Southern Wind at the African Boating Conference 2025

by JOHN CRAIG

Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront was the picturesque setting for the inaugural African Boating Conference held in Cape Town in October. More than 200 delegates from around the globe gathered for the 2 day conference, where local and international speakers addressed the global marine economy and how Africa could collaborate and compete to convert its natural advantage to economic value.

Day One saw conference director Veda Pretorius welcome the delegates and reflect that the great turnout for the inaugural conference signalled that the African continent was ready to collaborate and build a globally relevant boating ecosystem.

Alderman James Vos, Cape Town’s Mayoral Member for Economic Growth (No stranger to Southern Wind, having visited our yard last year), then opened the conference with a presentation that highlighted the importance of boatbuilding and the marine sector in South Africa, commenting that “Cape Town now leads the country with 65% of all boatbuilding jobs – we are building an economy of hope that empowers communities and connects South Africa to global markets”.

Ed Slack, Editor-in-Chief of the influential IBI Magazine, and one of the conference’s key media partners, presented a macro review of global market cycles, trends shaping the recreational boating industry and shifts in buyer behaviour, highlighting the drivers and opportunities for the emerging African market. He then moderated a lively panel discussion on the effects of tightening environmental regulations and shifting trade frameworks.

Southern Wind’s Paul Dumbell was one of the invited panellists. He gave insights into Southern Wind’s product positioning straddling the superyacht and racing yacht markets, with carbon-fibre construction matched with luxurious light-weight interiors. Paul went on to highlight some of SWS recent technical developments and the fact that South Africa is in a unique position in African boatbuilding due to the continent’s entry into a demographic window of opportunity—a growing workforce that contrasts with the falling populations of our competitors’ countries. To capitalize on this, our strategy must focus on education and optimizing the blend of technology and labour. Operationally, unlike European yards that heavily outsource, we currently perform most of our work in-house, though we are actively working to nurture a robust local subcontractor base.

The presentation from Kevin Williams, Vice President of North American Marketing at NMMA, gave fascinating insight into the changing makeup of boating buyers, and he urged delegates to “modernise storytelling, adopt digital engagement, and make boating aspirational and accessible to young, more diverse consumers”. The theme was highly relevant to our African continent, where the median age is below 19 years.

Stephan Claassen from FNB Business provided an entertaining talk on how banks, investors and entrepreneurs can collaborate to boost Africa’s position as a global player in the marine and boating sector, and Martin Baum, MD of Pantaenius Insurance advised conference attendees that governance and professionalism were key to investor confidence and that insurance is “the oil in the engine” that makes expansion bankable.

Cyril Mahfahana and Christophe Caumes teamed up to present Madagascar’s credentials as the next frontier for Superyacht discovery, highlighting the potential of Madagascar and other Indian Ocean islands like Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles to link up with Cape Town to become favoured destinations for superyacht exploration and conservation-led tourism. They made a compelling case, with the Lemurs and Baobab trees adding to the attraction of Madagascar’s unspoiled marine landscape.

The panel discussion that followed was moderated by SABBEX’s Vanessa Davidson and focussed on how to address the critical skills shortages that South Africa faces and build a stronger talent pipeline. Chris van der Hor, the CEO of New Zealand’s Mast Academy prickled the audience’s interest when he explained how his training academy was using online learning and AI tools including Virtual Reality to accelerate training programmes.

The presentation by Paul Darrouzet provided a case study of the development of his Coral Sea Marina and provided insights on how strategic marina development can drive job creation, attract tourism investment, and stimulate local supply chains. The panel discussion that followed picked up on the theme, questioning the extent to which lack of marina and service infrastructure were hampering Africa’s boating growth, and identifying what needs to be addressed to unlock the full potential that exists.

Andre Blaine, the V&A Waterfront’s Executive Manager, Marine and Industrial, closed out Day One’s programme, with a strategic overview of the V&A’s development plans and infrastructure investments, designed to strengthen Cape Town’s position as a premier marine destination and support the growth of South Africa’s boating industry. The industry delegates were greatly encouraged by the V&A’s evident support for the local boating and marine economy

Day Two of the conference started with fresh energy and anticipation when Theo Loock, CEO of Robertson and Caine, provided an overview of Robertson and Caine’s model range and markets. He also recognised the other major South African boatbuilders including Southern Wind, calling them “collective custodians of the Blue Oceans Economy” and underlining the importance of collaboration within our boatbuilding community. Then he addressed the hot topic of the expiry of the AGOA programme and the new “Trump tariffs” and their effect on our local boatbuilders. He expressed optimism that our industry, with support from SABBEX and SA Government leadership, was making positive progress towards a better trade deal with the USA.

Freedom Boat Club’s General Manager for EMEA region, Arturo Gutierrez, then shared his company’s innovative business model whereby members can enjoy boating without directly owning and maintaining a boat, making boating accessible to broader audiences and appealing to younger and more diverse users than ever before. He explained how the model has expanded from the USA to Europe and the Middle East and tantalisingly suggested that Cape Town, with its climate, spectacular backdrop, waterways and growing expat and leisure base, could be an ideal place to launch the first such boat club in Africa.

Hillary Buckman, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ocean Media Australia, led a panel discussion on the development of a regional Superyacht route around Southern Africa, exploring the potential in a regional cruising itinerary which could unlock Africa’s potential as the next premier superyacht destination route.

The final keynote address came from Anders Kurten, CEO of Fraser Yachts, the largest yacht brokerage in the world. His presentation brought sustainability into sharp focus, and he encouraged the industry to voluntarily adopt cleaner, more environmentally sustainable practices, with a warning that externally imposed regulation could follow if it did not do so. He pointed to the growing availability and affordability of “greener” technology, infrastructure, fuels and materials, pointing out that taking sustainability seriously was not only the right thing to do morally, but also good for your business.