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Randyonr3 · 24-12-2014, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailorman Ed

Got my first quadcopotor for early Christmas, have landed in 2 trees already - will be a very long time before I can take pics of the boat at some island.

I've picked up one myself but I cant see how to manage the return of the copter back on the boat while its under sail.. guess I need some practic.

ka4wja · 24-12-2014, 12:33

Bluebuddha,
Here are two Youtube videos, showing a couple of my Atlantic crossings...they're about 12 minutes long each...
No blog....no asking for money (that's just plain rude!)
(both show sailing to windward and downwind; with main alone; with main and genoa; and with spinnaker; as well as comment on position, weather, etc.....even eating ice cream in the middle of the Atlantic in the middle of the hot summer....and the westbound video shows some of my passage thru TS Olga)

You did not say what makes a video relevant or irrelevant to you....so I have no way of knowing which category these fall into....but many have liked them, so you may find them useful / informative / fun...

Please enjoy....but understand that they aren't "professionally produced", just me with my camcorder when I had the time to film....

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f13/icom-m-802-instr-videos-basic-adv-and-live-dsc-distress-call-114734.html

ka4wja · 24-12-2014, 12:51

Bluebuddha,
As usual when posting a video link, Cruiser's Forum placed two links of the same video and truncated most of the rest of my post....

Still have no idea why, but no worries....

But all that was removed was my signature....
so..

BTW, if you're looking for sailing videos, looking for "blogs" would not be my recommendation....as they are typically more "travel log" than anything else....

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueBuddha

i'm looking specifically about series that put more emphasis on the sailing part of it (as opposed to the sightseeing). Again, nothing wrong with the guide tour style of video blogs, I'm just looking for video blogs of similar long passages/cruising with a bit more discussion about sailing/navigating, etc.

Just my thoughts....maybe look for sailing videos and not "blogs"....

Fair winds...

Merry Christmas!!!

John
s/v Annie Laurie

BlueBuddha · 24-12-2014, 14:21

Thanks John those are great! Thanks!

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BlueBuddha · 24-12-2014, 18:15

I just finished a marathon of 30+ episodes of Untie the Lines. I'm so impressed with her perserverance and how she transformed that boat. I'm not sure what happens next (no spoilers please) but I'm quite impressed with that girl and the format of the show.

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Helbent · 24-12-2014, 18:49

My wife and I are YouTube addicts. We have been highlighting a number of the best YouTube channels on our blog for the very reason that we also have difficulty finding quality stuff in the noise. We also have found a few things on Vimeo that are worth taking a look at it. Here are our three posts on good YouTube videos:
Cruising Videos on Youtube | Return to Seasons
More Cruising Videos on YouTube | Return to Seasons
Another Round of Great YouTube Sailing Videos | Return to Seasons

BlueBuddha · 24-12-2014, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helbent

My wife and I are YouTube addicts. We have been highlighting a number of the best YouTube channels on our blog for the very reason that we also have difficulty finding quality stuff in the noise. We also have found a few things on Vimeo that are worth taking a look at it. Here are our three posts on good YouTube videos:
Cruising Videos on Youtube | Return to Seasons
More Cruising Videos on YouTube | Return to Seasons
Another Round of Great YouTube Sailing Videos | Return to Seasons

Thanks so much! I'll check these out as well as your blog. Best wishes!

Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Wakey · 29-12-2014, 06:29

I dropped by CF for the first time in a couple of years to make a thread just like this one!

I've already seen many of the ones listed here but Return To Seasons posted some new channels that I'd not seen.

Using the YouTube app on a new 4K TV is simply amazing with today's video recorders!

Here are some I follow that have not been mentioned..

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIP...glg6QAgEYocQ8Q

https://www.youtube.com/user/Amelit54/videos

This guy is really just getting started, headed for the Bahamas I think. https://www.youtube.com/user/36wetpaint/videos

This is a super fun couple. They speak mostly Italian but you can turn on English captions. https://www.youtube.com/user/rpfeynman64/videos

cortezsailor · 07-02-2015, 08:04

Www.projectbluesphere.com

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ShaunSailing · 10-02-2015, 10:16

Shaun Sailing here!

@BlueBuddha

First off, thanks for mentioning me! I'm glad you enjoyed my videos!

Quote:

Getting back to my original question, I just finished watching the entire pacific crossing series by Shaun Sailing (Shawn Bockmaster). I enjoyed the first 1/2 tremendously but then it became an "island tour" series. There is nothing wrong with that, and I'm sure one day when I'm getting ready to sail those islands I will appreciate it even more. Yet, i'm looking specifically about series that put more emphasis on the sailing part of it (as opposed to the sightseeing). Again, nothing wrong with the guide tour style of video blogs, I'm just looking for video blogs of similar long passages/cruising with a bit more discussion about sailing/navigating, etc.

I totally agree with your comment. Looking back at my series with the knowledge I have now, I would had kept more of a focus on sailing and boat maintenance. I remember that after so many days at sea, you kind of run out of things to film while underway. You can only film the endless water so many times! However, I didn't think of filming things ON the boat! There were so many "funny" while underway repairs and jury-rigs that we had to do, especially in the final rough passage from Fiji to New Zealand.

I don't know if you saw my latest series, where I look at a bunch of potential boat purchases, but I ended up buying a '76 Bayfield 25 at the end of 2014. I had to put it on the hard almost immediately (for the winter), so no videos yet, but my next series (this year) I'll be fixing it up and hopefully rigging it for future coastal ocean cruising.

