One-year anniversary since my life changed with Vagabond

 On 22 June last year (it was a Wednesday then), my life changed when the doors of the factory that made my Vagabond Kayaks were locked by a sheriff. A year has passed. It feels like only a few months ago. This past year has been traumatic. I fought to save Vagabond's assets. I fought to save Vagabond. I mourned and I grieved and I went through deep sadness dealing with the loss of this business that I had invested heart and soul, years and sacrifice to build. And then, exhausted and broken, at the beginning of this year, I found the energy to look for solutions to get Vagabond back on track. But, it wasn't my decision to make.

While I'm relieved to no longer have the responsibility of Vagabond, there is so much about this past year that makes me desperately sad. I know that it will take time to work through so much grief, heartache, heartbreak and anger. I have learned from this experience.

It is the one-year anniversary of the day everything turned upsidedown and was the start of a cascade of months of events that make for 'truth is stranger than fiction' tales.

Thinking about or talking about Vagabond today has caused me waves of tears and distress. A lot this past year has been emotionally overwhelming, from being bullied, to legal battles and the fallout and loose ends that have consumed almost every ounce of my being.

On the whole, I am fine and most days are actually great. Life goes on, the heartache will fade - as it does with broken relationships and dealing with the death of people who were precious. Vagabond was precious to me.

Looking ahead, I have exciting new projects with rebuilding YOLO Compost Tumbler and growing AR Gaiters . I have great people in my life, phenomenal dogs, things that make me happy and bring joy, and much to be thankful for.

My journey with Vagabond Kayaks has ended

 I've long had a mantra, "Nothing lasts forever". In pretty much every situation, it is a good thing - including a bowl of dessert. And so my journey with Vagabond Kayaks had ended.

This is my 'farewell letter' sent to my suppliers, dealers, distributors, operators and posted on Vagabond's website for the many Vagabond customers who love their Vagabond kayaks.

To the many people that have been part of my Vagabond Kayaks journey,

 What started with a dream and a business plan first written in January 2016, evolved into Vagabond Kayaks. Vagabond was created by me and Celliers Kruger and where he brought his technical experience and beautiful kayak designs to the party, I breathed personality and brand into Vagabond through my passion for our products, people and sharing of adventures and experiences. With essential funding from our investor partners, Celliers’ work creating the kayak designs and moulds began in mid-2017. My tasks only kicked in the few months before our July 2018 launch in creating the brand, website and content. My responsibilities escalated four years ago when I took over sole management and running of Vagabond.

 As you well know, Vagabond, like many companies, has been through a number of major storms. Start-up challenges, which are common to all new businesses, looked to be reaching an end when COVID hit. The factory had to close and international container orders were lost as we, the business and our customers went into lockdown. We emerged from this into unrelenting power-supply issues in our hometown, which led to the factory and Vagabond moving to the city of George at the end of 2020. That summer saw South Africa implement restrictions on water access – never good for business – but for us bought time without the pressure of main-season orders while the factory was rebuilt. By late 2021, production delays had improved and Vagabond entered the start of its best season ever through late 2021 and into our autumn 2022.

And then, disaster struck. The factory that moulded our kayaks was closed in late June 2022 and Vagabond has been on ice since then. This has been a saga deserving of a book!

 These past 10 months have been an incredible strain on me through months of legal battles and dealing with my wounded ‘child’. This past local summer would have been incredible for Vagabond. My heart broke over and over with every call and email that I answered from customers enquiring not just about ‘kayaks’ but seeking our beautiful Vagabond kayaks, specifying models and their wonderful certainty that nothing else would be better for them. They were, of course, correct. Once you’ve paddled a Vagabond kayak, there is no other kayak to even consider.

We did test moulding of some kayak models late last year with another moulder – with great success. Unfortunately, they do not have big enough ovens to mould our most popular models: Kasai, Marimba and Mazowe. We were left in limbo.

By January, I had my mojo and forward vision back but my Vagabond partners, the original investors in business, decided at the end of February to retain the assets and run the business themselves.

While my passion for Vagabond and enthusiasm for a vision I’d planned for the way forward burned as strongly as ever, I felt relief at this decision – and I still do. I grieved Vagabond last year through the immense trials we went through so it is with an element of relief that my journey with Vagabond has ended. The weight on my shoulders has been considerably lighter for the first time in many years.

For me, Vagabond has been a journey of learning and growth, stresses and also joys.

Although I had paddled on-and-off for 15 years before starting Vagabond, I had to leap into really learning about kayaks, the market and the industry. I have enjoyed meeting and communicating with kayak dealers and distributors around the world and here at home in South Africa. I’ve been blessed to work with so many incredible suppliers who go above-and-beyond through their own manufacturing struggles, the global shipping crisis and numerous curveballs. I love interacting with Vagabond customers, receiving their messages and photographs of their outings with friends and family, their travels and their explorations. Kayaks bring joy, activity and adventure to people’s lives.

I learned that I love being in the factory – I revel in the action and magic of turning plastic powder into a completed product. Tour guiding visitors through the factory was always a delight for me. I can assemble a kayak, cut and drill into it with confidence to install accessories and I derive joy from using my heat gun and soldering iron to heat weld and repair injured kayaks.

I went in with lots of media experience but no business experience; I have come out of this journey with dozens of proficiencies from import and export to cloud accounting, product costings, stock flow and lessons learned in business management.

The past 11 months, a period that has brought much sadness and distress, has taught me to stand up against bullies and to fight for what is right. Because of this, Vagabond will make it out the other side.

I have just completed handover to my partners and so this is my farewell as the Managing Director and jack-of-all-trades for Vagabond. I am signing off to jump into new adventures.

Your email contact for Vagabond will be office@vagabondkayaks.com . Other details will be updated on the website and communicated in due time. There is a solution to get Vagabond back into the market.

The one question I am regularly asked now is, “What are you going to do after six years of living, breathing, eating and sleeping Vagabond?”.

18-months before starting Vagabond, I started YOLO, an exceptional composting solution for the domestic market with the YOLO Compost Tumbler product. Like Vagabond, YOLO too was affected by the factory closure and I have got it up and running again. I have a lot of rebuilding to do in the market with our compost tumblers and the calf hutch, the latter being a product for the dairy industry. www.yolocomposttumbler.co.za

22-years ago, I created AR Gaiters, a shoe covering that prevents sand and grass seeds and grit from getting into your running shoes. This small business started with me sewing gaiters for myself and then for friends and then for adventure racing teams. My mom took over running AR Gaiters in about 2012 and it has grown organically from there, especially over the last 6 years. It is at the stage where my mom needs help and AR Gaiters has capacity to expand. We have four models of AR Gaiters for the trail running, hiking, adventure racing and orienteering market. I have just built a new eShop with an expanded product range from other trusted suppliers. I’m excited about some new AR Gaiters products that I am developing in addition to our new avenue of offering customised fabric designs for events. www.argaiters.co.za

 My main line of work, before Vagabond, was in writing for magazines, websites, and adventure brands specifically in the genre of trail running, adventure racing, events and travel, with other themes from data warehousing to biotechnology (I have a science background) coming in occasionally. I look forward to writing again.

I will remain living in George. I love it here for the nature, mountains, trails and abundance of scenic paddling spots. If you’re ever in the Garden Route over a weekend, look out for the monthly social paddle outings that I organise for my Kingfisher Social Paddle Group. You’ll find me there with my green Marimba kayak.

