Speaker 1: I think if the weather wasn't so miserable today, lots
Speaker 1: of Cape Tonians would be getting out into the ocean
Speaker 1: and possibly, if they are lucky enough, onto a boat.
Speaker 1: It is a big recreational activity here in Cape Town,
Speaker 1: much loved by many of our city dwellers. And if
Speaker 1: that's something that you are particularly interested in, and you'll
Speaker 1: be curious to know that there is a new event
Speaker 1: debuting in Cape Town later this year called the African
Speaker 1: Boating Conference. It's a one of a kind event dedicated
Speaker 1: to unlocking the vast potential of the boating industry across
Speaker 1: Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. As the only recreational
Speaker 1: boating business to business conference on the continent, they are
Speaker 1: set to make a world of difference in an underserved
Speaker 1: market brimming with opportunity. Joining me by a zoom to
Speaker 1: tell us more about the event is the founder and organizer,
Speaker 1: Vita Pretorius Vida. Good morning, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Amy, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Capital listeners.
Speaker 1: How did you come up with the idea to start
Speaker 1: this African Boating Conference?
Speaker 2: I have to tell you that I was actually inspired
Speaker 2: by what's being done elsewhere in South Africa. The boating
Speaker 2: industry and the boat building sector is very developed, but
Speaker 2: there's still some market leaders that we can learn from.
Speaker 2: And I've been looking at the conferences that are being
Speaker 2: hosted in Australia and in Singapore and by the British
Speaker 2: Marine Federation, and I was so inspired by the content
Speaker 2: that they have, the speakers that they have, and how
Speaker 2: well received those events are in the industry. It's very
Speaker 2: difficult to find events that are very that are peer
Speaker 2: to peer in the boating sector in South Africa. We've
Speaker 2: always focused, I think more on the boat shows and
Speaker 2: the consumer side, but there's so much that we can
Speaker 2: learn from each other and within the industry that that's
Speaker 2: kind of the big thinking behind the event.
Speaker 1: So then just to clear five for listeners, Vida, this
Speaker 1: event is completely separate from the boat show.
Speaker 2: Yes, this event will be on the twenty first and
Speaker 2: the twenty second of October, which is a Tuesday and
Speaker 2: a Wednesday, and that is preceding the boat show, which
Speaker 2: is going to be on the weekend from the Friday
Speaker 2: to the Sunday. This is a B to B event,
Speaker 2: so it will be targeting boat builders, retailers, anybody that's
Speaker 2: involved in the boating ecosystem, from marina development all the
Speaker 2: way through to superyachts, but from a business perspective, and
Speaker 2: then the weekend will give them opportunity for consumers and
Speaker 2: for the boating public to come to the waterfront and
Speaker 2: kind of see what the lifestyle of boating is about
Speaker 2: versus the business side, which will be done earlier in
Speaker 2: the week and Vida.
Speaker 1: One of the things about this conference that really caught
Speaker 1: my attention when you know we're chatting earlier in the
Speaker 1: week is that one of the outcomes of the conference
Speaker 1: will be the establishment of a regional super yacht route.
