The Young Turks. Why YouTube sailing vlogs are a disruptive market force to learn from, not lambast.

On a lee shore, with their engine struggling, an increasing number of marine businesses are finding themselves caught out by a market in flux. Why? Well for one, that ever-dependable cash cow, the baby boomer, is starting to die out.

So what is the strategy going forward for marine businesses? In the case of many, there doesn’t appear to be one. In an increasingly complex market that’s more challenging to understand, some are hoping for the best on a falling tide; failing to adapt to the situation they are facing. What does the new breed of consumer look like? We’re into uncharted territory, but what is clear is that the new market fails to conform to stereotypes.

Entrepreneurial, independent and uninterested in the conventions of the past; many coming into yachting see it as a mechanism to access the incredible, rather than a pursuit in itself. A yacht unlocks another angle on the world and offers a means of escape that differentiates them from their peers. In short, the millennial is knocking at the door of the industry looking for something new. Having failed to adapt to this demand, some businesses playing by the old rules are finding what they offer doesn’t match up.

Mechanism to access. The universal appeal of yachting. Credit: Sailing La Vagabonde/Outremer

So how can the market get to the root of the millennial yachtie zeitgeist? The internet is our friend…

Spend any time on yachting forums online (or don’t, save your soul) and you will read about You Tube channels like SV Delos and Sailing La Vagabonde . Yachts that cruise full-time and make videos about their experiences. Ritually lambasted for their lack of technical knowledge by the keyboard rear-admirals, they are generally to be found in tropical anchorages around the world; soaking up sun and social media likes in equal measure. Thousands follow in their wake online, living vicariously through their travels and learning what yachting has to offer at the same time.

But what do these young Turks of yachting and their aspirational disciples mean for the market? Should they be loathed or loved? Perhaps what we should consider first is how they might influence the future. I can’t imagine a better barometer on the enduring appeal of yachting to a younger audience. Some viewers will follow through and buy into the equation, which is great news. Furthermore, unlike the previous generation, the millennial moves fast on their goals; executing long before retirement in case it might be too late. It’s a different mindset. Will everyone that watches open mouthed on their miserable commute buy into the dream? No, but enough will to make a difference to the status quo. The question is which marine businesses are ready to embrace them and react quick enough? They don’t want to wait.

Riley Whitelum. A different angle on yachting for a different audience.

In 2017 I went sailing with Sailing La Vagabonde and wrote a feature about my experience for UK yachting magazine Yachting Monthly. Above all, I was curious. As viewers we are given a beautifully edited window on their lives, but what is the reality like? Reassuringly, their early productions, those that propelled them to success, are fundamentally self-depreciating. Like most amateur sailors, for a long time, they didn’t have a clue. The fundamental difference is that they were happy to share their ineptitude and take viewers on the road to competence with them. They, shock horror, are like the rest of us. So if they can do it, why can’t the person watching the video? The negative response from some readers of my article was as good an indicator as any to me that I’d touched a nerve of discontent amongst an old guard that is perhaps increasingly irrelevant.

Striking a deal with performance catamaran builder Outremer, Sailing La Vagabonde pulled off a blinder, cementing their position as a pioneering YouTube channel sailing a yacht most will only ever dream of. For Outremer it was a win win too. With a goal to define their position in the market as builders of a different kind of catamaran, for a new kind of customer, La Vagabonde would put their product centre stage for years, whilst fostering an emerging market for Outremer.

At Düsseldorf Boat Show last month it became even clearer to me how marine businesses are starting to be defined by two things; how clear their offering to the market is, and, their ability to react quickly to demand. But how fast to move? Perhaps for guidance on this we should look to outside the marine bubble and think bigger; to quote Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.”