While I wave farewell with my Vagabond hat on, I haven’t disappeared; I’m around and the world is small. Who knows where and how our paths may cross.

While this email is a bye, it is also a thank you for being part of my Vagabond world. Whether you have supplied me with nuts and bolts, fittings, materials and graphics, processed forex transactions and booked containers, or you have proudly represented Vagabond to the public by spreading the joy of our kayaks to your customers, or you've sent me stories and photos of your paddling adventures, I thank you for being on my team and playing an important part in my journey.

I wish you successes, rewards and joy on your own journeys.

Lisa

VAGABOND: Moving of stuff and getting my assets back

 On Tues, 6 September 2022, I wrote about my disappointing day in court, which really hit me hard that day, and the next. I had only half a day to wallow in my misery before the action of moving, moving, moving fittings and kayaks for the other kayak companies and also my YOLO moulds, stock and fittings in the 2.5 days that followed. It was exhausting and I was thankful for the weekend to recover. I needed this because the week that followed escalated in intensity.

Monday, 11 September 2022

I sleep like a dead dog. Regardless of what I going down, I fortunately sleep. There isn't much that can keep me awake once my head hits the pillow.

Saturday morning 04h00 I woke up. I lightly dozed for 45 minutes, still feeling awake. I got up, fetched my laptop from my desk and started to write, composing an email to my attorneys about 'what next'. The same happened to me on Sunday morning at 04h00. On Monday morning, I completed my email and sent it off. With the warrant fulfilled and my assets locked up, I asked them whether I needed to go to the police station to file a criminal case of theft. 

By lunchtime, we had a letter from the sheriff's office confirming that the warrant had been fulfilled and that we could make arrangements to collect our stuff. This included my Vagabond moulds, fittings and kayak stock, the shop product inventory and the fittings for the Finnish guy, which had missed being released by the landlord the previous week (whether intentionally or not - I think the release of the US guy's fittings was a mistake the week before). 

We could now make arrangements to collect our stuff - and there was a lot of stuff.

I'd been looking for storage space for my moulds for weeks, struggling to find spaces with width, which is what I needed to get a forklift in. I planned to speak to my storage garage people the next day about a spot on their side.

In my previous post, I forgot to mention that on the Friday, my attorneys sent a 'settlement proposal' to the landlord. This requested payment by him for the extensive legal fees incurred by us as a result of his actions against us and a buy-out of me in return for discussing a manufacturing and marketing agreement. Via his attorney's assistant, we got an almost immediate no.

Now, after the weekend, the landlord's attorney told my attorneys that he would be discussing this with his client and would let us know around lunchtime. Nothing by close of business this day or the next or the next and still nothing to date.

Tuesday, 12 September 2022

I arranged with the sheriff to collect the shop inventory, which can fit in the back of my bakkie. I had the dogs with me for the day and they enjoyed the outing between the factory and storage garage.

To move bigger items, I would need a trailer and workers, which takes a day to organise. I booked the workers and the trailer and arranged for the factory to be opened in the morning. 

In the afternoon, I dropped my Vagabond trailer and demo kayaks with the Great Brak River Conservancy on a farm just outside of George. They had river clean-ups planned for the next day and Saturday 17th. I was happy to loan them kayaks for these initiatives. The dogs loved this farm visit and I enjoyed meeting and chatting to the lady. 

Wednesday, 13 September 2022

With a 4m trailer hooked and a number of workers, we got to work pack up Vagabond's fitting stock, of which there is a lot. I had a storage garage in reserve for two weeks - just waiting for my stock to be released.

I actually had a garage first booked in early July but ended up passing it on as I didn't have my assets. Finding storage in George can be like looking for hen's teeth. I was fortunate to locate a very accommodating bunch who have responded to my needs as they have arisen.

While we were moving and loading stuff, we get a call from the landlord's right-hand guy to say that he had just received instruction from the landlord to get the forklift and to dump Vagabond's kayak moulds on the pavement outside the factory.

The landlord had held on to our assets for three months by this stage, had cost the customers a fortune in legal fees and now 1.5 days after receiving confirmation from the sheriff that the warrant had been fulfilled and the attached assets released, the guy wants to dump our moulds - that he has been trying to take - on the sidewalk. We're talking almost a dozen moulds with a replacement value of R2.5-million.

And, I had nowhere to move them to because I'd still been unable to secure a wide enough space.

I called my attorneys but they said that it wouldn't be worth the hassle of even trying to get more time because they landlord is like he is. They are right. This is the landlord's little power game and he wasn't likely to budge.

On my next trip to the storage garage, I spoke to the people there. They had a 12m-long unit for me, which could work at a pinch but which would be incredibly difficult for us with only 3m width and 200-400kg moulds. A forklift cannot get into this space holding the moulds. My garage people started putting out enquiries to other storage people that they know.

My hands were full with moving - loading at the factory, driving to the garage, unloading and neatly packing - and I couldn't do much but hope that something would come through.

At some stage in the afternoon, I thought of the lady on the farm that I'd met the day before. She is very well connected in her community. Could there be a shed on a farm in the area? She sent out my message to her network and literally within a few minutes a lady had responded to say she had space. I called her. This was already after 16h00.

Later, she sent me a video and I knew the space that was a bit bigger than a double garage would work. I told her that I'll take it.

With loadshedding on, I couldn't get through to the people at a rental company where I was trying to secure a forklift to be delivered to the storage space the next day. I got in my car and drove there. Nothing. Sitting in their parking area, I called another company. They had nothing but recommended another. I called them. This was now 16h45 and the friendly guy confirmed that they had availability and that they could deliver the forklift the next morning. He asked me to call the lady that makes the bookings at 8am.

Thursday, 15 September 2022

At 8am I called the lady, confirmed address and arrangements and was at the factory with a 6m trailer to meet the workers.

On the factory side, friends with a nearby business loaned us their forklift and driver to extract the moulds from the vertical racks in the building and to put them on this big double-axle trailer. We did three loadings and three trips with moulds and a fourth with the cooling jigs.

On the other side, the forklift company came through with punctual delivery of the forklift there. We got in our driver to drive on that side.

The moulds went in beautifully and we finished the last load with just enough time for me to return the 6m trailer to the hire place only a few minutes after closing. I booked the trailer again for the next day, dropped the workers near their homes and headed home myself.

Friday, 16 September 2022

I'd earmarked this day to move Vagabond's kayak stock to storage. I don't have a lot of stock but I do also have some kayaks from the other brands and all of it amounted to three loads.

On our first trip to the storage we created 'hammocks' out of rope to suspend the cooling jigs from the roof beams of the garage. This gave us space on top of the moulds to stash kayaks, which I would need to access to get them out to customers. This took a while but was well worth the effort.

The three loads of kayaks went in and as I locked the garage door, I felt relief at finally having all my assets secured 12-weeks after all of this started.

I did some exceptional trailer driving and reversing this week, finally nailing 90-degree manoeuvring.

While this was all going on, we had been trying to get a container booking for the USA guy to get his waiting order of his own kayaks off to him. Most of the order was ready when the doors closed and in August the balance of shells that needed to be outfitted were completed. Shipping, since lockdown, has been a nightmare and it usually takes a few weeks to get a provisional booking that can be bumped at any stage. We had expected to load this container on the 14th but after delays in Durban, the ship would no longer be stopping in Cape Town and so our booking was moved to the next ship in the line.

