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