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VAVA II Yacht – Glamorous $150 Million Superyacht

Built in the United Kingdom and delivered in 2012, VAVA II yacht is an impressive creation by Devonport. She is one of only 34 yachts in her size range.

VAVA II yacht interior

The interior of the VAVA II was designed by Rémi Tessier, a designer who favours simplicity and functionality.

Inside the yacht you can find a beauty salon, a gym, a beach club, an elevator, and to top it all off – air conditioning.

Not much is known about her interior, having mostly been seen by those fortunate enough to visit VAVA II.

There are not many pictures available, but if it’s anything like the gorgeous exterior, it’s surely a sight to behold.

Specifications

VAVA II yacht is 96 meters long (315 ft), has a beam of 17,3 meters (56,9 ft), and a 4,8 meter (15,9 ft) draft. She can reach a top speed of 19 knots, and a cruising speed of 15 knots.

The twin diesel MTU (16V 4000 M70) 2,333hp engines that power her, make it possible for her to reach those 19 knots.

She has a reach of more than 4500 nautical miles, and anchor stabilizers make VAVA II comfortable to be on. She has the capacity to keep up to 36 guests, and up to 34 crew.

The Vava II yacht has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure, and the exterior is designed by Redman Whiteley Dixon. She has four large tender garage aft and a pool with varying depth levels.

There are a total of six decks and is built like a small ship. A helicopter landing pad is also one of the many features of this yacht.

Her mostly white exterior shows off all the details in her designs, along with the sleek lines and impressive size.

Inspired by naval design, she has smooth curves and decks stacked neatly, with an overall balanced look.

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Sighted in Barcelona: “Vava II” the superyacht owned by Ernesto Bertarelli

We saw the superyacht “vava ii” in the port of barcelona, the 96 metre vessel belongs to ernesto bertarelli.

Photo Gallery 12 images

Topics: Ernesto Bertarelli , Vava II

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96m Superyacht VAVA II delivered – Largest UK built motor yacht sets sail for Caribbean on maiden Voyage

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Written by Chelsea Smith

Motor yacht VAVA II , the 96m (314.96ft) superyacht built by Devonport Yachts (rebranded as Pendennis Plus in 2011) has been delivered and set sail on her maiden voyage on Friday the 2nd of March 2012 from Plymouth Sound to the Caribbean .

Yacht VAVA II by Pendennis Plus

The mega yacht VAVA II by Pendennis Plus reportedly cost USD 160 million (£100 million) to build and took 200 craftsmen more than two years to complete. The new VAVA II motor yacht is owned by Swiss/Italian pharmaceutical tycoon and billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and his wife, songwriter and former Miss UK Kirsty Roper. (Kirsty Bertarelli). The 96 meter yacht Vava II reportedly replaces the Bertarelli’s old 47-meter Feadship motor yacht called launched in 1996 called Vava. Ernesto Bertarelli is owner of the ex-America’s Cup team Alinghi, which held the Americas Cup for 3 events.

Pendennis Plus 96 m Yacht VAVA II underway

Measuring 96m (314.96ft) yacht VAVA II is the largest privately owned yacht ever to be built in the UK and is 33rd largest yacht in the world. She is also one of the most technologically advanced and stylish yachts in the world with exterior styling by Redman Whitely Dixon and interior design by Remi Tessier . Some of the yachts special features include a helicopter landing pad, a large fold-down beach club, a variable depth swimming pool, beautifully appointed guest cabins and large tenders stored in large tender garages aft and forward, able to carry guests to shore.

Captain Brendan O’Shannassy commented during the build that: “It is so pleasing to see a yacht that retains the vision of the designers without compromise”.

96m Superyacht VAVA II delivered – the Largest motor yacht built in the UK sets sail for Caribbean on maiden Voyage

The VAVA II luxury superyacht is the largest ever private motor yacht to be built in the UK, England and Britain. She has been built from steel with an aluminium superstructure and complies with SOLAS codes, able to accommodate 36 guests. She would make a magnificent charter yacht if she was ever put on the charter market.

The VAVA II superyacht (previously known as P55, or project 55) was christened on the 10th September 2011 in Plymouth and she underwent her sea trails in October 2011. She is now travelling via the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean on her maiden voyage.

Please enjoy these photographs of M/Y Vava II by Paul.

Features of superyacht VAVA II (ex Project 55) by Devonport Yachts (rebranded as Pendennis Plus in 2011)

LOA: 96m (314.96ft)

Naval Architects: Devonport Yachts

Exterior Design: Redman Whiteley Dixon

Interior Design: Rémi Tessier

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "96m Superyacht VAVA II delivered – Largest UK built motor yacht sets sail for Caribbean on maiden Voyage".

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$160M superyacht sails into Lake Union

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A superyacht measuring 314 feet long and owned by billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and his wife, a former Miss U.K., docked in Lake Union Friday.