On this afternoon, we got a provisional loading for Monday morning (19th). 

Over the weekend that followed, I did not wake up at 4am. Container loading was confirmed on Sunday morning. I booked workers and looked forward to sending off these kayaks - and his two moulds.

Monday, 19 September 2022

The container loading went really well and I delighted to add the seal to the full container. 

Three of the workers stayed with me to start stripping the shop of its shopfittings. We removed display pallets from the walls, dismantled banner frames and un-bolted storage racks. We only had about 2.5 hours but we did well.

A guy from a steel place down the way saw the doors open and swung past, interested in a kayak. He expressed an interest in buying some of my steel, which has a lot value.  

Tuesday, 20 September 2022

We were back at the shop to undo things, move pallets to storage (I planned to repurpose the wood) and move the moveable kayak display racks. 

The steel guy planned to come during the week to cut out the racks, which are too big to get out the doors (they were welded and assembled inside).

On Wednesday and Thursday I had some time to catch up with admin and find my feet while waiting for the steel guy. Tied down with work, the steel guy's assistant hadn't shown for work for days so we didn't do the racks.

On Friday (23 Sept) I went to the shop armed with a broom and dustpan to throw out rubbish and clean up. All that is left are the steel racks.

Over this past weekend, I started on my project of repurposing pallets from the shop. 

Monday, 26 September 2022

My mission today is to send out communication to my dealers, customers and suppliers. My capacity for communication has been saturated and I've needed some space to think, without dealing with drama and moving stuff, which is very demanding.

With YOLO, I need to sit down with my new moulders and get this up and running within a couple of weeks.

With Vagabond, we're on ice until we find a way forward. 

This whole situation has hit us really hard and will do so for months to come with no manufacturing and our main South African summer season starting now.

We have made excellent inroads in the South African market the past few years with customers now going into stores to specifically ask for a Vagabond kayak. We were looking at a bright season ahead.

For now, I need to lick my wounds, dust myself off and start working on new plans.

VAGABOND: High pressure, demands and moving of assets

 As if last week Tuesday in court wasn't enough, the nine days that have followed were an escalation of intensity - physical, emotional and mental. I'll take you through last week.

Wednesday, 7 September 2022

On Wednesday, the day after we appeared in court, my attorneys sent a letter to the sheriff's office demanding their final account reconciliation following the auction of the factory assets that took place at the end of July by the close of business the next day.

After an auction has taken place, the sheriff draws up documents showing the lot numbers that were for sale, who purchased them and for how much. This gives the total income from the auction sale of the Judgement Debtor's assets. They then calculate their expenses for organising the auction, advertising it, their commission, any opening-and-closing of the building and even storage of items. This comes off the total income and the balance is paid over to the Judgement Creditor, in this case the landlord. The Sheriff's documents include the Distribution Award, which details the income recovered, expenses and payout. The balance outstanding on this was only R806 - after a payout of R1m. 

These documents were issued a week after the auction; but it took us a further two weeks to get our hands on them with nothing forthcoming from either the sheriff's office or the landlord's attorney and nothing sent to the Judgement Debtor, the factory company, either. I physically visited the sheriff's office a number of times, I emailed too and my attorneys emailed both the sheriff's office the landlord's attorney. Nothing. 

After an auction, when the warrant has been satisfied, all items under attachment should be released. This wasn't happening. As customers of the factory with our assets under attachment - for nine weeks by that stage, it was in our interests to push for getting these documents.

While we continued to try to get finalisation from the sheriff, the landlord began contacting the customers of the factory to say that he was starting his own kayak moulding company and that he wanted to discuss manufacturing and marketing. All this while holding on to our assets under lock-and-key and having issued us with a summons to appear in court to defend our claim to our assets. We received the summons three weeks after the auction, for which he got paid out the money - to the tune of R1-million that he had claimed. That he bought the factory's primary assets - well, that was his choice.

In the days before our court appearance, the landlord sent letters to most of the customers saying that he had issued instruction to his attorney to release their assets. To Vagabond, he sent a letter telling of his plans for his new kayak factory and threatening "an expensive and long-lasting process" involving Vagabond in his attempt to recover new expenses that he is claiming from the factory. He aimed to recover these debts by seizing Vagabond's assets unless Vagabond "puts an acceptable alternative on the table". Keep in mind here that the factory was his tenant and Vagabond is a customer of the factory. Separate legal entities and all that.

Thursday, 8 September 2022

Thursday morning dawned with a notice from the landlord to remove everything that was not disputed by 13h00 the next day from the factory.

In a separate section of the factory, we have had around 100 kayaks (most not mine) waiting for container loading. The global shipping crisis is still in effect and getting bookings can take weeks.

These kayaks, and others that had been dispatched since the building contents were attached, form part of a list of orders that were given permission for release in mid-July. When we got this permission back then, we started looking at container bookings and by some miracle got a confirmed booking for one container to Europe that following week; this rarely happens. This was when the landlord reneged on this agreement and locked the doors the day before container loading. After no action from them, we initiated an urgent High Court application that night - and won with costs. We loaded that container. Days later they appealed, wanting us to recall the container and unload it. We won again with costs.

The High Court order forced their hand to re-confirm release of the remaining items on the order list. We got another container out in August. The kayaks for the last two container loads have been sitting as we are struggle to get confirmed shipping bookings.

In addition to the kayaks waiting for shipping, other undisputed items now also included the moulds for the two overseas customers and the fittings for the one. There were also my YOLO moulds, packaging and fittings. This is a lot of stuff to move. 

I had arranged the day before to meet the sheriff at the factory on this Thursday afternoon to extract my YOLO stock and fittings. He recommended that I contact the guy across the road from the factory who has some space. This was nice of the sheriff - he hasn't done much in our favour this whole time.

I called the guy and met him briefly but as he didn't have his keys, we didn't see the space. We were to meet with him the next morning. I successfully removed my YOLO items, leaving the heavy moulds for the next day.

Before close of business, we received the final accounts from the sheriff. The amount outstanding on the warrant? Just short of R13,000.

There are a few things to consider here:

After the auction, there was R806 outstanding. I'm not entirely sure how this works but the sheriff should have requested balance of payment from the Judgement Debtor, the factory, to settle this. Nothing. They hung on to documents and hung on to assets. The sheriff's costs would have increased over the five weeks since the auction with coming out to the building top open up, which goes on the landlord's account. I don't know what the other costs were.

In court, two days before, the landlord's attorney had stood up to say that he thought there was around R24,000 outstanding. This was after being sent away by the magistrate to work on his sums (you'll see an explanation of this in my previous post). They had the audacity to take us customers of the factory to court, to make us prove our claim of ownership of our assets, without even knowing how much was owed to them by the factory (not us!) following the auction. It costs multiples of R24,000 just to appear in court. And then the final amount - accumulated since the auction was held - was 'only' R13,000.

After holding our assets for just over 11 weeks and five week after the auction, all it would take to release everything would be to pay the factory's debt. I issued instruction to my attorneys to make the payment.

Friday, 9 September 2022

I met the across-the-road guy early in the morning to see his space. At this stage, we didn't have any option and across-the-road, when you have 15 moulds weighing 200-400kg to move, 100-odd kayaks and other stuff, is the best place to move things. The only problem with this place is that the guy is charging an excessive rate and we've only got the space short-term for two weeks. Right then, we needed to buy space and time.

