Maya, a 26-year-old sailor, musician and videographer from Canada, has sailed around Europe with her husband and is planning an even longer journey.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Maya, a 26-year-old from Canada’s west coast, decided to live on her boat while in college.
It was more affordable than apartment rent, and she loved sailing.
Now, she and her husband are preparing to sail across an ocean.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
“We have a massive housing crisis here, it’s crazy expensive,” she told Insider, of Canada’s housing market. “So a lot of my friends around me were all thinking about alternative housing options. I was like, ‘Well, I love sailing. And this sort of seems like these two worlds can combine’.”
When she was 18, Maya bought a boat for $1, refitted it and lived in it while she was finishing her degree in journalism and marine ecology.
Maya and her husband, Aladino, asked to be identified only by their first names to retain some anonymity in public-facing jobs. Insider has verified their identities.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
The summer after she graduated, though, she met a fellow millennial lover of the boat life.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
He was working on refitting his own boat — and their connection was instant, Maya said.
“We pretty much instantly realized that we are both talking to a very interesting person,” Aladino said. “I don’t know of many that have the same dream as we did,” he added.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Having a large audience lets them make a living off the advertising revenue on their videos.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
The hull of the boat is fiberglass and the deck is made of teak wood, which is resistant to water damage.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
“It was two years on Magic Carpet I when we realized we love the lifestyle but that if we want to go around the world, she is just limited with how much water, how much food, and how much fuel she can carry, being a smaller boat,” Maya said.
Magic Carpet I was also not built for offshore cruising, she said. Offshore cruising can be defined as sailing about 12 miles from land and for longer than 12 hours, according to Schooner Sail.
“It’s like this: A fancy Lamborghini convertible is a fun car, and a Land Rover is also a fun car. But they’re for different purposes,” she said. “Would you do a trip across the Sahara in a Lamborghini convertible?”
Coastal cruiser Magic Carpet I is the Lamborghini in this case — she can’t cross the ocean.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
The new boat living space will still be tinier than a traditional apartment. While Magic Carpet II is larger than Magic Carpet I, it wasn’t about having more “elbow room,” Aladino said. It was about gaining space for the fuel, water, and food needed for longer trips.
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino
Courtesy of Maya and Aladino