A mysterious collision described as the ‘most harrowing ordeal of their lives’ has abruptly halted the decade-long sailing adventures of Aussie YouTube stars Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu ‘indefinitely.’
The couple detailed how they and their two young children were recently asleep onboard their anchored catamaran La Vagabonde when it was struck by another vessel off Japan‘s Okinoshima Island earlier this month.
‘We recently experienced the most harrowing ordeal of our lives,’ Mr Whitelum told their 379,000 Facebook followers last week.
While no one was ‘physically harmed, for which we are deeply grateful’, the incident left the family ‘shaken and deeply impacted’ as they ponder their next move.
‘We are immensely grateful for the messages of support and understanding from everyone during this time,’ Mr Whitelum continued.
‘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.
‘However, the damage to our vessel is extensive, and our sailing journey has been interrupted indefinitely.’
He added that a Yahoo News article circulating in Japan ‘contains inaccuracies regarding the incident’.
The sailing adventures of Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu have been suspended ‘indefinitely’
A mysterious accident off the coast of Japan has indefinitely halted the ailing adventures of Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu
‘We ask for your understanding as we address these discrepancies and manage the legal complexities involved,’ Mr Whitelum.
The couple have since been flooded with more than 1,300 messages of support.
‘So sorry to hear that guys. I know your vessel means the world to you but it’s all replaceable and family isn’t. So glad you’re all ok. What an awful thing to happen,’ one woman commented.
Another added: ‘Sending love and healing vibrations to all on board, we admire your strength and tenacity. This is an incident that although harrowing and unfortunate, you are resourceful and will get through it.’
The couple, who hail from South Australia and Western Australia, have gained 1.93million YouTube subscribers after quitting their jobs and setting sail in 2014 with no previous seafaring experience.
Riley Whitelum (pictured left) and Elayna Carausu along with children Lenny and Darwin aboard catamaran La Vagabonde
In 2017, Riley and Elayna took possession of the $900,000 catamaran they now call home, after striking a deal with French firm Outremer.
In 2019, they made headlines by giving climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg a lift to the UN Climate Change Conference in Spain.’
While travelling the world’s oceans, the couple have since had children Lenny, 5, and Darwin, 2.
In the couple’s most recent video they sailed to the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
During their decade-long seafaring they claim to have faced ‘financial disasters, life threatening storms, pirates scares, equipment and communication breakdown’.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Whitelum and Ms Carausu for comment.