With four workers, a forklift (thank you to our friends for their driver and forklift) and a big trailer, it took us 10 hours to move the moulds for the two overseas guys and the 100-odd kayaks waiting for container loading across the road; and all of the USA guy's kayak fittings to my storage garage. I moved my YOLO box stock, on pallets, across the road too (temporary - we were running out of time in the day), and my moulds to a tank moulder in town who will be making my YOLO products.

On Friday morning, Vagabond paid R15,000 (R13,000 amount outstanding and extra R2000 for what would be sheriff fees). This immediately satisfied the warrant and released everything under dispute. 

When my attorney called me, I was packing the USA guy's fittings into the garage. I called Celliers and told him to start getting Vagabond's moulds. He told the sheriff who, instead of calling his boss to whom payments and paperwork had been sent, he phoned the landlord. The sheriff started locking the building. The landlord rocked up.

I've only seen him twice, I think, since this ordeal started. He brings out the worst in me. He treats me is contempt and disregard; and so I respond to this. It is a bit school-ground where he will waggle a finger in my face and I do the same back to him. I can’t help myself.

We still had the situation at hand to deal with and so much stuff to move. Fortunately, at 16h00, the four workers from Parys showed up to help. They have been doing odd work for the landlord, like cleaning his new building. They won't like it, but it is work. Other friends showed up with their open bakkie to shuttle loads of kayaks across. We finished at 18h00, 10 hours after we started. I dropped off all the workers at their homes and crawled home.

I've been enjoying my weekends recently because, unlike these week days that unleash surprises and emergencies, the two days of the weekend come with no attorney letters and demands. I use weekends to recover to face the week ahead.

Where this week included a court appearance followed by demands, deadlines, high pressure, drama and long hours, the next week - this one we've just made it through - would follow the same trend. 

VAGABOND: Disappointing day in court

 I had my first day in court today. Except it wasn't really 'my day' in court. 

There is so much about the legal system and court system that I find inefficient, random and disorganised - and hard to understand. There is so much wasting of time and resources and money. This is from a brief glance. It makes me just want to fix, fix, fix.

The short version of a long story that I have alluded to in my post 'Can you be trusted?' (18 July) is that the factory that makes my Vagabond and YOLO products, as well as those for other customers, defaulted on their rent and the landlord took legal action. I cannot find fault with this as the landlord had every right to claim his money.

That's just the short version. The longer, real and more complicated version has more players, agreements, discussions, other parties, and behind-the-scenes intrigue going on for months. I knew of elements of this but I wasn't involved. To even begin to explain the long version (and there are different views and perspectives) would fill the pages of a book.

Regardless, the outcome of the legal action was that an eviction order was granted and everything in the building was attached under a warrant. That includes the assets, fittings and stock of the factory's customers. This was on 22 June 2022.

We submitted affidavits in July, which excluded our 'disputed items' from the auction of the factory assets scheduled for the end of July. The landlord purchased the factory's main assets, the three ovens, with the plan to run this as his own business. Yeah, I know, the beneficiary of the auction purchasing the assets of the tenant that he is evicting to take over the tenant's business. Contemplate that.

A week after the auction, the auction accounting was wrapped up by the sheriff. The auction achieved 99.92% of the total claim. From what I've read, it looks like auctions usually recover 40-60% of the claim...

It took us TWO WEEKS to get these documents with neither the sheriff's office nor the landlord's attorney handing them over. Was this purposeful denial of access? I have absolutely no doubt. 

We finally got the documents on the same day as we were served summons to appear in court specifically to defend our claim that our kayak moulds, fittings and stock belong to us - despite the 600-plus pages of affidavits submitted in July complete with invoices from suppliers for everything.

The problem here is that the auction should have been wrapped up two weeks earlier with a Return of Service and the fulfilled warrant which would have released all the customer assets. We have still not received a Return of Service.

My life, for the last nine of the 11 weeks that my businesses were locked down, has been all about affidavits, coordinating between the customers (two overseas) regarding legal submissions, news, updates, documents, information and trying to get ready-and-waiting orders released for container shipments. I've also had the excitement of an urgent High Court application, which we won with costs and then the appeal, which we again won with costs.

My focus lurched from lockdown to getting counsel, to coordinating eight affidavit submissions, then looking ahead to the auction, then to getting the auction papers, then to the summons and today's court date. Going from one checkpoint to the next has kept me sane. 

I have spreadsheeted and cloud-saved every document in this case by date, type of document, from whom, to whom and gist of the contents for easy reference. I have also extracted quotes from the documents that are relevant to our case and these are ordered by date and categorised with document, from whom, to whom, page/paragraph location and key words to make it more searchable.

Late last week, the assets of the factory's other customers - except Vagabond, YOLO and the ABC shop we started a year ago (ABC sublet shop space only) - were granted release through a letter from the landlord's attorney to ours. Yes, a few days before the court appearance that they summoned us, the factory customers, to because they disputed our claim to our assets. The companies excluded are all mine.

So that really leaves me isolated and still in the fight.

As it happens, court today was disappointing.

In the morning, my attorney and advocate met with the landlord's advocate. Note that my guys had made numerous attempts to get meetings to mediate. This morning's meeting seems to have confirmed the release of some customer assets with the addition of YOLO moulds (they released - not yet in my hands - only the fittings and boxes last week, which is no use to me without the moulds to make products).

They went into court and there the opposition stated that there was an amount still owing to them (keep in mind that they got 99.92% of the claim total of the warrant governing this case and also that this claim is not against the customers). It came out that an auction had taken place and a payout had been done, which they failed to inform the magistrate in the massive pile of documents that had been handed to her pre-appearance. She didn't know. She asked how much was really owing. They didn't know.

She told them to go away, confirm how much they think they are owed and to be back at 2pm.

We go back and this time I go inside. 

There was a show that I watched on Netflix recently. I can't remember which one but I can remember feeling so frustrated and shouting at the screen "Just talk. Just tell them. Just explain clearly". There was so much stupid stuff going on and only because they people did not speak up. I felt like this here. Running on a treadmill and going nowhere.

The opposition responds to say that they are owed around R24,000. You have got to be kidding! In five weeks, neither the sheriff nor the advocate for the landlord said anything about an outstanding amount. Not. One. Word. Instead, they keep our assets locked down and further compromise seven businesses.

According to the sheriff's accounts, another R806 (yes, eight hundred and six rand) would see them receive 100% of their total claim. They were paid out R1m and yet are holding on to the assets of the customers of the factory, who really shouldn't be involved in this dispute, for what they said today is only R24,000? The magistrate commented that this was decidedly less than what he'd said in the morning and she added, quite rightly, that costs more than this to appear in court. "Sort it out," she said. 

The opposition then goes on about the 'kayaks' in the factory that have not been paid for, which they are claiming. And this wasn't even the topic of the argument on the summons. The magistrate did ask him why he brought this up because it wasn't relevant.

Yes, I did half put my hand up to speak as the advocate was just so very wrong about these 'kayaks'. It is a pity that I didn't get to speak. These 'kayaks' are actually blemished, unfinished and un-outfitted shells that have not been invoiced because they have not been completed. Customers are only invoiced for completed kayaks that we order (A-Class) or agree to take (B-Class). There are only really shells there for three of the customers and two of the three want their shells to be outfitted and completed. 

