Royal Natal Yacht
Club
Interview with
Andrea Giovanni
Saltwater flows through the veins of this super-sailor,
Andrea Giovanni from Hout Bay. Giovanni is in Durban on a quest to claim the
2013 Ola Lipton Challenge Cup that begins offshore on 7th July.
Nautical tactians will be taking to the waters to
outsmart and outsail their opponents in the biggest sailing event in the
country, and Giovanni along with his team will be lining up with the
competition with one intention, to get their hands on the historic cup.
The young sailing legend is co-helming the L26 yacht
False Bay Intasure with renowned competitor Markus Progli. The two have
featured on the podium several times in recent years, and they entered the
history books when they held the magnificent century old trophy aloft in 2011. “Winning
Lipton was a big one for us and we are hoping to repeat the performance this month.
The guys we sail with are pretty talented and we all sail together on a variety
of boats so I am hoping things come to us quickly.”
“It was a last minute campaign and with shipping boats we
didn't have enough time to do a massive crusade. This is a break from work
for all of us, so we are looking forward to the time in Durban. We only
did three weeks of training and it was all for an hour in the evenings or over
the weekends.”
The Italian blooded helmsman loves the challenge of a one
design class where the competition has a level playing field as all the yachts
are identical, “I suppose the best boat I could be sailing on is the GP42 which
we are doing a lot of at the moment, but to be honest Fast boats don't
get me that excited. I prefer one design racing so the SB20 or Melges 32
something along those lines.”
The modest chap has an array of sailing achievements from his amazing career that spans nearly two decades, “Winning the J22 Nationals last year was really special because we did it with a team who had never sailed together, not even once. I was sailing on a boat that I have little to no experience in. I have sailed a J maybe five times in my life.” said a bemused Giovanni.
“I began sailing when I was 12 years old, I think….” The tanned
frame ponders for a bit, “For me I am a complete amateur club sailor so I have
really achieved what I wanted to in this sport. So all my sailing is now just
with my mates, which I am doing to the full!”
“I don’t race across oceans, I really don’t venture to far offshore
to race, so I suppose Robin Island is the furthest I have sailed to,”
interjecting, he remembers, “Nah, I have done the Vasco once so that is easily
the furthest.”
“After Lipton I leave for Palma in Spain to do the 32nd
Copa del Ray Mapfre, so that's definitely a bucket list event that I am ticking
off. A couple of weeks ago I raced a D35 cat in Switzerland which is like
an Extreme 40, that got me super interested in cat sailing. But I think the chances
of me racing the D35's or Extreme 40's or even in the AC45's is less than 1 in
a million, so it will probably never happen again. That is saved for
enthralling fun with my mates in Europe.”
Giovanni, who is representing the False Bay Yacht Club,
beams with pride as he talks about his aquatic passion, “Wow there are so many
things that make sailing great! I really think it is the most beautiful game in
the world. From the skills it teaches you, tactics, engineering, team work, and
the comradarie. There are so many fantastic people in sailing. It is just part
of my life and I am looking forward to winning the over 60 event at RCYC.”
Laughing he continues, “The problem is I will still have to beat Markus which,
if it is hard now, it is going to be impossible when I am 60 as I age
faster than him!”
His next love in life is surfing, “I am living the dream.
Surfing is my biggest passion. I have travelled around the world a few times
and got to surf some seriously sick swells. I spent time in some crazy places
like Hawaii, Ireland, Fiji, Canaries, and Spain. I drove across Australia. Stopped
off in New Zealand, Indonesia, and wow there a whole lot more but I lived
the dream for a couple of years. I surfed some amazing waves, sailed in
some fantastic events and had the privilege of coaching a lot of sailing.
Questioned what he is most looking forward to about the Ola Lipton Challenge Cup, “Just sailing with really talented guys who are all my close mates, so just achieving a goal with my buddies. I personally think Lipton is like ‘the best of the best regatta’, you take the top dinghy sailors, keel boat sailors, hobie sailors and you put them all in this one design class so it’s a champions of champion's event. This year alone there are some professional sailors sailing, and some future Olympians as well as some of the great's from the heyday mixed in, so just the level of competition is the biggest pulling point to travel 2,000km's for this event.”
Cheekily, he concludes, “A perfect day sailing? It is
happening on the 12th of July; I will let you know how it turns
out!”
ENDS
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