The VAVA II, reportedly in Seattle to refuel, is the 34th-largest yacht in the world, according to Boat International, a media group that serves the superyacht industry.

VAVA II, the largest privately owned yacht to be built in the United Kingdom, cost $160 million, features a helicopter landing pad, a swimming pool and six decks. It can accommodate 36 guests.

A Washington comparison: The yacht is longer than seven of the 23 Washington State Ferries.

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Bertarelli, 48, is a Swiss/Italian pharmaceutical entrepreneur who inherited the biotech company Serono after his father’s death in 1998.

His net worth is $12.2 billion, according to Forbes. His wife, Kirsty Bertarelli, 42, was crowned Miss U.K. in 1988 and is one of Britain’s richest women, according to the Daily Mail.

VAVA II’s recent ports of call were Honolulu and Port Townsend, according to Marine Traffic, a website that tracks maritime vessels’ locations and travels.

The VAVA II went through the Ballard Locks Friday afternoon without any issues, a Locks official said, though onlookers said it did almost hit the side of the chamber a few times.

Though it dwarfs the sailboats and dinghies often seen on Lake Union, the VAVA II isn’t the largest yacht to dock in Seattle waters. That prize likely goes to The Serene, a $330 million yacht owned by Russian vodka distributor Yuri Scheffler, which was moored in Elliott Bay in August 2013. The Serene is about 124 feet longer than the VAVA II.

It’s unclear how long the VAVA II will be in Seattle.

The yacht has a fuel capacity of 115,043 gallons, which provides a maximum range of 5,000 nautical miles at 14 knots.

According to the Daily Mail, refueling costs the billionaires $400,000.

Pocket change, really.

Paige Cornwell: 206-464-2530 or [email protected]

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One superyacht owner's mission to save the seas

Ernesto Bertarelli’s family established the Bertarelli Foundation to provide crucial support for innovative science. Claire Wrathall talks to the philanthropist about his desire to save the oceans by building bridges

At the centre of the reception area of Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Ernesto Bertarelli’s London office stands a large mirror-finish stainless-steel globe. Created by the yacht designer Rémi Tessier , who also designed the interior of Bertarelli’s 96-metre superyacht, Vava II , it is a striking piece, the subject appropriate to a citizen of the world. But look closely and you’ll see that the oceans are picked out in relief and stand proud of the land: a warning, perhaps, that our planet is in trouble. Sea levels are rising and, as an aide notes as we pass en route to his office, in Bertarelli’s view, the oceans especially are urgently in need of protection. And the best way to effect that is through knowledge.

“I have always had an afinity with the ocean,” Bertarelli tells me. “I had my genealogy explored recently and it confirmed that, as I thought, I’m very much from around the Mediterranean . So it must be in my genes. I’ve never lived away from water. We had a house in Switzerland in the hills but, for me, it did not feel right and we had to move to a new house by the side of the lake. I need to be near water!”

Born in Rome in 1965, Bertarelli’s family moved from Italy to Switzerland when he was seven, and he learned to sail on Lake Geneva and on holidays in Porto Ercole. “I was given a boat before I got a moped,” he recalls. “I was about 12, 14 maybe, and freedom in my teenage years came from the water, not the road. I was at liberty to take the boat and go exploring. Parents seemed to give children a lot more freedom then than we are able to do these days.”

He became an accomplished sailor and went on to found – and compete as a member of – his Alinghi team, which won the America’s Cup for Switzerland in Auckland in 2003 (with Bertarelli as navigator) and defended it in Valencia in 2007 (as an afterguard, runner trimmer and grinder).

But it was as a diver and frustrated fisherman that he really came to realise the plight of the oceans. Returning to the places he’d spent holidays in his youth – “Elba, Giglio, Ponza and the Argentario peninsula” – it struck him that marine life was becoming depleted and he “started to comprehend” how “drastically, the Mediterranean was changing for the worse”. Thankfully he was not the only one to reflect on this and “groups and governments along the Mediterranean made the same realisation and now there are many initiatives in place to reverse this long decline; many, I’m pleased to say, led by Italy.”

His songwriter wife, Kirsty, who co-authored All Saints’ 2000 international hit Black Coffee, helps to inspire the family’s philanthropy and has spoken of a memorable dive they did together early in their relationship off the coast of Baja California in the Sea of Cortez . A decade later they returned to exactly the same place, hoping to repeat the experience. “But when we got in the water there was nothing,” she said in an interview earlier this year. “Everything we’d seen before had gone. That’s when I knew we had to do something.”

Hence the philanthropic work of the Bertarelli Foundation, which supports a range of causes, not least ocean science. “You learn a sense of responsibility on the water,” he continues. “You have to look after not only yourself, but also others – whether they’re people or places or living creatures. Maybe that sense of personal responsibility was born of being at sea.”