So the magistrate is left thinking that there are a whole lot of kayaks there that haven't been paid for, and that the landlord is claiming, when this is not the truth or reality. 

How can a magistrate decide on anything when she doesn't have even half the correct information?

So then my advocate does a good presentation to bring attention back to the actual issue - something called the Landlord's Hypothec. Basically, it 'allows' the landlord to claim any items on their premises in the event of a dispute. But, thankfully, there are only certain situations in which this applies. And not this one, which is shown clearly in the law and with case examples too.

Of course, you'll be asking around about now, "If the landlord is claiming Landlord's Hypothec, why has he released the assets of the other customers except Vagabond, ABC and YOLO? What makes them different to the other customers of the factory?".

The answer? Nothing makes them different as they are all separate legal entities and they function as customers of the factory like all the others. 

Court didn't even get to this realisation because no evidence was shown. Today was not a trial but more of a instance to set a trial date. It feels to me like a waste of time and money.

We have a court date for 20/21 October.

I'm sure you see the problem with this date. It is for almost two months in the future. I've had no business or trade for 2.5 months already. We start to move into our main summer season in October. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate the math on this and subsequent impact.

So, why is the landlord doing this? I have a few theories - and all are probably correct to some degree. I'm not going to put them down here because this still has to play out. But, they are not to do with being owed any money - the guy seems to have more than enough. Suffice to say, Vagabond is the one with the most versatile and marketable products.

My focus for the past 10 weeks has been on obtaining counsel, then coordinating the content of eight affidavits, then on the auction, then two weeks on getting the auction papers, then receiving the summons and then on today's court date. Focusing on one and then the next and the next has kept my focus - and kept me sane.

So, after court today, with no resolution, I cracked. I am feeling absolutely devastated and shattered.

We still have a step-by-step process to follow. We have to get the full accounts from the sheriff within the next five days. I don't see that these accounts can or will be any different to the documents issued a month ago on 8 August. Why would there be some other set of accounts? The outcome of this determines the next step.

And, all the while, I am the one that loses the most.

As you can imagine, I am neither very impressed right now with certain people or the law.

This whole case is just so absolutely ridiculous. 

I wish the magistrate had asked for a summary of the situation in plain English, which I would have been happy to provide. 

I wish that she had asked why some claimants' assets were released and not others if the landlord is claiming hypothec.

And, I wish that she had told the landlord's attorney that they were wasting the court's time, and our money by summoning us to court for R24,000 - owed to them by someone else - when they got paid out R1m - 99.92% of their claim.

But, she doesn't know this. If she did, I'm quite sure she would have put an end to this time and money wasting and life devastation. 

This is wrong. Just wrong.

Can you be trusted?

12 years ago I wrote this post "Are you on my team?". I'm glad that I have now found it and re-read it because it is probably one of the best posts that I have written. It also contains content about how I stood up for myself. Even though I am a smart, capable, multi-talented woman, I do not stand up for myself enough. 

I'm in the midst of dealing with a legal issue for work. Some of this sorry tale will probably make it on to these pages - in some or other form - in the coming weeks. Like an LED light that displays one colour after another, the shades merging as they separate, I'm rolling through the colours of sadness, heartbreak, and despair, with that of being resolute with a fair dose of fight - and a dash of anger. For now, I'll say only that I'm dealing with a legal issue for work.

Four weeks ago, the proverbial shit hit the fan. I sat in on a meeting with lawyers the next day. Good advice that I was given was to consider outside counsel instead of being lumped in with existing activities for their current client.

A week after the event, I flew to Cape Town for a day to visit friends who were visiting from the UK. That's when I took photos from the plane window to match to Google Earth. On hearing of the situation, my friend, who sits as a magistrate in the UK in his 'spare' time (he runs his own business too), suggested that I contact his lawyer friends in Cape Town who he trusts. Well, if he trusts them, then I can certainly trust them.

In that first week-and-a-half post-event, I was waiting so see what was happening because the outcome for me and my companies could have been simple and easy. Nothing happened.

Taking action to contact the lawyers was a great move. I had been in limbo, waiting on others to decide my fate. Doing something proactive gave me focus and purpose and it was reassuring to know that I had someone in my corner. In their first communication with me, they informed me of a 10-court day deadline from day-of-event. The other lawyers had not.

Seven companies are affected. I represent three of them. Two others are in South Africa and two are overseas. I pulled them all together so that we can be represented as a united front - like a class action. We're all in the same boat. 

There was no way that we would make the submission deadline, which was two days after I made contact with the lawyer so my lawyer, now our lawyer, shot off a letter of intent and bought us 10-court days to prepare our documents.

The past two weeks, for me, have been all about documents, printing, communicating with the others, compiling their content - and my content - to present to the lawyer for our affidavits. We have to prove what we own. Many trees were sacrificed in this process. This has been profound paperwork.

This afternoon I completed my paperwork with commissioning the documents. Tomorrow I return to hook up the overseas guys on video calls for their commissioning. The documents for the other South Africans will be with me by Wednesday, when I can submit for me and them. Part 1 of standing up for myself is almost done.

I wrote something the other day in a message about the legal system being flawed. But, it is not really the legal system that is flawed but rather the decisions, interpretation and actions taken by people in the profession. Lawyers and their clients waste time, delay, frustrate the process and play games. 

When you take on a lawyer - ka-ching - you expect the best counsel. You expect them to do the best with every minute for which you are billed. That said, one person's best and other person's best will differ according to their experiences. One lawyer will say do this and another will say do that and yet they drink from the same cup. Which one is correct? 

With legal matters, everything is stressful, emotional, high pressured and financially draining. You don't have time or money to look around, ask questions, get quotes and then proceed. You have little choice but to go with who you have. That my lawyer was recommended to me by people I trust was a good start. 

Another lawyer, in the same area of expertise, may have done things differently. I have decided that when an action has been taken, it is not worth questioning because this can eat a person alive from the inside out. Cover all bases, do it and hope for the best outcome.

If the lawyer came with me on a river, they would have to trust me. They would have to trust that I would warn them of hazards and pull them out of a rapid if they got stuck. The only difference is that I don't charge extra for instruction or lifesaving - haha haha (but after this experience, I will!).

I like to be a person that can be trusted. But, my advice and actions - like those of my lawyer - are based on what I believe is best as a result of my knowledge and experience (which, notably, is not the paper-and-ink law).

Today a guy called me for advice on kayaks. When he first told me what he wanted to do with his paddling, I recommended another brand's kayak instead of my own. To have done otherwise would have been wrong. I know the strengths and limitations of my kayaks and it doesn't sit well with me to sell him a kayak that will not do what he wants it to. (As it turns out he also wants to do all the other things that my kayak can do, that the other cannot and so he swung past to take a look at my kayaks.)

I have to trust my lawyers. I have to trust that they have given me the right advice to resolve our collective issue. For this to go further... legal fees would kill our businesses.

In your profession, would you trust you? If you wouldn't, make it so.

New paddling discipline for me - learning surfkayaking

 There is not just one type of paddling - or one type of kayak. 

If you consider bicycling, there is road, track, downhill, cross-country and general mountain biking. And within these are a range of bicycles with different gears, brakes, frames, geometry, handlebars, suspension, forks, price tag...