Speaker 2: What is that about the last few years, we've seen
Speaker 2: an definite increase in superyot's visiting the Cape due to
Speaker 2: a number of reasons. One of them is the uncertainty
Speaker 2: and the safety issues around the Red Sea and especially
Speaker 2: the Gulf of Aden, but also underlying market issue is
Speaker 2: that there's been a real increase in superyot owners wanting
Speaker 2: to travel further, wanting to explore new territories and discover
Speaker 2: new places, and that's really driven a lot of support
Speaker 2: for destinations further afield. Also the areas of all the
Speaker 2: primary markets of the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the US East Coast,
Speaker 2: they're quite saturated and I think the newer, younger you
Speaker 2: owner is looking for something different. So we've seen a
Speaker 2: lot of increase in your traffic through the Pacific, Australia,
Speaker 2: New Zealand, that region, Asia and the is an enormous
Speaker 2: opportunity for Africa to also place itself as part of
Speaker 2: a kind of a global route. But people don't fly
Speaker 2: in here with the superocht. It needs to be an organized,
Speaker 2: well communicated route with trusted service providers, so that if
Speaker 2: you're a superot owner and you're now in Thailand at
Speaker 2: the moment you want to travel round Cape Town, where
Speaker 2: will you go on route? And I think that's one
Speaker 2: of the key focus areas for this conference is to
Speaker 2: bring the regional players together from Seychals, Mauritius, Tanzania, all
Speaker 2: the different ports around South Africa around to Namibia and
Speaker 2: to really come together and decide, you know, where in
Speaker 2: our respective countries and regions are the best offerings for superiots,
Speaker 2: pull together a list of credible and professional service providers
Speaker 2: and then bring together a proper route that's very well
Speaker 2: communicated to the international suit beyond industry through yacht captains,
Speaker 2: managing management companies, through communication with owners. I think it's
Speaker 2: an enormous opportunity, but it does require regional cooperation, and
Speaker 2: it requires a high level of service and polished presentation.
Speaker 1: You know, when you talk about superots, I'm assuming you're
Speaker 1: not talking about a recreational catamer and you're talking about
Speaker 1: these massive, massive things that the Oligochs own, right, Yes.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm talking about me about your twenty four meters
Speaker 2: and up. We're likely in our area to find sailing
Speaker 2: your sailing superots twenty four meters and up. But I
Speaker 2: think in terms of power power power yachts it will
Speaker 2: be or motor boats it will be forty meters and up,
Speaker 2: just because of the fuel capacity that they need in
Speaker 2: the range to be able to travel so far afield.
Speaker 2: When we talk about supiots, I think people are very
Speaker 2: stuck on the owner and how wealthy they are and
Speaker 2: how wealthy their family is, and why are we spending
Speaker 2: so much time and effort on making, you know, investing
Speaker 2: in infrastructure and training and everything for these few, for
Speaker 2: this handful of wealthy elite people. What people don't understand
Speaker 2: is the economic ripple effect that they have super yochts,
Speaker 2: spend a lot of money and very similar to a
Speaker 2: Safari lodge. You know, it might only accommodate eight to
Speaker 2: twelve guests at a time some of these luxury places,
Speaker 2: but they keep twenty to thirty households going for the year.
Speaker 2: And I think that's where the economic opportunity is not
Speaker 2: only for South Africa but also for the region. When
Speaker 2: a yacht pulls into your harbor and one of the
Speaker 2: big super beyots, you know they are spending a big
Speaker 2: amount of money that goes through not only to the
Speaker 2: very large companies, but also is MMES. I think in
Speaker 2: the research that's done in Italy and in Australia, more
Speaker 2: than fifty percent of the company that are involved in
Speaker 2: the superyot sector or SMMES and Italy, I think it's
Speaker 2: like seventy five percent of companies in that value chain.
Speaker 2: So it's not about a big firm, it's not about
Speaker 2: the owner. It's actually about the big picture, the bigger
Speaker 2: ecosystem that supports that industry.
Speaker 1: VIDA will the conference also be looking at opportunities for
Speaker 1: employment and growth and learning for young people in this industry.
Speaker 2: It will, yes, definitely, but not only on the superocht sector.
Speaker 2: So the Boating Conference is looking at boating from the
Speaker 2: whole ecosystem of boating, from marina development and investment in
Speaker 2: mariners to marine tourism and we're talking about day charters
Speaker 2: or fishing charters, any kind of boating, tourism activity, skills
Speaker 2: development and training. It will be looking at boat building
Speaker 2: and new technologies and boat building and also getting into boating,
Speaker 2: how can a family and young people access boating and
Speaker 2: get more people involved. And then at the superyard sector,
Speaker 2: So we're looking at skills development and how to get
Speaker 2: young people interested in the industry across all of these
Speaker 2: different segments, not only in the superyarch segment. South Africa
Speaker 2: probably has between thirty and forty percent of the global
Speaker 2: superyarch crew of South Africans, so there's already a very
Speaker 2: strong presence. But working on a superot is not for everybody.
