about.

What this is

An index of sailing channels on YouTube — built so a sailor can ask a real question (“anchoring in rolly conditions,” “watermaker repair,” “clearing in to Fiji”) and get answers from sailors who have actually done the thing, linked to the exact video. YouTube knows these answers exist; it just can’t find them. This can.

How it works

Every accepted channel is deeply analysed — in 31 languages — so the knowledge inside its videos becomes findable. A Finnish sailor’s hard-won lessons about the Baltic can surface for someone who speaks only English. Humans review the results; contributors who sail curate which channels join the index. Every result links to the creator’s own video on YouTube — the index exists to send viewers to them.

Coverage

Today the index covers 265 channels, with more of their videos deeply analysed every day, around the clock. Deeply analysed videos can answer questions directly; the rest are already findable by title and channel while the fleet works through them. If a channel you love is missing, tell us: hello@sailing.directory.

Who builds it

One sailor and a lot of software. Shearwater is the boat; the index got built because finding specific knowledge inside sailing YouTube meant scrubbing through hours of video and hoping. A small group of contributors who sail review channels and keep the quality honest.

Supporting the effort

All of this is one sailor’s work — every page, and the software that studies the fleet around the clock. It carries no ads and sells no one’s attention, so what moves it forward is backing from sailors: support from Founding Sailors goes straight into furthering and accelerating the effort — more channels aboard, more videos deeply analysed, better answers.

In return, the fleet globe keeps their watch. A Founding Sailor’s name — with their boat, home port, or a line of their own, each shown only if they choose — sails in rotation on the globe’s full-screen watch on the home page, for as long as the light burns. Read more and become a Founding Sailor.

Run a channel? See the creators page for how listings work and the controls you have.