La Vagabonde Contractory Stories

[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.

F: There have been rumours that you are sponsored by Outremer. Did you get a free boat?
EC: that’s not the case. What Outremer did was help us finance a loan. We were so lucky that they saw something in us, believed in us and trusted us enough to help us get the loan. We have a 10-year plan to pay that off.
https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruisin...vagabonde-life

we bought a sailboat. I'm not sure if it was the best investment financially speaking hahaha! Boats depreciate in value as soon as you buy them, (Riley tells me that the Outremer does hold it's value https://www.facebook.com/SailingLaVa...1572368894590/

helping them getting a lease” explain Xavier Desmarest, CEO of Outremer.
Outremer 45 involving a historic sponsorship deal
https://www.multihullcentral.com/aus...outube-videos/

What he really wants you to get is a catamaran like the $1 million plus one he now sails courtesy of a sweet deal he swung with the French builder Outremer courtesy of his ability to give the brand exposure on his Youtube channel. https://iseenew.com/slv-essential-sail-guide/

Following a totally chance meeting with a manufacturer of luxury vessels in Los Roques, the couple landed the incredible deal.
'I've been dreaming about this since I got the initial email,' a disbelieving Mr Whitelum said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...ury-yacht.html

Elaynas bikinis are online now. 100% of profits to charity, https://twitter.com/Sailing_LaVaga/s...64197999128578

All donations go towards better equipment https://www.patreon.com/LaVagabonde

To have funding from the public, as I’m sure you well know, is the purest way to receive any endowment. Void of the insidious strings attached by commercial industry. Adverts, deadlines, genres. You have removed the evil lure of adulterating ones art or product or just thing in search of money
https://sailing-lavagabonde.com/yesterday-someone-called-me-an-e-begger/

"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

[Dogscout]

Wait, something on the internet is untrue? Who woulda thunk!

[Fore and Aft]

Do they have to be accountable? They are just a private couple doing their thing and if people give them money then what happens to it is not our business? It might get on your nerves, but follow my lead and never watch or follow them. There are waaay more interesting people on the internet in my opinion.
To second Dogscout "A sailor stretching the truth, who ever heard of such a thing"
Cheers

[olaf hart]

They sold their souls, and their childrens privacy, to the internet.

Just cashing in on the gig economy...

[syPhilos]

Originally Posted by zamber

The difference is La Vagabonde has a Paypal "Donate" button on their website.

So? Don't use it.

Originally Posted by zamber

Listen, they are asking for straight-up paypal donations even though they have this enormous income.

How do you know what their income is? Have you seen their tax returns?
And how much is "enormous"? (Asking for a friend )

Originally Posted by zamber

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?

If you don't like what they're doing and/or don't trust what they're saying, just don't donate.


TL;DR: who cares. It's donate button, and/or a Patreon button. There's plenty of sailors not going hungy (to put it mildly) who have donation buttons and/or Patreon pages. And even worse: millions of non-sailors do too!

Why not just let people decide for themselves if they want to donate to/support someone?

I liked their first few movies, but the more commercial they got, they less I watched. The only channel I still follow is Barry (Old Sea Dog). But that's just me, I don't feel the need to more or less 'motivate' others in doing the same

[zamber]

Originally Posted by syPhilos

Why not just let people decide for themselves if they want to donate to/support someone?

The quotes I listed was so people can get a clearer picture of what they are doing.
They are now collecting money for charity.

People need to have all the information they can get to decide if whatever organization they are contributing to is reputable, dishonest, or a scam. Whatever organization it is, info needs to be exposed.

[zamber]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Do they have to be accountable?

Did you see where they say they are collecting money for charity? I will not respond to your question about whether or not they should be held accountable, instead I will direct you to the below link.

https://www.charitynavigator.org/ind...view&cpid=1093

[malbert73]

Yawn. Another rail against Youtubers. Who cares? Watch it or not. Donate or not. Free market. And by the way, has there ever been transparency about where your cable or internet bill, or movie ticket revenue, go? Plenty of movie stars probably get 10s of millions for a movie AND donate to charity.

