A banner season for mr. Tomasini Grinover

A year to remember. As in wine, there are particularly happy seasons in sailing. Roberto Tomasini Grinover knows something about this, who in 2014 not only rose to the forefront of sailing news but also stood on the top step of the podium of some of the most important regattas on the calendar. From second place at Palmavela to victory at the Melges 32 European won on Lake Garda via victories at the Rolex Volcano Race to Rolex Capri Sailing Week and Rolex Giraglia Cup. Results united by what some have already dubbed the Robertissima factor. Yes, because behind these sporting feats are the passion and determination of the likes of Roberto Tomasini Grinover. And it could not be otherwise.

FIRST STEPS IN MONFALCONE
Registry-wise he was born in Gorizia but sailing-wise in Monfalcone where Tomasini Grinover took his first steps or rather first edges at the Oscar Cosulich club. “Those were the Flying Junior and Finn years,” Grinover recalls with a streak of nostalgia. “It was also the time when I crewed with Mauro Pelaschier on the Flying Dutchman.” It may not be a coincidence, but the Northeast is a particularly fertile sea that has seen the growth of a large number of champions including Vasco Vascotto. And from Pelaschier to Vascotto is a short step. “Winning the Melges 32 European Championship in July in Riva del Garda with Vasco on board was a source of double satisfaction for me,” comments Tomasini Grinover.

A LONG APPRENTICESHIP
Yes, because Grinover belongs to that category of sailors who, having a long apprenticeship behind them, know how to appreciate, when it comes, the sweet taste of victory. “The European title in the Meleges 32 class was one of the best moments of my sailing life,” Tomasini Grinover still recalls. A success that comes from as far back as the years in which after experience on the Olympic classes Grinover continued his adventure in sailing by racing aboard the One Tonners in the Gulf of Trieste until the moment when his encounter with the Star occurred. “A wonderful class where discipline is needed and in which the human factor goes hand in hand with tuning and adjusting the boat itself,” adds Grinover. “A real quantum leap in my sailing life. I have participated in numerous regattas in Austria where I have been residing for some years. In the lake alone where I usually love to sail there are about 20 of them.” The experience in the Star world brings many satisfactions, such as winning a few national titles, but also the knowledge that in order to win you have to measure yourself against the holy monsters of world sailing.

“MY TRADE IS ANOTHER ONE.”
“My trade is something else. Sailing remains a passion even if practiced very assiduously, and it was frustrating to see that despite my efforts I was not going beyond a certain point, although one year, I took away the satisfaction of finishing second in a round of the Star world championship held in Sweden. This is where the idea of aiming toward an owner’s drive class-something, that is, that would combine the concept of professional sailing with more amateur sailing-began to take hold in me.” The most suitable choice could only be the Melges 32. “A magnificent class both technically and competitively,” emphasizes Tomasini Grinover, who adds, “Racing on this circuit is also challenging from an organizational and logistical point of view and pushes you to enter into the logic of thinking in terms of a team.” A great training ground for sure but also a way to start laying the groundwork for an even more ambitious project that for Tomasini Grinover represents the true Formula One of sailing. “Mini maxis are extraordinary, technologically advanced boats, true racing beasts that remain anchored in the principles of sailing.”

AMERICA’S CUP NO THANKS
The reference not even to mention goes to the America’s Cup. “A competition that today lacks fascination for me in which an exasperated search for performance has taken over at the expense of everything else, to the point of reducing contact with the sea to a minimum,” continues Tomasini Grinover. None of this happens in the Mini Maxi class, which today counts among its most ardent enthusiasts and supporters the Friulian owner. Purchased from Niklas Zennstrom, Tomasini Grinover took little time to bring the former Ran II now Robertissima III back to the start of the most important races of the 2014 season. “A completely new but fascinating reality,” claims Tomasini Grinover who adds, “Participating in the Mini Maxi circuit necessarily entails a strong change of mentality, a long-term strategy, and a managerial approach to team management and logistics. In this regard, we have called on Federico Michetti to join the team, who has a great deal of international experience in the role of team manager and equipped a base in Palma de Mallorca, where at the end of each race the boat undergoes a whole series of modifications dictated by that continuous search for new insights in terms of speed and performance that are the most compelling part of this class.” It was precisely aboard Robertissima III that Grinover took the satisfaction of finishing second behind an unbeatable Alegre in the Mini Maxi world championship that was raced in September in Porto Cervo, preceding Niklas Zennstrom’s own Ran V. “A great satisfaction that goes along with that felt at the Giraglia when we held our own against Esimit 2 Europa,” Grinover commented.

BORN AND RAISED AMONG THE BUOYS
But when asked whether stick racing or offshore racing is better, Tomasini Grinover does not hesitate for a moment: “I was born and raised among the buoys. I love that tension when you’re measuring yourself against your opponents on the edge of seconds, where you sportall in a handkerchief of water and where any distraction, even the most trivial, can cost you victory.” That’s the beauty of sailing. And there is no point in chasing that concept of showmanship at all costs to make it palatable to an ever-widening audience. “This is a sport that takes place at sea and as such it is unthinkable to be able to apply the logics that belong to other sports in order to make it even more televised. In this way we have lost a class like the Star that has ingloriously exited the Olympic scene,” Tomasini Grinover continued. But not from the heart of the Gorizia-based shipowner. A star stands out in Robertissima’s logo, and it was a star in the constellation Ursa Major that was named Robertissima.