It is the same in paddling with flatwater, whitewater, touring, racing, surfski, canoe polo, marathons, sprints, slalom and every variation imaginable within these and a range of kayaks for preference, stability and performance within each discipline.

For me, paddling began with paddling whatever was provided at events or that I could get my hands on for adventure racing. Later it was more K2 (Accord) with a dash of K1 and sometimes other models. And then it was learning whitewater on another brand of plastic kayaks, then an Epic V7 surfski and then our Vagabond Kayaks. My personal fitness/touring kayak is the Marimba model (longest and fastest in our range), I learned the basic skills in whitewater on the Usutu sit-on-top and I have my own Pungwe whitewater creek kayak. I also have a Design Kayaks sit-in touring kayak, the Endless.

I don't have a very good sea constitution so I generally avoid anything that has me bobbing on swell. Thankfully, anti-nausea tablets work well and so, a few weeks ago, I hit the surf to learn to catch waves and surf 'em on our Vagabond Dumbi surfkayak. I'd only ever paddled the prototype on a wild and awful day at the sea (it wasn't pretty).

My first session surfkayaking, at Vic Bay here in George, saw me swimming quite a bit as I struggled to find the right balance and body positioning. Sea waves are not as strong as an equivalent-sized river wave and they move slower. I see a wave coming towards me and expect to be slammed by it, but instead the nose of the Dumbi punches through easily and I maintain course. 

In catching waves to surf them, I am learning about timing and also just how hard and fast I need to paddle - not as hard or fast as I expected.

Waves that look like 'baby waves' from the beach feel a lot bigger when they're higher than your head height. Fortunately, they don't hit very hard.

Session 2, a week later, went better with less swims and better control. I needed to work on my body positioning (how much to lean back or forward at different stages of the 'surfing cycle') and paddle strokes.

Session 3, on Sunday, was the best yet. Tide was out and waves were low. I stuck to the baby waves to really get my sea legs and a good feel for this discipline. Only a few swims and lots of surfing. A sure progression. Importantly, I felt a lot more relaxed too.

Before hitting the sea on Sunday, I did a stint on the local dam to try to roll the Dumbi as I had never tried before. As luck would have it, I rolled it on my first attempt but then struggled later with only a few successful rolls out of numerous. I'll need to do some work here so that rolling becomes reliable and second-nature. Right now, I don't even think about rolling in the sea because there is so much else I'm focusing on. But with a bit of work and improvement in technique, I should nail it. I can feel my stiff intercostal muscles from this session.

Being on the up in the skills stakes feels good and I'm looking forward to the next session.

Paddling in winter

I've had two successful paddle outings recently. 

The first was a two-day trip on the Vaal River, almost from my doorstep, with Celliers. Our boats have been gathering dust and we've been a bit all-work, no-play for weeks. It was time to get out to celebrate our products.

I've never been on this section before so it was a revelation. I printed off Google Earth images so that I could follow along and really get a feel for our location - twists, turns and distances on rivers can be a blur. It was spectacular!

Day 1's section of about 15km was mostly flat sections with clumps of islands, channels and class 1 rapids. There was only one class 2. We stopped, got out, scouted, chose our lines and then hit the water. It was a piece of cake on my trusty Marimba.

Day 2's section of 13km was all flatwater but the hills of the Vredefort Dome area made up for the lack of excitement on the water with the move lovely scenery.

We had good sightings on both days of fish eagles and Goliath herons and even a big likkewaan (monitor lizard). 

We paddled for around 4hrs each day, enjoying the sights along the way. We camped on a small island in the late afternoon, setup and got to enjoy the last of the day's warmth. I'd packed a home-made hearty soup, which we heated and ate for dinner before dark. By 18h15, we were in our tent with plush sleeping bags, warm jackets, beanies, headlamps and books. Like this, you don't feel the cold.

We had a leisurely morning making tea, coffee and instant oats for breakfast before packing up camp and our kayaks. We were in no rush with only 13km ahead of flatwater and our pick-up at 2pm.

We had spectacular fish eagle sightings on this section and a lovely warmth. To our advantage, this trip was a few days before the real cold set in. 

Celliers last paddled this section more than 20 years ago. It was my first trip down here and I'll definitely be back. If you're looking for exercise, it can easily be done in a couple of hours. If you're looking to have a break, the two days is superb.

I made a 2:30 video with photos and two video clips.

 

My second paddle outing was on Sunday afternoon. 'Top Section' is a stretch of whitewater above town. The water level was up on Saturday but unfortunately it was down again on Sunday but we still decided to go anyway. I have only done Top Section three or four times and this was my first time taking the right-hand channel.

I paddled my Pungwe whitewater kayak. I got in quite a bit of paddling before lockdown so my skills have much improved and my roll is getting more solid in current. But in the cold winter water?

Before going down the weir (there is a 'slide'), I did a roll. I figured that it was worth a planned dunking to get it over with rather than a surprise dunking in a rapid. I was very pleased that the brain freeze wasn't as bad as I'd expected and that my dry top and spray deck had kept me warm and dry. This was good for my confidence - to know the bad is not really as bad as I'd imagined (which is usually the case!).

Start of the section - weird in the background. That's me in the blue kayak.

I did pop a Valoid before heading out. Generally going straight down river is no issue for my weak sea stomach but any kind of playing in rapids makes me queasy. I find the whole experience is better with my equilibrium chemically balanced so I'm getting in the habit of taking a tablet at least 30 mins before getting on the water when I paddle whitewater.

Gideon

On this outing it was me, Gideon, Celliers and Ruben. Gideon and Celliers have paddled this side a lot and there are loads of channels and options. At such low level, everything looks different and the paddle was very crunchy with lots of rocks. We had to get out only once when a channel was obstructed by rocks, we snuck under some low branches and I slithered my kayak over barely-covered rocks. 

It was stunning and I loved it. Looking forward to the next one.

Winter in all its glory.

Putting myself out there in video

I'm not shy at all. I love a stage and I'll gladly speak to large groups of people. This is usually within a sporting environment. I also enjoy radio - whether speaking in studio or over the phone. And I do enjoy a dash of tv too. This is usually in the interview - interviewee environment. Of course, I write. From this blog to magazine articles, and website and social media content. And I have done a dozen shows, speaking to strangers about products.

This is all familiar ground and I'm comfortable in these environments.

And then there is YouTube. I have done very, very little in this sphere despite having had a few years of working in the tv industry where I have been behind the camera as a camerawoman, an interviewer, and scriptwriter. I have sat in on hundreds of hours of editing and voice-over sessions.

We have needed to make videos for Vagabond Kayaks since we launched. Aside from being too busy, unfocused and distracted to get around to it, I've got tech limitations with my computer really not able to handle the Adobe editing software that I bought a number of years ago. Making videos has been on the back burner.

About two weeks ago we finally started shooting video, beginning with the many fittings and features that make our kayaks so exceptional.

A few days later I got a lockdown haircut :)

I found the desktop version of a video editing app that I have had on my phone (Filmora). After a test run on my computer, I purchased the annual licence, which removes the watermarks.

The editing is going well and I'm enjoying the process. My computer can only just handle these short videos. I can't watch the videos in the program as I edit so I'm winging it a bit, drawing on my editing experience all those years ago to get a good outcome.

