Italy at the heart of Alinghi

by Alinghi Media on 6 Oct 2005 They are Italian; small, medium and large. They all love pasta, make Tiramisu better than anyone else in the team, are equally passionate about sailing and talented too.

Ciccio (Claudio Celon), Lorenzo Mazza and Cicco (Francesco Rapetti) have sailed together on and off since the 80s, Ciccio (Claudio Celon) and Lorenzo Mazza came together on Italia in Fremantle in 1987, their first America’s Cup together. Cicco (Francesco Rapetti) and Lorenzo raced the Il Moro di Venezia challenge in 1990, while Ciccio was busy with Olympic campaigns and the three joined ranks with Prada in New Zealand in 2000.

Over the years they have formed a strong bond, both professional and personal. ‘We are very good friends and have a lot of respect for one another, we often go on holiday together with our families. So it is not just a work relationship, it is in life too,’ explains Ciccio.

Cicco was with Alinghi in 2003 when they won the America’s Cup. He is boat captain of SUI75 and takes immense pride in her winning streak this year, Alinghi has up to now gone unbeaten in the match racing winning 31 straight matches this year. ‘It’s a job, a sport, but also a passion. You have to be competitive. To win is my goal, so doing a job in which you can win something special is as good as it gets.’ Ciccio gives an insight on the Alinghi mastman: ‘I love people that put their hearts into their work, Lorenzo is one of these people and Cicco is another. If you do a job without heart, you get 50%. If you use your heart you can have 120% and this is what Cicco does.’

Similar traits run through Lorenzo, he began sailing as a kid, was racing by 16 and later studied yacht design in Southampton. His depth of commitment to his role and to Alinghi is strong: ‘I was honoured when I got the call to join Alinghi. I find a lot of talented people here which is good because I’ve been involved in the Cup but never in winning it. For me it is interesting to meet and see close-up what is different from my previous experience and to work with a group of people that has been successful.’

As trimmer for Alinghi, he maintains the pressure on himself to improve: ‘there are plenty of things to improve on if you take a 360 degree look around yourself. I always try to look around as widely as possible so that I have more chance to improve in more directions.’ Ciccio speaks very highly of his friend and colleague: ‘For me Lorenzo is the best professional trimmer in Italy and also one of the most professional in the world. I respect him a lot. I follow him in the choices he makes and what he thinks. We speak a lot about the trim and the sails, we have a great relationship and I am very happy to work with him.’

Ciccio is equally passionate about the wider sailing team, with its 10 different nationalities: ‘This is a fantastic team. Everybody has a lot of experience, everybody is a good guy. I think it’s a good team. We all try to work and push hard. Everyone has fun and is happy.’