La Vagabonde Contractory Stories

[tradrockrat]

A private person can do anything they want with money given to them. A non-profit (in America as defines under the 501(c)3) must be transparent. If they decided to "Donate" proceeds from their "for profit" business to a charity, you have no right to see any of it. But they are stupid if they don't release the numbers as those numbers are public relations and free advertising - so if they DON'T tell you happily how wonderful they are for donating X$....maybe they didn't donate it at all?

I collect money for charities through my non-profit. I take in about 10-12K a year and distribute it to programs that provide inclusive and adapted sports opportunities for individuals with disabilities. I also teach organizations how to create those programs. I am required to be transparent....yet...making so little...most of that "transparency" is in the form of a tax return that literally says we make less than 50K...sooo...lol yeah...

The point is - you either trust me and my organization, or you don't. I have joined transparency checkers like Guidestar, etc, but ultimately it's really simple, you either trust and donate, or you do not trust and do not donate.

Dishonest behavior out of youtube stars isn't new, uncommon, or going away.

[Elie]

I don't follow or look at their videos any more, and this has nothing to do with the way they make their living. I'm in fact fed up with the pettyness of these video, the stupidity of their subjects, and the ridicule show of the lady back end to promote, but mostly to compensate for the emptyness of the said videos on the net. The rest has nothing to do with the way they make their money, and someone give his money it has the same value as someone giving money to poor people in the streets. It might however be disturbing to 'GIVE' money to the 'rich' ng to be needy. But thing of it, everywhere you go, big corporations ask for donation without shame every where .

[StoneCrab]

I find the inconsistencies only interesting to the extent that I ask myself if I could pull off what they have.

I think it is pretty remarkable however they did it. I'm not looking for any purity, just entertainment. At least they maintain an upbeat outlook and have fun in ways that are interesting to me.

I also credit them for never saying "life changing" when experiencing something new, or putting up emotion bating leader photos.

I'm envious of the benefits of having a fanbase who hooks them up with places to stay and services. I've got to get some of that in my travels.

It is a bit of a "how to travel with women" education. By that I mean they also stay on land a fair bit, which is realistic and seems to work. Riley also takes on the boat on his own when she's tired of being on board. You got to know there is a fair amount of animated discussion that is happening behind the scenes there. Is it dishonest to not show it? I'd say no, since I'd rather not see any of that.

The boat deal is risky in my opinion. I am always thinking to myself that they have had a lot of problems to deal with for a boat that was fresh out of the factory. It reinforces my contentment with my very old and used boat.

I was on their boat in Annapolis. It really shocked me how much smaller it is in person than it seams to be in the videos.

Overall, I think they strike a good balance. I am entertained. I think they've even done a good job including Lenny without it seeming like a kid show or one of parents fawning over their kid. He is pretty funny at times which makes me laugh.

I am sooo glad they revised their intro which included the screaming baby. They almost lost me over that. Thank god for the ability to jump ahead.

When it comes to boat purchases, Zingaro and Sailing Doodles have me a bit mystified. I guess it is the power of the Patreon that you can destroy your boat have have enough donations to get back to it with barely any delay. I admire their ability to just keep moving forward and putting it out there.

[Valmika]

I supported them at one time but I have a rule. When someone is making over $1000 per video I pick another one to support. It' has been a long time since I supported La Vagabond and haven't really followed them since the picked up the cat. I still follow Delos occasionally and contribute to Expedition Evans although it might be time to stop supporting them with Patreon. I will always support boatworks today he has good information and good videos that can benefit all who boat.

[jim King]

I have been following LaVagabonde since its inception over six years ago. I found it amusing and entertaining and never became a patron though I had at times felt I should. Of late I have started seeing more commercialization of their blog and watching it less. I thought the early years when they were in their 43' Beneteau Cyclades much more entertaining and less scripted.
I think they probably make enough revenue from Utube that they don't really need patrons, but more power to them I say, they work hard to put a weekly production together and it still entertains hundreds of thousands of viewers and lets them see the good, bad and the ugly of living the life on the hook. I think they are good ambassadors for sailors all over the world and feed the desire for many who live vicariously on their blogs and may get the oportunity some day to join in their lifestyle (but without the blog).

[jim King]

I'm not sure what kind of deal they cut with Outremer, but I am sure they get preferential treatment that none of us would receive. It is in Outremer's best interest to see their weekly advertisement keep sailing smoothly.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by zamber

The la Vagabonde people say that they "bought" the Outremer, but Outremer said it was a lease. This is significant because they are asking for donations. The rumor is that they are "paying" off their 10 year deal by promoting Outremer such as the fractional ownership deal. That is a common way that celebrities that promote a product are compensated. Outremer said is it a sponsorship deal. The vagabonde people said the bought it. This does not add up. The difference is La Vagabonde has a Paypal "Donate" button on their website.

Check out the quote where he says corporate sponsorships are an "evil lure." Now they have all types of sponsorships on top of the youtube income. They're manning boat show booths and giving speeches for pay.

Riley said thanks to donations he does not have "to go back to working." https://sailing-lavagabonde.com/yest...e-an-e-begger/ They now have someone edit their videos.

