Who is Sailing Zola?
For those of you who were wondering, Sailing Zola is a team of 27-year-old Nellie Cronen and 29-year-old Banner Sullivan. The two decided to quit their day job and sail around the world without prior experience in sailing or navigating. While both Banner and Nellie began as amateur sailors, watching them learn and grow on the job has been interesting. It is one of the main reasons for their popularity, especially amongst beginners or new sailboat owners.
As someone who is just starting on their journey of owning a sailboat, there are many important factors that you will need to consider, from choosing the right type of sailboat for your needs to learning skills that are going to be crucial to your survival while you’re out in the open water.
What sets Sailing Zola apart from many others is that they both started out sailing without any prior experience in sailing and picked up new skills and techniques while sailing their boat, the S.V Zola.
The Boat
The boat that they use is a 2006 Beneteau Oceanis 393, which has, of course, been upgraded and retrofitted with additional features that the two required for sailing, such as a B&G Chartplotter and a microwave.
The boat has three spacious cabins and two heads. The Beneteau Oceanis 393 is a 39-foot passagemaker that shares many design and aesthetic characteristics with the Beneteau 473, named Cruising World’s Best Production Cruiser in 2001.
The 393 was the first completely new model constructed at Beneteau’s enlarged Marion, South Carolina plant. She’s a sleek and classy cruiser with a spacious interior that’s loaded with natural light and ventilation. To develop a fast passagemaker, Beneteau went to the French naval architects located near La Rochelle, who had extensive expertise in both racing and cruising.
The 393 is available with two or three cabins. The latter divides the aft stateroom and relocates the galley from port to starboard, resulting in some storage space loss. The settee sits to port in both models, and the starboard-side array of cupboards and drawers is replaced by a galley.
The elevated balcony above the salon provides plenty of headroom as well as fantastic views from below. There are 7 or 8 opening hatches and portholes in the vessel. It is a bluewater cruiser that is well-equipped to provide sailors with the style, comfort, and dependability required for a lengthy voyage.
The 393 is surprisingly nimble for her size, with enough navigational equipment and storage room for a lengthy journey. The rig appears to be capable of withstanding severe weather, and the keel is deep enough to provide adequate stability in the event of a storm or gale.
For those of you who were curious, the parts for this boat are incredibly expensive, and replacement parts are essential while circumnavigating. Also, because the boat you’re interested in is newer, the keel will very certainly be a modified wing design. This provides good speed but not as much stability or pointing ability as a fin keel. Overall, it’s a great boat, and it’s easy to see why Sailing Zola chose it for their adventures. The boat cost them $143,000 US dollars.
Past Cruises
Sailing Zola has sailed across the United States, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. Sailing Zola videos are choc-full of information from what to pack before a trip to what to expect while sailing to an exotic new location.
The duo also run into some very real problems (such as getting sticker shock from using debit cards in the Bahamas) that most first-time sailors would likely face and offer real-world solutions, which is great for those who are planning to sail to the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic for the first time. What makes Sailing Zola a unique vlog to follow is that they are not afraid to share the good and bad experiences during their trips to educate other first-timers.
How did they manage to get the boat? They were both influences and employees. They saved up enough money, sold their automobiles, and bought their yacht for $143,000 US dollars. They generate relatively little money on YouTube, despite the fact that the boat is run by Instagram influencers who have quite a few brand sponsorships and live aboard the boat full-time.
They also have a modest Patreon membership, but no unedited film is available. Sailing Zola is a great vlog to follow if you are an aspiring sailor or someone who is planning to invest in their own sailboat. There’s always something new to learn on Sailing Zola as they explore new and exciting places on their sailboat.
