What are your thoughts on sailing video blogs?

[Training Wheels]

Never watch them, never will. I also hate "reality" TV.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[FSMike]

Hi Mrs. Pardey lol.

1) No.

2-6) N/A.

If I want movies about sailing I just dive into my memory. Better yet, just go sailing.

[m2244]

Right now I follow Sailing La Vagabonde, not religiously. They have good personalities and they mix some humor into it.

In one other video I saw recently, that will go unnamed, one of the crew members was American yet he kept referring to college as "university", very fake and pretentious. It got really annoying after about the 5th or 6th time he said it within 2 minutes. I did not subscribe to that crew's videos.

[Make_My_Day]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
3. How do you choose which you follow
4. How often do you want to see a new video
5. What makes you stop following a video blog
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog

1. Yes. Particularly SV Delos, La Vagabond, White Spot Pirates, Monday Never, SY Zero, RAN Sailing, SV Prism, Two Aboard Tuuli,
2. yes
3. Ones that appear to be relevant to sailing and are attractive to my wife and I. Ones that have good quality and interesting people.
4. about every 2 weeks is good
5. Boring ones that lose focus. Like Drake Paragon. So far it is more about being in New England.
6. yes but those that don't have a huge following. For example SV Delos and La Vagabond are earing about $6000 per video. 2-3 month is good income so I think that they are doing well. Spread the money around so that more people can do it.

We watch every Sunday when we get back from our boat. we find them informative and entertaining. We like to see the ups and downs as we prepare to join the cruising world.

[thinwater]

No interest in videos. I prefer good text and a few stills.

Would I pay? Yes, I do subscribe to one blog that has good information on boat operation and systems. I'm not that interested in travelogs; I'd rather go there myself and be surprised. Travel without surprise is hollow. In my mind, guides should give only the bare bones, allowing the traveler to at least imagine he is having an adventure.

[SoundOfSilence]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
Yes
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
No. But maybe I will...
3. How do you choose which you follow
Good quality, interesting places, type of boat, interesting and good looking people, humor
4. How often do you want to see a new video
Maybe once a week.
5. What makes you stop following a video blog
Not sure
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
No


Regards :-)

[tikirawker]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs - Yes
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog - Yes
3. How do you choose which you follow - some I follow because I am rooting for them (sv vagabonde) and some because I keep my fingers crossed for folly/demise (sv uma)
4. How often do you want to see a new video - weekly is good
5. What makes you stop following a video blog - updates take too long or the people are boring (sv delos)
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog - if there is something in return - short books, tips, how to's, music... - I can't stand the e-beggars!!!

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by Lin Pardey

I want to have some up-to-date info for the seminar I am presenting in Port Townsend in September on how to earn money as you cruise through writing, blogging and video. Appreciate your thoughts on following questions:
1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
3. How do you choose which you follow
4. How often do you want to see a new video
5. What makes you stop following a video blog
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
I am posting this request in several places to see how responses differ.
Thanks for helping me help other sailors.

Lin Pardey

I follow several video blogs ( Youtube channels) SV delos, Paragon, White spot pirates and a few others. Because we are still preparing for our big trip, we watch them voraciously. And we do pay for a couple of them, I particularly like the Paragon and " White spot pirates" videos as they (to me) represent the truer form of cruising. what does concern me alot is a number of videos we watch do show incredibly poor seamaship and the habits seem to be common. Lots of motoring, against tide and wind instead of working on sailing skills and I see ALOT of videos where people don't seem to plan their arrival time and seem to get to port "whenever" I recently watched a few where they arrived at a brand new port in the middle of the night motoring at 6-7 knots and HEAVILY dependant on their AP's, chartplotters and AIS to get them into port! This to me is a frightening development!

What happened to waiting for morning so you could see where you are going!

[S/V Reveille]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
Yes, I follow quiet a few. I find them both inspiring and informative.

2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
Yes, I subscribe to the one's that I follow.

3. How do you choose which you follow
The one's that are both entertaining AND informative. Most of the one's I follow I learn from. If they aren't useful/informative, I typically don't follow them.

4. How often do you want to see a new video
With some regularity, otherwise they're forgotten. Maybe a couple of times/month?

5. What makes you stop following a video blog
When they become self-serving, stop being informative, or it's more like a beer bash frat party. I also second the notion of despising the 'e-beggar' type.
There was one that even had a full video of a "Patreon Launch Party". Seriously?

6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
Yes, I've supported several, and continue to support a few. I don't mind supporting something that teaches me something... to me, that has value (i.e. Emerald Steel, sharing info obtained from cruising for 30+ years).

I have noticed an "explosion" of new v-blogs asking for support (Patreon and other platforms). I guess people see some being successful and want to join the circus. Many seem to be younger folks that want others to support their lifestyle. To me, its another example of an entitlement mentality of the younger generation. To those thinking of going that route... Offer something of VALUE... the market is now saturated with 'entertainment v-blogs'. Or better yet, work and pay your own way and contribute to helping others without having your hand out.

