Our interview with Andrea Micheli, Commercial Director for Southern Wind

Responsible luxury. This summarises Southern Wind’s philosophy. Indeed, the shipyard promotes a vision of an international community which is attentive and responsible for the environment; this can also be seen with the Southern Wind Rendezvous and Trophy, organised in Porto Cervo from 31 May to 4 June, as part of the Superyacht Regatta, whose Title Sponsor this year is the well-known international brand, Giorgio Armani.

We spoke about this event, and more, with Andrea Micheli, Commercial Director for Southern Wind.

Porto Cervo, Giorgio Armani, Southern Wind. A very high quality event, as well as an all round lifestyle. What does luxury mean today?

The arrival of Giorgio Armani as the title sponsor of the “Superyacht Regatta” marks an important change in the event’s visibility. The Armani brand, always very careful about what it lends its name to, is no longer just another luxury. Today, through the desires of its founder, luxury is no longer a means unto itself but also brings with it a deep sense of renewal, luxury intended to be exclusive, but no longer boasted, undisputed and arrogant. A concept which, as Southern Wind, we fully embrace.

Luxury, as intended by our clients, is considering their boat as a balance between enjoying the challenge and passion of a sport, enjoying exclusive comfort without compromise and satisfying the desire to get away from everyday life and fully enjoying the adventures that the sea brings with it. For Southern Wind, luxury is also responsibility, not just an opportunity. It cannot, therefore overlook sustainability, care and protecting our planet.

With this dedicated event you want to, evidently, communicate that the shipyard is close with its clients. Do your clients have common values that bring them together?

One of Southern Wind’s strong points is the high esteem with which we regard our community of yacht owners and, more simply to all those who appreciate our boats because they recognise the quality and seriousness with which we build them. The Southern Wind style is, at any given moment, inspired by discretion, measure, inclusion, and a language centred around facts rather than appearance.

The Southern Wind community is founded on understatement, spontaneity, sharing a common passion for sailing, which is a life choice and an elegant and discreet connection. We build boats for true yachtsmen, in purest sense of the term. The profound way in which we share these values contributes to guaranteeing the singularity and success of the social occasions that we organise for the community.

Does your choice of Porto Cervo go beyond the beauty of this marvellous place?

We are hosting the 14th edition of the Southern Wind Trophy here in Porto Cervo. The Emerald Coast, and more specifically the Maddalena Archipelago, creates the perfect scenario for an event like this one. Breathtaking scenery, ideal wind conditions and the exclusivity and glamour of life on land. To this is added the experience and organisational skills of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and their profound ties of partnership and friendship that have connected them for many years. It is hard to think of a location better than this one.

Is there anything new in the 2022 programme?

In the wake of the success we had last year, this year we are also offering our owners the opportunity of participating in the Southern Wind trophy by racing or by following the “Rendezvous” formula. The regatta is for those owners who want to test the performance of their yachts to the max, with the support of a professional crew. The Rendezvous, instead, offers owners less interested in racing the opportunity to enjoy sailing with the fleet in the company of family or friends, without the need for a numerous crew.

It is nice to see how, also in this case, there is still a feeling of friendly competition. Owning a Southern Wind also means this, high performance sailing in a stunning fleet, not necessarily racing but challenging friends and other owners with whom you share a great passion. Events like these concentrate on the essence of yachting, the pure pleasure of sailing.

Does Southern Wind cater only to the owners or also to the crews and captains?

We like to think of Southern Wind as a “boutique community” made not only of owners but also of all the people who share their yachting experience with them, and among these are certainly captains and their crews. Together with captains, we are lucky enough, and responsible for, working in a niche market, like yachting, which complements technical skill and entertainment.

Only if our owners understand and appreciate what we offer them, can we say we have won. But in order for this to happen we need to be certain that everyone involved in the process is satisfied and does their best. In this sense we believe that partnership and building up relationships with our captains is at the basis of the success of our business. Events like these, therefore, are important for us for meeting others, exchanging ideas and experiences and collecting input, and, why not, drinking and having fun like you do with friends.

Is a title sponsor like Giorgio Armani unusual for the industry?

Undoubtedly. Because being a part of an initiative like the “Superyacht regatta” means also embracing sailing in all its variations, which today, firstly, make environmental sustainability and protection the entire raison d’etre for the whole sector.

Andrea Micheli

An Italian location and a world-famous Italian sponsor. Southern Wind also began with an Italian. What are you bringing from the incredible “Table Mountain”?

Southern Wind connects skills, experience and values from 4 continents and over 10 countries, that unite in a cultural melting pot in the shadow of Table Mountain. The Italian-ness of the shipyard is only one of the ingredients of Southern Wind. Our strong point is our constant contamination between talent, Italian style, and multicultural operatives. We are an atypical shipyard that locally manages, develops globally but always follows those core values that were passed on to us by engineer Persico, and that we have passed on to the others involved in the company.

All of this environment and Italian style – is it still appreciated in spite of global competition?

I believe the global competition will never overshadow or put into second place our creativity and the oestrus with which we translate it onto paper every time we decide to promote something Made in Italy. Italian style will never go out of fashion.

Post pandemic, international tensions, environment, ecology, training. What do you most want to communicate through your 2022 event compared to past editions?

We want to transmit coherence and continuity. Our resilience cannot leave reliability and technical and company sustainability out of the equation. In times of controversy, demand concentrates on the most convincing offers and we are working so that Southern Wind becomes the sweet spot and benchmark in our niche market.