“Sailboats are a small world in which we can resolve, on a small scale, the big problems of our planet. It is a model for living in lightness.” Giovanni Soldini, champion ocean racer, makes this small world fly over the water, thanks to a precise study of the design of lightness: a hunt for the superfluous, researching optimization. “On a boat, weight is fundamental. You are forced to look at what is truly necessary, and what you can make more compact. Simply in managing spaces and being forced to choose, sailing gives you life lessons. Then you can see the advantages: you have everything on hand, and find things quickly.” You could say that it is a world where scarcity presents itself as an opportunity and where careful preparation avoids problems further down the line. “You have to look daily at your available water, the waste you create, and every choice made upstream has an impact that becomes your problem, something that you need to resolve directly, without being able to delegate.” A lesson that helps us reflect on the bad habits of human beings, when they are not just a dot on the ocean, to forget the consequences of their actions on the environment surrounding them.
Being “fragile”, on the same level as nature, like when crossing the ocean, forces one never to feel superior to the environment they are a part of. “You also need to be autonomous, to know how to be a carpenter, electrician, a cook, or even a seamstress in case a sail breaks. I learned how to make my bed when I began sailing: the boat was able to teach me where my mother couldn’t.” Looking for lightness as a life philosophy leading to high performance is possible only if there is precision, and strong ties of trust and reliability that do not cause distractions. “A good connection is a great opportunity. It is so important that giving and receiving is built on reciprocal aims. To achieve high performance we continuously test ideas, technology, solutions and learn from them. But experience needs continual relationships. You choose each other also based on your ability to experiment reciprocal respect: both in personal relationships as well as in partnerships.”
For Soldini, research is fundamental: there are no definitive solutions and nobody can delude themselves into having reached perfection; there is always something new to discover or to improve. This attitude helps us feel very much in sync with this athlete, and not just for the product development opportunities he presents us with. “I began working with Boero in 1997 during construction of the Fila, the boat with which I won the solitary world race. From the beginning I was looking for lightness and performance to guide us, and being able to count on a relationship of trust with such a dynamic and important company certainly guaranteed excellent results. Over the years, the product and solutions have become increasingly advanced and efficient. We also worked together on the Trimarano Maserati, working in synergy to reach a shared objective. Thanks to Boero I have been able to access the best in paint technology and research, playing an important role in obtaining results and improving the performance of a racing boat like the Maserati Multi 70.”
