Adventurers and Explorers
Elena & Ben

Meet Elena & Ben

Elena & Ben have an enchanting story. To find out more, we quizzed Ben about their history, and how they found themselves exploring the world aboard their unique catamaran.

How did you get into boating?

In 2011, I (Ben) finished my music studies in Sydney, Australia and only because I missed my flight back home to Germany, I spontaneously bought the cheapest boat I could find on eBay (for 10.000€) - planning to sail back home instead of flying. The only problem was I didn’t know how to sail. Because I also didn’t know how fast you could actually sail, my goal was to sail to Germany in 9 months.

Almost 5 years and 31 countries later, I finally arrived in Germany - surprisingly still alive. Check out the story at blownaway-movie.de 

Back in Germany I met Elena (who loves sailing even more) and since then we’ve been living on a boat and sailing the world together.

Tell us a bit about your achievements and ambitions in boating?

4 years ago we bought a Lagoon 380 catamaran. Like most charter boats, it looked white and sterile - just easy to clean. Glady, Elena has a good eye for interior decoration and step by step we converted our catamaran OHANA into a cosy floating home.

We are pretty sure that we will live on our floating home for the rest of our lives. Unlike many other sailors who sail the world for a few years and then go back to their old life, routine and work on land - we will be living on our boat probably forever. That’s why we make it as cosy and comfortable as possible, living completely self-sufficient and sustainably on the water (mostly on anchor and only powered with solar energy).

How does Raymarine equipment empower you to live your dream?

When I (Ben) sailed around the world on my old 9-metre sailboat (from 1976) there were not a lot of electronics on the boat and sailing was often tough and exhausting. Gladly, I had a Raymarine wheel autopilot ST4000 MKII (my only comfort) which steered the boat thousands of miles around the world.

I later found out that having some electronic equipment on board makes life on the water so much easier and sailing so much safer.

Now on our catamaran OHANA we feel absolutely carefree with our Raymarine equipment - especially on long-distance trips (which we often do). The strong autopilot has never even slightly gone off course, the one Axiom plotter shows us the most important data like maps, wind speed, wind direction and boat speed; the other Axiom plotter shows us the radar, which I never knew was such a game-changer. At night, we mirror the radar signal onto our iPhones which are always right next to us, so we almost don’t have to do anything anymore during our night shifts. Honestly - I wouldn't have believed that sailing can be so simple and relaxing with our Raymarine equipment.

Where are you going next?

As I’m writing this (May 2024), we’re sailing from Sardinia to Mallorca.

After the Balearic Island and Portugal, by the end of the year we’ll be sailing to the Canary Islands and then - finally - the big step - across the Atlantic and to the Caribbean. After having spent a few years in the Mediterranean Sea now, we can’t wait to finally dive into a new sailing adventure!