[Time2Go]

Don’t follow them or anybody else
However a mate sent me a link to one of their recent
episodes in which they point out
split supports for the rudder shaft
very similar situation that sunk another boat discussed
recently ( video on youtube)
Fixed by Outremer under “warranty “
Very bad publicity in my book
Would they do the same for you and me?
Cheers
Neil

[zamber]

Originally Posted by malbert73

has there ever been transparency about where your cable or internet bill, or movie ticket revenue, go?

Yes, there is transparency for where money from cable bills and movie ticket go. There are annual reports with audits by CPA accounting firms.
Here is the link to to AMC Theatres annual report: https://www.annualreports.com/Compan...t-holdings-inc

[jt11791]

Originally Posted by zamber

Yes, there is transparency for where money from cable bills and movie ticket go. There are annual reports with audits by CPA accounting firms.
Here is the link to to AMC Theatres annual report: https://www.annualreports.com/Compan...t-holdings-inc

You are ignoring the important distinction between public and private companies. Private companies need make no disclosures. Youtubers are private companies, they just have an unusual method of collecting revenue. They are not obliged to disclose anything to the consumer, just as the consumer is not obliged to pay them.

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by zamber

Did you see where they say they are collecting money for charity? I will not respond to your question about whether or not they should be held accountable, instead I will direct you to the below link.

People raise money for charities all the time. Whether or not they actually give that money or a portion of the money they collect to a recognized charity is another matter.

Recognized charities and non-profit orgs. are also notorious for mis-spending donations (Wounded Warriors, American Red Cross, Kids Wish Network, etc).

(American's are getting ready to approve a $1.9 trillion "covid-relief" bill in which 90% of the money is not on covid relief and doesn't even get spent this fiscal year.)

Graft and corruption seems to be the norm...welcome to the age of fraud!

Bottom line...some people are willing to give money for the entertainment value youtube buskers provide, and some companies think that there is some marketing value so they give away merchandise or discounts. There is no accountability as long as people "feel good" and repeat the "woke" virtue signals of the day.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by zamber

Did you see where they say they are collecting money for charity? I will not respond to your question about whether or not they should be held accountable, instead I will direct you to the below link.

https://www.charitynavigator.org/ind...view&cpid=1093

I have always been mystified as to why people want to throw their hard earned money at other people's cruising kitty instead of their own. Personally, I prefer to donate to legitimate charities that actually help people in need instead of wealthy millennials out having fun. But to each their own. A fool and his money etc.

It's also interesting that donators don't seem to care one iota if they are being scammed or not, so long as the T and A keeps coming each week. By scammed I mean having the begging misrepresented...."boo hoo hoo, please send me money so I can fix my boat", when the REAL intent is to buy a NEW boat. Nobody seems to have a problem with that....which is funny as hell to me.

There should be college courses on this phenomena.

As to La Vag....number ONE by a long shot. So no matter what they're doing. they are filling a need and profiting handsomely from it thanks to the generosity of all the suckers, I mean people out in fandomland.

[BlueSkyOne]

Personally I think you would be crazy to give money so that rich people can live a life that many of us dream and aspire too. When you see that SLV have nearly 4,000 Patreon supporters, most paying between $3-20 per video (although many may cap to supporting 1 video per month) this still means they are pulling in tens of thousands per month, add to this youtube money and other sponsors and a great deal on a new boat - then its clear by most peoples measure they are rich.

When there are so many smaller channels not to mention actual good causes I will never understand why people want to give money to the people who do not even need it, but I do understand that it is of course their money and they can give it to whoever they like.

I really liked the early SLV (and Ruby Rose for that matter) but as soon they get into bed with a boat builder and turn into marketing arms with their subtle digs at other boats I find it too much and have pretty much stopped following their channels.

[inchcailloch]

So many blogs etc out there, great if frustrated waiting for lockdown to end. All free to watch. Sure it costs money to share experiences, buy equipment, etc. As liveaboard i can finance myself and would hate the editting of productions etc. They sure put a lot of time, effort and expenditure into it so why not donate. I too follow Barry, Old Sea Dog. Down to earth guy, shows good and bad, old boat with all its problems and maintenance, got a great sense of quiet humour, bags of experience and great voice to listen to. Being an old boat much more identifiable to many liveaboards.