and eat all of one, by sharing it around, then fair enough. However, if you are not going to eat it, ”tag and release” is definitely the right thing to do. I have never held with killing anything you either can’t eat or don’t intend to eat.
Awesome episode guys. Much prefer it when you are filming yourselves, feels much more real and raw and what has made your vids so successful. JP and Riley’s bro are legends. Keep em coming.
Catch and release is the way to go!
I really enjoyed the NZ video especially the marlin fishing was great. Getting 2 nice marlin in a day is no easy feat! I enjoy all of your videos and keep up the good work as it is very inspiring to myself and others I am sure.
cheers