Listen, they are asking for straight-up paypal donations even though they have this enormous income. They say the donations are for equipment, then they say they got this or that for free because of a sponsorship. 3,702 patrons on Patreon, do you see them spending that type of money on equipment? It is legit to question because they are asking people for Paypal donations to support their jet-set lifestyle. They are now making sales that they say are going to charity. Do you see any public audits? I don't.

They make huge amounts of money apart from "donations." Is their asking for donations unethical? Is it a good idea to make donations to people that make contradictory statements on how they got their boat? There is a word for people that make contradictory statements.

And please do not make accusations of jealousy. The issue is the asking for donations without any accountably of where it is going, combined with contradictory statements.


"marketing manager a huge fan of our show" "very important business meetings" 2:05 "business tactic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ture=emb_title

What's up with all the hate? La Vagabonde is being purchased by Riley and Elena the same way most people buy a house (via mortgage payments) Outremer is probably co-signing the loan for advertising purposes. I don't watch all the La Vag episodes but the ones I've seen don't make any overt attempt to advertise Outremer. Yeah, their mortgage payments are covered by their patreons, but nobody is being forced to pay anything (I certainly don't). This is just entertainment for many of their followers but Riley does attempt to add some learning bits where he can. At least when they had a kid they didn't make the mistake of giving us 20 minutes of the little nugget's shenanigans.

[ohthetrees]

Just saying you’re not motivated by jealousy does not make it true any more than those Youtubers’ claims which offend you so much.

I don’t care for La Vagabonde, and wouldn’t think of giving them money. But it is fascinating and inexplicable (barring jealousy) how worked up many are over these YouTubers asking for (and worse!), getting donations.

Watching these videos is voluntary. Donating is voluntary. Getting mad about these YouTubers is one of the silliest things that I see on this board.

I donate $1/episode to two channels that I particularly like. It seems a fair trade for the entertainment product they provide, and I enjoy. I don’t think of myself as donating to support their lifestyle, I think of it as fair compensation for the labor intensive product they are providing me.

Final thought: I don’t think most people have any concept of just how much work it is to produce these videos. My kids and I made a 15 min episode of our own sailing adventures just for the fun of it, and to share with family. It ended up taking several days of effort to shoot and edit (I won’t call it work, since we were doing it as a family recreation project). Those YouTubers work for their money, and except for the biggest stars, they don’t make much money.

[sailorboy1]

I don't care what their story is and I don't follow ANY blogs and I certainly would NEVER help pay for SOMEONE ELSE than my wife and I to cruise!!!!!

[sailorboy1]

I don't care what their story is and I don't follow ANY blogs and I certainly would NEVER help pay for SOMEONE ELSE than my wife and I to cruise!!!!!

[Dave_S]

I don't get your point.

Is it a loan or is it a lease? In Australia (where, I assume they pay tax) the benifits of either, from a tax wise perspective seem to change. When we buy a car or machinery for work the account says lease it or pay it off.

If you asked me which way we bought which item, I wouldn't know, I'd say we are paying it off. That could mean either to me. It's not because I'm a shifty bugger it's because it's not that important to me, I'm happy knowing it was the right choice at the time.

If they bought it cheap, well done. I use whatever I have to get a good deal, you'd be a fool not to. Their exposure is what their business is, so they leverage that.

It sounds like you are accusing them of fraudulently generating income for charity and using the money for them selves. All I see (and I haven't read all the articles) is swimsuits with profits donated to charity. Profits are the taxable portion of the business after all expenses. That is very different from "all donations go to charity". I'm sure their account works that out for them. I am as sure if they claim "all donations go to charity" I would bet that's what happens.

If you have some evidence, you should disclose it, all I see is a successful couple in a very difficult business.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

I don’t care for La Vagabonde, and wouldn’t think of giving them money. But it is fascinating and inexplicable (barring jealousy) how worked up many are over these YouTubers...

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Watching these videos is voluntary. Donating is voluntary. Getting mad about these YouTubers is one of the silliest things that I see on this board.

I'm also sure that the people that do contribute feel that they are getting some type of product and value in return for their contribution.

Whether that be for entertainment, or information, or education, or sense of community, or whatever.

Watch or don't watch, pay or don't pay - either way nobody is forcing you, it's your own free choice.

So no need for some here to get so worked up over this.

Life's too short. Better to spend the time Sailing Fast and Living Slow.

[Hoodsail]

Well now I want to go and look at one of their utube videos! Just kiddin’ but have enjoyed videos from “No BS just sailing”. ...I agree with others in that I have viewed sailing videos from a variety of sites, helps to break up the COVID craziness, but never given $$...because altho sometimes entertaining, rarely educational...but free enterprise and capitalism thrive on the internet, so feel free to parcel out your $$ as you see fit. Lastly, we give to established charities, none of which we initially found on line.

[seaskip]

You must be bored. Go work on your boat😄

[nortonscove]

I stopped watching when they moved to the catamaran due to a lack of interest in the story. Prior to this I did follow the channel. I found it interesting when it was more of an adventure.

As for how they make their money it is not my concern. Far as I can tell society is full of people being over paid for BS. Almost as many as are being under paid for good honest work.