Confessions of a shipowner: “That’s how I went from sport boat to 9-knot gozzo”

What motivates an American fisherman lover, already the owner of a powerboat with hundreds of horsepower, to buy a gozzo that does 9 knots of top speed? A love of beauty and the environment.

Marina di Capri, August. At the stern of a boat of only 10 meters, among the many prestigious ones moored in the dock, there is always someone who stops to watch, fascinated by a special gozzo.

It is the San Michele, a G-10 from Antico Cantiere del Legno Aprea, a dream of a shipowner who loves beauty, nature and sustainability.

Let’s talk about Michele Pontecorvo Ricciardi (Naples, 1984), FAI Campania regional president and president of the Ferrarelle ETS Foundation, which promotes initiatives with civic, solidarity and socially useful purposes, was born on the sea and raised on a boat.

An experienced sailor then, but above all an entrepreneur who has made sustainability his credo, focusing on civic education, active citizenship and sustainability in cultural heritage.

No wonder, then, for the choice of his latest boat: a traditional yet very modern“spirit of tradition,” with a heat engine as well as an electric one, and why not, with a small headsail.

To sail safely even in rough seas, to glide silently through marine protected areas, to explore the islands of the beautiful Gulf of Naples (and beyond) at the comfortable speed of 10 knots.

The one that allows you to enjoy the journey, even before the destination.

By Fabio Ratti

Your relationship with the sea? Your boats?

I had the good fortune and privilege to be born in a house, where I still live, overlooking the sea. What’s more, from a family with great seafaring traditions, from both parents. So basically I was born on the sea and boats, and I cannot thank my family enough for passing on to me the rules of the sea, which are after all the rules of life: discipline, order, respect for others, cleanliness, adaptation. And my teenage memories are of a Zodiac of about four meters, with an aluminum hull, beautiful. With a Johnson 25 horsepower I used to go everywhere, in Capri I used to moor it at the Scoglio delle Sirene. Today it would be impossible.

Then thanks to my father, a great admirer of American fishermen, their ruggedness, their marine qualities, came a Robalo. Extraordinary boat, with a deep V, incredible seaworthiness. I remember a July 23 many years ago, I wanted to celebrate my birthday in Capri. I put the bow out of the harbor and found a very formed bow sea, I go ahead with that hint of youthful recklessness and feel that the Robalo is at ease, it doesn’t slam, it cuts softly through the wave and conveys confidence. I arrive in Capri and disembark with a hint of pride in the “feat” and the glovebox of Moccia’s pizzas absolutely intact!!!

(Editor’s note: for those who have never tried them, they are worth the trip to Naples.)

Years go by, and another boat comes along. My father reports to me that a dealer was selling his Itama, hull number 100 that came out of the mold of the famous Forty. Perfect boat, one year old, used only for demonstrations, a special edition produced in a few pieces to celebrate the building of the 100th hull.

Then it was the icon of yachting in the Gulf, now that we are selling out the sea to commerce it has become the icon of charter … an activity for which, in fact, it is perfectly fine, comfortable and frugal in consumption as it is. And we, the permanent vacationers on the Gulf islands or the Coast, have to give way to the fleet of charter boats, with drivers who drive around foreigners intoxicated by alcohol and sunshine, music blasting, skimming over boats at anchor, heedless of bathers. If you nod in protest you get the heck out of it.

Accidents are now uncounted; the other day a speedboat “stopped” on the rocks below my house, its stern foot out of the water; aboard were two young men looking around bewildered, more amazed than concerned by this irritating parking.

That is also why the radical choice of St. Michael’s?

Perhaps, but I believe in signs of destiny, especially when you are changing your life. My marriage had ended, leaving me with a wonderful daughter who is now seven years old; moreover, my involvement in FAI had made me more aware of issues that I had always felt were my own. As I wondered about ditching two diesels with a few hundred horsepower in favor of something less impactful, a gentleman who had been courting my Itama for some time came back to the table; I asked him for a figure, he accepted it. Done deal.