[MokaKat]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
Yes, Sailing SV Delos, La VagaBonde, Chase the Story and several others.
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
Yes
3. How do you choose which you follow
They need to be sailing/cruising related, good video quality, entertaining and
4. How often do you want to see a new video
Bi-weekly to weekly
5. What makes you stop following a video blog
Lack of videos or content changing.
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
Not at this time, saving money for my next cruise

I took a one year sabbatical from corporate life in 2013, bought a 40' Leopard, and sailed Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. I am ready to do it longer, but have a few personal responsibilities before doing it again. Our blog was MokaKat Sailing. Video is much harder and time consuming than blogging. I have tried a few videos, and the editing is very time consuming and finding high speed internet is difficult while cruising. I believe many of the more successful video blogs have either a dedicated person to edit it, or are sending it back to someone on land to do this for them. The technology is getting very good, with drones and better cameras. The challenge is to enjoy your time out there and not be obsessed with filming. Filming also takes away from the real experience, so the challenge is to film without creating a false experience.

[carlo de leo]

Originally Posted by Lin Pardey

I want to have some up-to-date info for the seminar I am presenting in Port Townsend in September on how to earn money as you cruise through writing, blogging and video. Appreciate your thoughts on following questions:
1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs. NO
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog NO
3. How do you choose which you follow. I DONT FOLLOW, JUST SPARE EPISODES. WHEN I NEVER SAW AN EPISODE, I REFER TO THE TITLE, AND THE COVER IMAGE. WHEN I LIKE I WATCH OTHERS FROM SAME AUTHOR.
4. How often do you want to see a new video. WEEKLY
5. What makes you stop following a video blog.
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog. NO
I am posting this request in several places to see how responses differ.
Thanks for helping me help other sailors.

Lin Pardey

I watch more or less 3 videos a day. One thing, no one said about, is that the author puts his wife/girlfriend as a teaser very often. Lots of videos has women on bikinis! Thats a "subliminar" way to rise viewers or would be voyeurs?
I like the ones that gives tips to passage, how to fix things, and the real world on live aboard. Don't like the "show off only" and the tourist guide role.
Like Sailing Uma, SY Zero and all the informative/news channels (Yatching world, world on water).
Regards,

[reed1v]

Most sailing blogs and youtube videos are boring. No one wants to see someone's face all the time. No sense in always stating the obvious("Its sunny outside"). The almost universal lack of insights and learning means the field is still wide open to someone really doing it right. There are the "training" videos but basically long winded hot air.
A bit of "hollywood"(think drama, intrigue), a bit of real knowledge(Read Dana's book), and some really well edited videos would really make a blog come alive.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Lin Pardey

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs? Yes
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog? Yes
3. How do you choose which you follow? If I enjoy what I watch.
4. How often do you want to see a new video? Don’t really care, but weekly to fortnightly
5. What makes you stop following a video blog? Repetitive, dull.
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog? No

If I like the presenter then I tend to subscribe. But typically most vlogs become repetitive. White Spot Pirates is a good example. The first series is all about the challenges of fixing up her boat. The viewer couldn’t help but share the pain and pleasure and appreciate the insights. But in the second series the boat is basically sailing trouble free and so it’s become a vlog of a girl sailing to nice little islands and villages. It’s become dull and uninteresting (to me) You know; Carl and I sailed to X, biked round the village, met some locals, invited to a fish bbq with lots of selfies and smiling children. Drake’s Paragon too has lost its edge.

As others have said, quality is important. I prefer to watch mini documentaries. I don’t need the presenters face in the shot all the time. And like another op mentioned boobs and bums are a big factor in success. The seemingly successful vlogs have lots of young skin. And they’re semi professional using very expensive gear and often produced by people with industry training.

[barnakiel]

Here are my (and my mate's) answers as per you list:

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
Yes (VOR and VG) - not true vblogs, but plenty of video content.

2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
No

3. How do you choose which you follow
We follow what we are interested in.

4. How often do you want to see a new video
At any frequency. Contents and quality count, not frequency.

5. What makes you stop following a video blog
The race is over. The adventure is over. The captain died. The content is boring or purpose made.

6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
No. We are supporting sailors who do their own stuff, with their own money, at their own rate.

Best regards,
b

[Captaink73]

1. Do you follow any sailing video blogs
Yep, La Vagabonde is my favorite.
2. Do you subscribe to the video blog
Yep
3. How do you choose which you follow
Interesting places, interesting people, I even settle for decent video quality.
4. How often do you want to see a new video
Weekly would be nice but that's a lot with major crossings
5. What makes you stop following a video blog
ADD added to wanderlust. I get frustrated with the same old same old and sometimes life gets in the way of my adventures so frustration sets in, in not independently wealthy.
6. Are you willing to pay to support a video blog
Don't see why not.