WHat is peregrina sails?

I’m Elana Connor, a writer on a singlehanded sailing circumnavigation with my dog — 15,000+ nautical miles and counting! My mission as a peregrina (pilgrim) is to travel simply and give freely.

Inspired by my past as a former foster child, Peregrina Sails is my grassroots mission to give my way around the world with the support of my Patrons. I am creating global ripples of change that will result in a tidal wave of community support and inspiration for young people in state (aka foster) care everywhere. 

Our Mission in Australia

As we voyage around the continent, I sail into communities and identify a local charity providing support to underserved young folks (preferably through outdoor experiential education programs). I then connect the local sailing community to that charity by volunteering my own time: doing free presentations, talks, and teaching courses on my vessel, Windfola. In lieu of any fees, I ask attendees to donate directly to the local charity, with the aim of sparking an ongoing relationship that lasts long after I depart.

Results?

In partnership with the communities we’ve encountered, we have raised well over $60,000 for local charities, inspired organizations to create and fund their own new programs for youth in care or do their own charity drives, and even prompted local businesses to change by donating a percentage of profits to charities for care-experienced youth. Individuals are also taking this message to heart, finding their own ways to give: from donating their old tents to a local youth homeless service, to getting their workplaces to match donations, to lobbying their local representatives to have better policies on supporting young people aging out of state care, to becoming certified foster-carers themselves.

I also connect with young people of all ages through schools, community groups, and more. I particularly delight in meeting kids who have backgrounds like mine. These young folks need role models they can relate to, and through that, to know that their futures shines bright!

How to help us make waves

What I need most now, with inflation and increasing costs of operating the yacht in Australia, is SPONSORSHIP. Australia is the most expensive country we've visited, and since a boat crashed into us in March, we'll be unable to depart this country and cross the Indian Ocean in 2024. With the extra time, I know we can visit more places and make an even bigger difference — but there's no way we can stay here another year without your financial support! The more our costs are covered, the more time and enthusiasm I can give to the communities I encounter. Can you help? Please, donate, subscribe, or get in touch to support us!

Please reach out if you can help us give more to the communities we visit, by connecting us with:

• sailing and community-minded clubs and organizations, to host talks and fundraising events

• local schools and youth organizations, to inspire them to dream big and be more inclusive to less-advantaged youth

• state care-related or at-risk youth-supporting charities and their young people.
  

thank you and remember

I couldn’t do this without the community — those who support me already, and those who we encounter along the way. It is this connection, human to human, that enables us to make change for the next generation of young people.

In the words of James Baldwin, “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe.”