Then the lightning strike. On the terrace of the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia I meet Nino Aprea; on the dock gleams the first example of his G-10. Beautiful, comfortable, a perfectly successful “spirit of tradition”: classic lines guaranteeing great marine qualities, cleverly revisited. What’s more, with dual motorization, thermal and electric.

So a hybrid goiter also to protect our seas. Since 2020 you have been FAI Regional President of Campania, what more can be done?

There are six Marine Protected Areas in Campania, and there certainly could be more. In Ieranto Bay, which falls within the Punta Campanella MPA, FAI owns 47 hectares and is active in protecting the coastal, environmental and botanical area.

We need to increase controls, teach the civic education of going to sea and respect for the territory, which must be experienced with different rules than we are used to. That is why we first of all promote knowledge, because you love what you know; we stimulate civil society by proposing a different culture, even in respect for the less beautiful things, bringing especially the youngest to discover the territory. For example, with the “Apprentice Tour Guides” project: we turn middle and high school students into volunteer guides for a day. Not only do they help us so much in our events, but through a direct and rewarding experience they discover that the area where they live is a true cultural, artistic and environmental heritage.

Our members in Campania number about 10,000. And they are sentinels of the territory, doing battles, rolling up their sleeves. We recently cleaned up and restored the “Gardens of Hope,” outside the walls of the Nisida Youth Prison. A place of poignant beauty, where 50 young people gathered armed with sacks, gloves and gardening tools to restore dignity to a special place, especially for those inside the walls.

And it is nice that in addition to individual citizens so many municipalities are signing up for FAI, evidence that they want to keep the dialogue going, make themselves known, and in many cases, as with Vesuvian municipalities, they want to reappropriate their territory. Of course, the most famous places have to set a good example, and stand up for themselves: in Santorini 50,000 people landed in one day and the mayor asked the population to stay indoors, amidst a lot of controversy.

A problem Capri, and beyond, knows very well.

They do so many other things, we cooperate with CAI, Mare Vivo and other entities, we organize conferences, and we need to be supported, everyone can do something.

For example, an awareness campaign would be particularly effective in a trade publication such as yours, which still has a lot of power because it targets a passionate, curious audience that is sensitive to sea and coastal protection. If you give us a hand, we will be grateful to you in great numbers!

It seems to me that you are absolutely right, but back to your St. Michael’s….

I told you, I was fascinated by this perfectly successful fusion of tradition and modernity. The boat is made of wood, but built with modern systems therefore with maintenance equivalent, or nearly so, to a fiberglass one. But the comfort and seaworthiness are vastly superior. I make 9 knots with the heat engine, just under half with the electric one, and the satisfaction of gliding through a bay in perfect silence is priceless. Plus I have the security of having a second motor in case the first one fails, just always have the batteries charged and connect the system to the app on my phone to monitor its consumption. Of course, I am fortunate to have the Antico Cantiere del Legno Aprea nearby, which offers impeccable service: it picks up the boat at the end of the season and returns it to me as good as new the following year, taking all the hassle out of managing it.

They say the San Michele is the most beautiful of the G-10s launched to date, yet despite the many customization possibilities I have changed very little. Basically only the portholes, which are classic, round, steel-opening ones, and the colors I personally chose (we at Circolo Italia are a bit of a red-blue fixation). Below deck, on the other hand, I wanted, in addition to the bathroom and double berth in the bow, a galley complete with freezer, because in my family we love ice cream and I hope this will be the boat of memories for my daughter and my five grandchildren. In the meantime, for next year I would really like to plan a nice cruise along the coast, south, and then cut over to the Aeolian Islands. There the sea is still livable.

Next boat: do you have any ideas?

Of course, the passion for the American school of Fisherman that my father instilled in me has not gone away, and I find the new Bertrams beautiful, the 38 or 50 for example. If I ever one day decide to return to cruising I would have no doubt.

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