Larry Ellison, for example, has won the Maxi World Championships three times with his ‘Sayonara’ campaigns, and conquered the Sydney-Hobart yacht race among many other successes on the water. His first America’s Cup campaign was in 2002/2003 when his Oracle BMW Racing team made it to the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, eventually falling to the Cup winner, Alinghi. (©ACM(2005)/Photo:Carlo Borlenghi)

Ellison’s team, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, became Challenger of Record for this 32^nd edition of the America’s Cup, sharing a vision with Ernesto Bertarelli of broadening the appeal of the Cup through build-up events, the Louis Vuitton Acts. His BMW ORACLE Racing team is the biggest of the challengers, and Ellison, along with the team’s sponsors, has ensured the project has the resources it needs to win. Still, winning the Cup has never been simple, never been about one thing. It’s how you fit the puzzle together that distinguishes a team, and success in other walks of life is no guarantee.

Winning the right way

“He doesn’t just like to win, he wants to do it properly,” said tactician Bertrand Pacé, describing what it’s like to work with Ellison in the afterguard on board. “The way people communicate on board is very important to him. But generally, it’s good to have someone who is very motivated and someone who has such a strong will to win.”

For Vincenzo Onorato, the sea has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. The fourth generation of his family to own a shipping business, Onorato’s MOBY fleet includes ferries that shuttle between Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and Elba. As a sailor, he has been at the helm when his team won the IMS World Championships and Mumm 30 World Championships. Although it might seem like having the team owner on board would be distracting or intimidating, Mascalzone skipper Vasco Vascotto says the opposite is true.

“On our boat Vincenzo is the aft grinder, a position that is typically taken by much younger guys,” Vascotto said. “He works extremely hard to show that its no problem for him to keep up and it’s kind of inspirational in that way. On the boat, everyone is the same, working at the same level.”

According to Vascotto, the key is that Onorato doesn’t put himself above the rest of the crew, and he knows when to let the guys on the boat work in their own way.

“Look, he’s a very, very smart man. He knows that it’s important for him to leave us space to do our absolute best.”

And the absolute best is what Ellison and Onorato will need from their teams if one of them is to satisfy his dream of winning the America’s Cup from Ernesto Bertarelli, a man who has already realized that lofty ambition.