In some of the videos you see me talking to the camera. In others you just hear me and see my hands.

As much as I tried not to do funny things while we were shooting, of course I did. I'm out of practice and as we progressed, I warmed up.

There are so many people putting their faces in front of cameras every day. From How To and singing videos to a whole lot of nonsense. It really is quite remarkable how 'normal' it is.

As with any art - painting, sculpting, acting, singing, photography, and even writing and sports performance - you open yourself up to criticism when you put yourself out there. What you say and what you do and how you do can be replayed a dozen times and commented on. That's the way of social media. You can be placed on a pedestal or hung up to dry. Sometimes, you just have to do it.

Our focus is on short, to-the-point, informative or instructional videos. They're up on our YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and embedded on the relevant pages on our website. These are just the start - we have a long wish list of videos to make. Celliers will be in front of the camera for some; I'll be in front of the camera for the rest.

This is new 'putting-myself-out-there' journey. As my old running buddy Jason would say, I've just got to take a spoon of cement and harden the f-up. Yee-ha!

Four Days on the Orange River

Shortly after my birthday we left for the Northern Cape town of Prieska for a four-day, three-night kayaking trip on the Orange River. It was superb!

There are very few photographs of me as I took most of them! Here are two that Celliers took:

Sunset posing

Cooking oats for breakfast with Ruben looking on.

I actually got some superb photos just because this area is incredibly striking.

We had excellent paddling, some long days, great comraderie and superb food. With my big down sleeping bag, I slept snug despite the subzero overnight temperatures.

I've written a piece for our Vagabond Kayaks website, which I've pasted below. A stash of photographs are in an album on our Facebook page.

Are we going to go back? Of course! We've got dates scheduled for late September, over new year and for end March 2020.

Four Days on the Orange River

The Orange River is South Africa's biggest and longest river. Despite having paddled many sections of the Orange, there are still some sections that neither Vagabond's Celliers Kruger nor Graeme 'Riverman' Addison had ever been on.

A number of weeks ago, Graeme gave us a shout to see whether we'd be keen for a winter kayaking trip to scout a lesser-known section of the Orange: the stretch between Prieska and Koegas. In writing his book 'Run the Rivers of Southern Africa', Celliers was mostly after whitewater, so he had never ventured to this area. We were in!

We knew that this section would be mostly flatwater with some islands and channels and some easy rapids - perfect for our Vagabond sit-on-top kayaks and inexperienced paddlers. The water here is regulated by outflow from the Vanderkloof Dam, which generates hydroelectric power. Flow fluctuates between 40 and 200 cumec.

This was to be a partly supported trip as Graeme planned to take along three rafts carrying camp kitchen equipment and dinner for 23 people for three nights. The kayakers needed to carry their own breakfast, lunch and snacks. Graeme carried containers of drinking water on the rafts; we carried a gravity water filter.

We were all in for an exploratory trip; a four-day, three-night journey to discover the best features of this area.

Kayaks are faster than rafts

With three rafts and 14 kayaks on the trip, there would be a discrepancy in speed. As kayaks are faster, we decided in advance that the rafts would depart earlier each morning with the kayakers catching up during the day to meet and share the overnight camps.

The kayakers joined the rafters at two of the three camps. We waved goodbye to each other on the morning of Day 3 as the rafts were to take out earlier than planned and the kayakers needed to cover more distance.

Winter is also for adventures

Doing anything outdoors in winter is primarily a matter of packing warm gear for the cold nights and mornings. We woke up to considerable frost and ice on our kayaks. The days warmed quickly once the sun chased away shadows. In contrast to the sweltering summer days in this area, winter days are sunny and mild. At night, from our cosy places around the campfire, we were treated to a magnificent night sky with exceptional meteor sightings.

 The paddling

As expected, the water was primarily moving flatwater with thoroughly enjoyable ripples and channels.

We covered shorter distances on days one and two, and made up for this on the third and fourth days to get to out take-out in good time. In total, we covered 98km! A superb effort by the kayakers. Now that we know the lay of the land, we can accurately plan a shorter and more leisurely trip for our next visit to this section.

Camp cuisine

We enjoyed hearty meals on this trip. Each person packed their own breakfast, lunch and snacks; dinners were communal. Ahead of the trip we split the 23-person strong group into three teams, each assigned to providing and cooking dinner for one of the nights on the river. Who says that camp cooking has to be relegated to smash (dehydrated mashed potato) and tuna!

For the first night, Group 1, the rafters, prepared a delicious braai (aka barbeque) complete with potatoes, a tomato-and-onion sauce and a green salad. For dessert, we were treated to chocolate mousse with cream.

For the second night, Group 2 pulled out an oxtail stew. Francois' wife (not on the trip) had pre-cooked and frozen this five-star meal. This was accompanied by polenta cooked in a three-legged pot on the fire. Rozanne's chocolate-brownies-with-custard dessert was, understandably, well received.

With the group splitting on Day 3 into rafting and kayaking contingents, the kayakers loaded a cooking pot and their dinner ingredients onto their kayaks. The rafters had sufficient food packed, which left the 16 kayakers to enjoy Lisa's 'Red lentil sloppy joes'. These were served with bread  baked in tin cans on the fire, and Shane & Chantelle's funky salad.

Lienkie and Herman's dessert was the figurative cherry on the cake. Lienkie created individual layered desserts served in cups; cookies, strawberry pudding, flaked almonds, goji berries and cream. As Celliers eloquently says, "It tasted like a rainbow". That sums it up beautifully.

The sights

Day 1 stands out for its unbelievable rock formations. The layered and folded cliffs defy belief. The world's largest deposits of tiger's eye, a metamorphic rock that is prized as a gemstone, are found in this area. Mountains of the stuff!

Day 2 was big on birdlife. This stretch of the Orange River is well vegetated along the banks, which would account for the abundance of birds. Flotillas of ducks and geese, fish eagles around every bend, sightings of the striking green plumage of white-fronted bee-eaters, numerous Goliath herons with their two-metre wingspan, giant and pied kingfishers, and also coots, egrets, darters, cormorants, bulbuls, barbets, weavers, wagtails... Sighting a martial eagle was yet another bonus.

The sky on day 3 was spectacular. It was the most magnificent blue made exquisite by patterns created by cold-font clouds. Birds, especially fish eagles and Goliath herons, were constant companions.

On day 4, we saw dozens of leopard tracks at a snack spot. The final kilometres leading to Boegoeberg Dam were characterised by long sand banks, which gave the river a completely different feel. 

While there are farms on the banks of the Orange River between Prieska and Koegas, the countryside is sparsely populated, rocky and unforgiving, especially in summer. This gives a sense of isolation - an experience to be treasured in our always-connected world. The combination of pleasurable paddling, the variety of sights and the feeling of being in the middle-of-nowhere will draw us back to paddle this section again and again.

Yes, that is a Vagabond kayak in the ad

This morning Celliers did a double take. He was drinking his first cup of coffee and catching up on the News24 mobile app when he saw this advert...

Yes, that's a Vagabond kayak in the Investec ad (sans logo etc.). It is the Kwando, our children's kayak. Check out the beautiful shape, sleek bow, moulded-in footrests, stand-up platform, bottle holder positioned in front of the sculpted seat, paddle rest, 8" hatch, tankwell and, Vagabond's most distinctive feature, orange fittings. It is ours alright.

