This is how we meet in the wild.

No ballrooms. No name tags. No awkward small talk under fluorescent lights.
Just boats tied together in absurdly beautiful water, drinks being passed across lifelines, music in the air, and the immediate realization that yes — these are your people.

Floatchella is the unofficial official gathering of the Young Cruisers Association. It’s where the tribe comes together the way cruisers were always meant to: anchored out, tied up, sunburnt, a little salty, and fully committed to a good time.

Some people network in conference rooms.
We hip tie in paradise.

What is FLOATCHELLA?

Floatchella is a YCA raft-up in the wild — part floating party, part community reunion, part spontaneous group therapy for people who chose the strange and beautiful life of living by sea.

It’s where old friends reconnect, new boats become new best friends, and complete strangers end up sharing sundowners like they’ve known each other for years.

This is a floating expression of what YCA is all about: freedom, connection, adventure, and finding your tribe out here.

Where it all started.

Floatchella was born where a lot of the best YCA stories begin: the Exuma Cays of The Bahamas.

Not from a plan.
Not from a committee.
Not from somebody in a branded polo saying, “Let’s create an experience.”

It started the way cruiser legends should — a handful of boats tied together in paradise, music up, drinks flowing, floats drifting around in turquoise water, and the slow realization that this wasn’t just a raft-up… it was the tribe finding itself in real life.

What happened out there that first year was bigger than anybody expected.

It wasn’t just a fun day on the hook.
It was the start of something.

Because when cruisers meet in the wild, something different happens. You’re not just shaking hands and swapping Instagram handles. You’re sharing anchorages, stories, breakdowns, sunsets, weather windows, hard-earned lessons, and the kind of moments that fast-track strangers into lifelong friends.

Friendships forged during that very first Floatchella in the Exumas are still going strong today.
The buddy boats that formed out there didn’t just raft up for an afternoon — many kept traveling together, crossing oceans, ticking off countries and seasons side by side.

That’s the magic of Floatchella.

It’s not just about the party.
It’s about the connection.

The kind of connection that starts with a stern line and a cold drink… and turns into years of buddy boating, shared passages, reunions in faraway anchorages, and friendships that only this life can create.

What started as one legendary day in the Exumas became a tradition.
Then a culture.
Then a signal to the tribe:

We’re here. Come tie in.

Upcoming FLOATCHELLAs

  • Shroud Cay, The Bahamas

    • March 27th-28th

This is the Exuma motherland.
The sacred birthplace of Floatchella.
Where the first boats tied in, the first shot was poured, and the first YCAsses realized, “oh no… we’re definitely doing this every year now.”

Set course north.
Load the rum.
Grab the float.
Answer the call.

  • Your hosts:

    • Brian & Erin on SV Lost (@sailinglost on Instagram)

  • Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

    • April 3rd

Follow us on Instagram or the SeaPeople group for the latest details. Mara is crossing the Atlantic Ocean as you read this! Celebrate with your tribe as she makes landfall in beautiful Sint Maarten.

  • Your host:

    • Mara (@classicmara on Instagram)

  • Virgin Gorda Sound, BVI

    • April 7th

Follow us on Instagram or the SeaPeople group for the latest details. This is the 7th Floatchella that the Chasing Bubbles Foundation has put on! Trust us, if they’re behind it, the energy is right and it won’t be one you want to miss. Chase adventure like Captain Alex, raftup in paradise, and join their regatta that begins the next morning! Chasingbubbles.org/bvi

  • Your host:

    • Chasing Bubbles Foundation (@sailbubbles on Instagram)

  • Christmas Cove, USVI

    • May 13th

The final chapter of this season’s Chasing Bubbles Regatta Series starts exactly how it should, rafted up in Christmas Cove with your YCA brothers and sisters.

This Floatchella will kick off the season finale in proper style before the celebration carries on shoreside with the award ceremony during the Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association Charter Yacht Show on May 16th. Even better? All regatta entrants and YCA raft-up attendees get free entry to the event.

One last raft-up. One last run. One last chance to send this season off the only way we know how:

In Alex Rust style… all in, all together, and on the highest note possible.

  • Your host:

    • Chasing Bubbles Foundation (@sailbubbles on Instagram)

Want to Host Your Own?

The best part about Floatchella is that it belongs in the wild — and the wild is everywhere.

If your anchorage has good holding, good people, and just enough room for one more boat to slide in, you’ve already got the ingredients.

Host one in your chapter. Rally your anchorage. Summon the tribe. Start with one boat, then another, then another, until suddenly it becomes one of those days people talk about for years.

This doesn’t need to be complicated.
It just needs a place, a plan, and a few cruisers willing to say,
“Let’s tie up.”

Host your own Floatchella and we’ll bring the tribe together where you are.

  • "Where else on Earth can you find folks as cool, capable, crazy, and stoked for living gathered in one place? It's an annual migration that brings us back to our roots, reminding us of why we started this lifestyle in the first place."

    — Dave & Kendra | SV Moonshine

  • "One incredible advantage of a raft up that you may not have heard yet is that a good baby monitor can reach every single boat. This meant that for the first time since we started cruising with our baby, my wife and I could hang out on multiple other boats in one night and keep an eye on our sleeping child the entire time!"

    —Chris & Janie | SV Cloud II

  • "From the moment I arrived in the Marquesas, something shifted. SV Isla floated the idea of gathering cruisers together for something special. With help from the Young Cruisers Association, the first ever Floatchella in French Polynesia was born!"

    —Lauren Landers | SV Soul Del Mar

  • "Floatchella isn't just a weekend raft-up, it's the spark that binds lives together for seasons, years, and if we're lucky, maybe even a lifetime."

    —Brian & Erin | SV Lost