And of the sailing experience.
Ettore Botticini is a young and talented sailor, team manager and skipper, some of the professional skills Windyachts offers.
He recently took two second-place finishes in the two events in Gargnano, on Lake Garda, that inaugurated the Persico 69 F Revolution circuit.
An excellent start to the season for a rookie helmsman who participated in the first week of the event under the colors of the CNVA Sailing Team, a club in which he grew up as an athlete.
The second saw him at the helm of the Persico 69 F -the series hull most similar to current America’s Cup boats in terms of sailing type- Young Azzurra. The crew in the colors of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda that was to participate in the next Youth America’s Cup. Event planned between the final stages of the Prada Cup and the America’s Cup proper, but canceled due to restrictions placed by the New Zealand government on the entry of foreign nationals to limit the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
At only 24 years old, Hector has already framed four world titles and as many national titles in various classes from dinghies to offshore. And he is as comfortable in fleet racing as he is in one-on-one challenges, so much so that he has moved up to third place on the Match Race ranking list compiled by World Sailing, the world sailing federation.
For Wind Yachts, young Botticini is not only the brilliant helmsman who just won the 2020 Italian Championship of the Waszp circuit, the first one-design single foiler. He is in charge of all aspects of the regatta. As a skipper in competition and in training. As a team manager during all phases preparatory to the competition, from transfers, training, finding and selecting people to the actual regatta. In short, he manages the crew and logistics: the needs of the boat and the people on board.
With this role, in addition to a place of honor at the aforementioned Garda event, she has won a third place at the Swan 45 Worlds and a long list of firsts at the great Italian offshore classics, such as the 151 Miglia, La lunga bolina, the Silver Buoy or Pasquavela.
In short, for a boat to have Ettore Botticini on board is like for a phone to add an app. They both become able to do things they could not do before.
“I like there to be harmony in the boat and on land. It is the first condition I pay attention to when choosing or leading a crew. If the crew is running well, things are bound to work better,” the sailor says with a smile. “Sometimes it is necessary to mediate between the people on board, especially when there are professionals and simple enthusiasts together, who have different references, experiences, ways of being on the boat. Neither one nor the other is absolutely wrong, there is, however, a need for a kind of translator to explain to both of them their respective needs to achieve the same goal.”
Often mistakes arise because one does not read the issue with the right approach. One of the typical mistakes of the rookie shipowner is to aim for savings as the first requirement when facing a season, or to allocate resources where they are needed the least and underestimate the most important aspects. Choices that clearly have more disadvantages than pros. “If you come to a new class, it makes little sense to start racing with old sails or a ‘finished’ boat. You already start with less experience than others, so why give away advantages to your opponents even with the medium, which instead should be the same for everyone? It’s like crossing the starting line already two minutes behind the first ones: I don’t think it makes much sense to race with this premise,” Ettore explains.
With the team management service offered by Wind Yachts, the owner experience improves across the board: he or she can count on a team manager who in other words not only improves how you race, but also how you get there.
“I also follow everything around the competition. The training sessions, their schedule, the logistics of the people and the boat, including its needs, which change depending on the type of boat. For example, a monotype will mostly need specific crew members, while an ORC boat will first need to optimize its rating: if your boat is not going as much as its tonnage numbers indicate it is very difficult for it to be a winner when the final ranking is drawn up and its time from actual becomes compensated.”
In other words, with the service that Wind Yachts and Ettore can provide, the boat is ready to go whenever it is needed.
With up-to-date tonnages, insurance and documents. Always available at the chosen port at the appointed time; with crew ready, already housed, fed and trained at the appropriate time.
For the owner, it is therefore like having an alter ego who takes care of all the preparatory part of the regatta.
A single point of contact, trained and competent to handle even the inevitable contingencies that may occur. “Having an extensive network of professional connections is critical. I need to know where I can repair a sail, perform a job on the boat or who to call for a replacement on the fly even if I am racing 1000 kilometers from home. I know whether the solution my contact person offers me is good or can be improved, even if we are talking about something very technical and specific. And in any case I have the expert of reference to ask” Thus, once the Ettore Botticini app is installed on their boat the owner has only to enjoy the beauty of sailing. And going even faster than before.