I'll try to keep future videos within my initial intended 'theme' of a shared learning experience for "newer" sailors (or just plain humour for "experienced" sailors to laugh at my mistakes) rather than travel blogs and island tours.

@letsgetsailing & others

Quote:

Some of these video blogs should be subtitled "The Real World, amateur cruiser edition. This is what happens when a 30-year-old guy pays cash for a boat, takes his girlfriend sailing to some fun places, and takes short videos in order to ask for money on the internet."

The formula seems to be: alter 30-second videos of your port visits with 2-minute segments clowning around the boat, have one or two 20-something girls in bikinis narrate your video, and put a Paypal link in. Life could be a dream come true. The key is to get the photo of the bikini girl as the photo for hits.

This is a really good point and something I have noticed with many emerging Youtube channels. I can always predict how many views/how much money a Youtuber is making based on how pretty the female crew are and how willing they are to reveal skin (especially in the video thumbnails!). This formula is obviously really effective (SV Delos is currently pulling in almost $3,000 per video on Patreon! - and they have sponsors on top of that!). It unfortunately cheapens the videos and thumbnails are just click-bait that don't truly reflect what is actually in the video.

With that said, these videos are very expensive and time consuming to make (my Pacific videos took roughly 30 hours each to make - not including the 10 months of filming). Anyone can go on a vacation and make a single Youtube video/series about it, but if you want a channel that continuously releases quality videos, then you will have a hard time doing that for free.

I had to take a break from sailing in 2014 to work and recoup my losses from the Pacific crossing and to save $ for my own boat (my dream is not to keep crewing on boats, but to cruise the world on my own boat). Note, I am not complaining about having to work to sail, but even a little income from my videos can allow me to work just one less day a week and would double the time I can spend with my boat/making videos.

Up until now, I had released all my videos for free and did not have a Patreon or Paypal account. But I came to the realization this year that if I want to keep releasing decent videos on a regular basis, then I need to start earning some sort of income on them. So I sold out, made a website (shaunsailing.com) and created a Patreon account. My goal is to make sailing videos that people will WANT to pay for. Imagine going to the movies and after watching the film having the choice to pay for the movie or not. Think of how much the quality of films would increase (haha)!

Quote:

I worry that video blogs will become the "Rick Steves" of cruising. That started out a good idea with the "Europe through the back door" approach, but ended up commercializing all the sites mentioned to where they became the next front door. Suddenly those hidden treasures were mainstream, and everywhere I went in Europe were full of people with Rick Steves travel books in their back pockets, following the same bouncing balls that the Fodor crowd had done before. You could no longer just show up in most of these "off the beaten path" places and find a place to stay, as in peak season they're full. The tourist industry really grew up in a lot of those places.

This is an important issue and is happening regardless of video blogs (although I'm sure video blogs only help to speed up the process). The Fiji I saw at the end of my crossing was FAR different than what I read about in Robin Lee Graham's book "Dove". The cruising world is changing and quickly. If you want to get out there and see "hidden treasures" then you have to go now!

Send me a message if you guys are interested in hearing more, have any questions, or just want to vent at one of us Youtubers (haha)

letsgetsailing3 · 10-02-2015, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaunSailing

With that said, these videos are very expensive and time consuming to make (my Pacific videos took roughly 30 hours each to make - not including the 10 months of filming). Anyone can go on a vacation and make a single Youtube video/series about it, but if you want a channel that continuously releases quality videos, then you will have a hard time doing that for free.

I'm glad you appreciated my commentary. I haven't seen your videos, but will try and have a look sometime.

I can understand the time-consuming part, but what is the expense ?

ShaunSailing · 10-02-2015, 15:28

Quote:

I can understand the time-consuming part, but what is the expense ?

Good question! I guess the costs are relative. For someone without a boat, the costs would be anything associated with finding and crewing on boats, which include flights and whether or not the boat owner wants you to pitch on cruising expenses. Also, any lost time at work since the standard 2 weeks vacation here in Canada will not suit the requirements for crewing on a boat.

In terms of what it costs ON TOP of actually going out and sailing (ie. what are the extra costs to make and release the videos themselves), you are looking at filming and editing equipment (which both need to be upgraded regularly to keep up with the demands of your market), proper editing software (which isn't cheap), storage (SD cards or whatever), and most importantly the opportunity cost of editing the video. If I want to release a video every week, then that means I have to spend 30 hours a week editing. The average full-time worker works 37.5 hours a week, so your editing is almost a full-time job. That is time you cannot spend working and saving up to fund your sailing/making videos.

You could just film everything with a basic camera and upload that footage to youtube unedited, but that would not make for a very good series and you really shouldn't be asking for financial support if that is your case. Making crappy Youtube videos is cheap, but making GOOD videos is expensive.

ps. for those looking for a good video blog. I have been really into "Wicked Salty" lately. They are just a couple cruising down to the Bahamas right now (just started out), but I wouldn't be surprised if it lead to further cruising!

southernfreedom · 10-02-2015, 16:43

delos and la vagabonde are really entertaining, both contrasting for sure, their having a blast and good on them !!! anyone can do this , some will make a few bucks others wont, if people are willing to pay to view...their choice! untie the lines, brave girl! see ya!