There are a number of versions of ads in this campaign; this one with a kayak, another with a juicer...

The theme behind the ads is that instead of spending R8000* on a kayak, you should rather invest the money. 

* Our recommended retail price on the Kwando is R3490, not R8000.

I've watched a few episodes of Marie Kondo's 'Tidying Up' on Netflix. She is a Japanese 'Mary Poppins' of tidying and organising your home, and packing and storing your stuff. When debating whether to keep an item or to turf it - whether an appliance, pot or garment, she recommends holding it and considering whether it brings you joy. If it brings you joy, keep it. If not, throw it out.

People buy kayaks for different reasons. To take on holiday every year for the next 15 years; or to leave at their holiday home or away-from-the-city farm to use when they are there; or to use regularly for sport, fitness and recreation. Kayaks, bicycles, juicers... these are once-off purchases that last for years (and have a resale value).

Personally, I like toys. From 20-plus years of adventure racing, trail running, mountain biking, paddling and orienteering, I have many toys that I've bought in this time - some dating back to the 90s. I've used them and cared for them. I hang on to my toys because even though I don't use all of them often, they enable me to do activities that I enjoy. They bring me joy.

There are simple ways to save money to invest. Cut down on the number of take-outs and restaurant dinners that you have each month (cheaper to cook that meal). Sell stuff you really don't use and that doesn't / no longer brings you joy. Avoid having accounts and debts - paying interest is a serious waste of money. Don't buy that pair of shoes / jacket / dress / bag - you have enough clothes. Don't buy - take your own lunch to work. These things are dispensable.

Like a bicycle or pair of running shoes, a kayak serves multiple purposes. It gets you outside. It disconnects you for a time from screens, internet, emails and whatsapp. It clears your mind as you focus on the water, scenery and splish-splash of your paddle. It is a physical activity - good for the heart, muscles, lungs and mind. It is a tool for adventures and can take you anywhere on the sea, dams and rivers. It brings joy.

Investec, I get what you're trying to say, but I think you're wrong about the kayak (and the juicer). 

Trim things that can be done without and put that money aside. Choose wisely and spend on toys that will fill your life with joy through activities and adventures for many years to come. 

Digesting 2018: YOLO & Vagabond (pt 1)

We're two weeks into January and I haven't even begun to digest last year. It was one helluva ride. 

This was my lowest blog-count year since 2006! It wasn't that I didn't have anything to write about, I just didn't get around to putting my thoughts down.

My memory of much of the year is actually pretty fuzzy. I worked too many hours on too little sleep, which over many months definitely messed with my memory.

While the year left me feeling like I'd been run over by a freight train, it had a dose of good with the bad. I have to really think about the good because bad has that awful way of permeating into every aspect of one's life whether it really was a significant proportion or not.

YOLO Compost Tumblers

My year started out with a bang on the YOLO  side - very, very busy. 

I had stock in the factory from before xmas and by the end of the first week of Jan I was all out. On one side, this is a great position - sold out and having a product that is in demand. On the other, being out of stock means a lot more admin. Customers have to be kept in the loop about how production is progressing and when they can expect their unit. This significantly ramps up the amount of communication needed for each order.

The year went in waves of building a little stock and then having orders exceeding production speed.

The winter months of June and July were quiet (as expected) and gave me the chance to focus on Vagabond (see below). August kicked off with the Decorex show, YOLO's second time there. We had another good show. The show coincides with spring, when people are searching online about gardening and composting... We've been busy ever since.

We do sell YOLO through Takealot too, although I've found it challenging to keep enough stock there. Mainly because I setup a production list including orders and a bunch of extras for Takealot and for factory stock and before I even get all of the units from the factory, I've already assigned them to direct orders. I've had quite a bit of stock on Takealot since mid-December.

We'll ramp up production this year. I'll have some more units going off to Australia in February.

YOLO really is a delight and I thoroughly enjoy my interactions with customers. I've learned a lot about composting since I started YOLO (most two years ago) and I keep learning from experience, articles and my customers as we go along.

It really is heartening how many people are trying to do better with their waste at home by refusing items that they don't need, reducing what they consume and use, reusing where they can, recycling what can be recycled and composting organic waste. Makes a huge difference!

If you haven't liked the YOLO Facebook page yet, please do so.

VAGABOND KAYAKS

Our new company, Vagabond Kayaks, has dominated my existence since before we launched at the beginning of July 2018. My role kicked in a few months before with the design and building of our website.

This is the biggest and most complicated website that I have ever created. I created well over 100 pages  (110 pages just for kayaks), wrote content, designed and created all of the graphics... In the build-up to launch we were working crazy non-stop hours with barely any breaks to eat or sleep.

All the while we were working in the factory and Celliers and our incredible team of workers were making moulds for the kayaks, running test kayaks and dealing with hundreds of elements that makes manufacturing what it is - not for the fainthearted. You need the constitution of an ox to wake up every day.

We went to a tradeshow in the US at the end of August, squeezed in a one-week roadtrip from Parys to East London to Cape Town to Parys, meeting with dealers along the way. I spent almost every hour in the car on the phone (email, calls, whatsapp, internet) and managed to flatten my battery every day. I didn't see much scenery despite the perfect weather. We got to paddle briefly and hangout a little in Cape Town.

Me paddling in a super-fun novelty event at Paddlesports Retailer in the USA.

An early morning demo session. Here I am paddling with Celliers on Zandvlei. What a magnificent morning! Photo by my friend Ray Chaplin.

Three days later we flew to Germany for another paddle sport tradeshow there - PaddleExpo.

Getting to tradeshows means a lot of logistics, especially where you have to ship kayaks over. Your heart lodges in your throat as you wait for them to arrive safely on the other side.

Returning home meant a lot of juggling here as we entered our main summer season and needed to build relationships with people we met at the shows ahead of their seasons in 2019.

So most days were really about getting as much done as possible. From building our new brand through social media to fulfilling orders, dealing with transport logistics (not anyone can transport 4.5m kayaks!), interacting with dealers, responding to customers on Facebook, email, whatsapp, Messenger... If the platform exists, people use it. And as a company, we have to respond - fast.

We've been trading since August and the two single-seater sit-on-top models that we think will do the best are only going to come out this month. These will complete our recreational sit-on-top range.

There is no doubt that Celliers' designs are the best in the world and our kayaks outrank other brands in performance, stability, features, quality, strength and design. No debate here. Any new company has a lot of work to do.

Our Vagabond year ended with a three-day trip on theOrange River. My personal kayak is the Marimba, the longest, narrowest (but still very stable) and fastest in our range. I knew it would be good but it was even better!

Back home on the 23rd, I had a few days with chunks of work and then took off the whole week of 1 Jan. I really needed it. I didn't turn on my computer, I didn't check email on my phone and I mostly ignored everything.

We had beautiful rains that week and magnificently cool, overcast weather - perfect for a bit of Netflix indulgence.

With the rains and water release from Barrage, came higher water levels in our Vaal River.

2018 was marked with very low water levels in the river for pretty much the whole year - starting from January. We tripped occasionally but it was rocky. After 1 Jan, we got water! Instead of the usual 15 to 25 cumec we'd been having, the river went up to a beautiful 70 to 80 cumec and even higher (up to 130 cumec) for a bit. We did two trips with our Marimbas before getting back to work.

// end of part 1