Speaker 2: It's confined spaces, there are long hours. You need a
Speaker 2: certain type of person who's going to enjoy it and
Speaker 2: who's going to add value to that team. But superyots
Speaker 2: are not the only areas where people can work. There's
Speaker 2: fantastic opportunities everything from being involved in a marina to
Speaker 2: being a captain and taking out people on fishing charts,
Speaker 2: to boat building, engineering design. You know, it's a huge,
Speaker 2: huge industry, so there's a lot of opportunities and it's
Speaker 2: definitely one of our focus areas will be attracting talent
Speaker 2: and the right talent to the industry.
Speaker 1: I know you said it's a B to B conference,
Speaker 1: but if people listening are interested Vedan would like to
Speaker 1: either connect with you or sign up to attend the conference,
Speaker 1: what's the best way for them to do so, Oh.
Speaker 2: That's fantastic. They can go to the website, which is
Speaker 2: Africanboatingconference dot com. They can also pop me an email
Speaker 2: at connect at Africanvotingconference dot com. And also bear in
Speaker 2: mind that on that weekend is the boat show, so
Speaker 2: if they're also interested in information around the boat show,
Speaker 2: they can also pop me an email and I can
Speaker 2: direct them, or they can also look they can contact
Speaker 2: Blue Cape to find out more about the boat show
Speaker 2: as well. This is going to be the first year
Speaker 2: that the industry is hosting the boat show, so I
Speaker 2: think it's going to be absolutely fantastic and it's going
Speaker 2: to be at the waterfront, so this is going to
Speaker 2: be something very different to what we've seen in previous years,
Speaker 2: and I think the industry is very excited to be
Speaker 2: able to put a fresh spin on the event.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm so excited and inspired by all the things
Speaker 1: you've told us this morning, and I would actually suggest,
Speaker 1: like to suggest that we do a follow up interview
Speaker 1: after you've held the conference and just learn more about
Speaker 1: some of the outcomes feeda.
Speaker 2: Yes, that'll be fantastic. I'd love that the Boating Conference.
Speaker 2: The theme is boating as a catalyst for economic growth.
Speaker 2: It's not only about the lifestyle that we all love
Speaker 2: and enjoy and want experience, but it's also about what
Speaker 2: it can mean in terms of economic transformation for small businesses,
Speaker 2: for young people looking for a new career and exciting career,
Speaker 2: for developing technology. There's a lot of innovation and technology
Speaker 2: in the boat building space. So yes, I'd love to
Speaker 2: have a conversation with you afterwards. And I just have
Speaker 2: to just have to say I've received fantastic support from
Speaker 2: the boating industry in South Africa and I have the
Speaker 2: best sponsors that have already come on board. Escape Almond Sales,
Speaker 2: Motor and Sale Yachts, VETAS FFS and I'm really really
Speaker 2: thankful for the great support of received and the great
Speaker 2: registrations that have been piling in the last few weeks.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure if it's because the Early Bird special
Speaker 2: its ending on the thirtieth, but we've definitely seen a
Speaker 2: big influx of registrations, which.
Speaker 1: Is great, fantastic. Well, I'm very grateful that you got
Speaker 1: up so early on a Sunday morning to talk to
Speaker 1: us Veda and thank you very much for your time.
Speaker 1: All the best with the inaugural African Boat Conference taking
Speaker 1: place on the twenty first and twenty second of October.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me Amy, and thank
Speaker 2: you CAP Talk listeners for listening to my happy ramblings
Speaker 2: on a Sunday morning.
Speaker 1: Vieta Pretorius the founder and organizer of the African Boating
Speaker 1: Conference and you can find out more about that or
Speaker 1: connect with Rita online.