Over the past decade the foundation, led also by his sister, Dona Bertarelli, has been instrumental in creating nearly 2.4 million square kilometres of marine-protected areas in the South Pacific (around Easter Island, Pitcairn, French Polynesia and, most recently, New Caledonia), the Caribbean and perhaps most importantly, the Indian Ocean. Covering an area of 640,000 square kilometres, the British Indian Ocean Territory includes the 58 mostly uninhabited islands of the Chagos Archipelago, and contains more than 220 species of coral and at least 784 species of fish – from Nemo-like striped clownfish to species of shark, tuna, marlin and sailfish, whose populations have been depleted by intensive fishing across the Indian Ocean.

In 2010 the foundation, along with others, advocated for its designation as a reserve and “no-take” Marine Protected Area where fishing is prohibited. Working with the British government, the foundation identified an opportunity to fund a boat to patrol the reserve and also invest in trialling new technologies to monitor and enforce the reserve more efficiently and economically. Since then, dozens of illegal fishing vessels have been apprehended by the British administration, which acts as an important warning to other fishing boats tempted to fish illegally in the reserve’s waters.

While access to the territory is strictly limited, Bertarelli has taken part in scientific expeditions there on Vava II , the Devonport-built yacht, which he took delivery of in 2012 and which has been deployed for three research expeditions by scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and other research universities from around the world. While there aren’t, he says, purpose-built laboratory facilities on board, there is sufficient space to set them up when needed. “My wife and I had had a romantic idea that we would raise our three children at sea, so we planned a school room . It’s easily turned into a floating laboratory and the deck space can accommodate the scientists’ equipment.”

Bertarelli has supported numerous research projects into shark tracking, seabird ecology and coral reefs, both in the Chagos Archipelago and beyond. And in 2017 the Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science was formally enshrined, an initiative that within its first full year already attracted 63 scientists from more than 20 institutions in seven countries. Its object is not just to support research but to encourage scientists to share research and work collaboratively.

“What’s particularly novel about the programme is the interdisciplinary nature of it,” says its director, Professor Heather Koldewey of ZSL. “We’re teaming up seabird ecologists with coral-reef scientists; people who tag and track sharks around the world with oceanographers; people who are interested in the deepest ocean with those who work in the shallow waters and terrestrial ecologists working on islands. By considering this whole system and how its constituent parts interact with each other, by combining disciplines that often work in discrete silos, we’re able to find new ways of looking at the ocean and new ways of doing things.”

In essence, the programme brings different groups of scientists together to tackle problems with their own particular expertise. “Many of these scientists would not be working together if it was not for our programme,” says Bertarelli. This ‘knocking heads together’ approach, which fuses expertise from many disciplines, has “proposed answers which would not have been imaginable if we hadn’t fostered these new collaborations”.

“This is pretty much the end of the era when scientists and academics competed by building walls and trenches,” says Bertarelli. “People still compete of course, probably harder than ever, but now it’s about who can build the best bridges. Who can connect to the best labs, the best institutions and the best departments. Academia isn’t less competitive; it’s potentially more competitive. But the way people compete is collaborative and more focused on team-building, which suits my approach.”

He talks excitedly about two recent projects in the Chagos Archipelago, both the subject of presentations at last year’s inaugural Bertarelli Foundation Marine Science Symposium at the Royal Geographical Society in London last September. One, by Professor Nick Graham, chair in marine ecology at Lancaster University, established the deleterious effect of rats on coral colonies. That’s right: land-dwelling rodents cause havoc on coral reefs.

Put simply, rats cause seabird populations to die out by eating their eggs. If seabirds, which feed on fish out in the open ocean, stop nesting on an island because of the rats, there will cease to be guano, nutrients from which seep back into the ocean thereby providing nutrients to the coral. Fish have also been observed to grow faster and larger near islands with lots of seabirds and no rats. By comparing the reefs around six islands with rat populations and six that had never been invaded, it was possible to demonstrate that if rats can be eradicated, ocean life will flourish.

“That was a really striking experiment,” Bertarelli says. “It would have been very difficult to do it so thoroughly anywhere else in the world.” (The comprehensive research was based on findings from a dozen uninhabited tropical islands, six with rat populations, and six without.) But in the Chagos Archipelago, where the closest continental land mass is the southern tip of India 1,500 kilometres away, “you have a unique situation. That’s why I think the territory is such an important place for the planet.”

He becomes yet more animated when he describes research by the University of Plymouth’s Dr Phil Hosegood, an oceanographer concerned with the physics rather than the biology of the oceans and how internal wave dynamics attract silvertip sharks. “People who spend time on the ocean and go fishing have always known that you find more life around seamounts,” says Bertarelli. “But nobody really knows why.”

Thanks to two fieldwork expeditions to the Chagos Archipelago, which has about 300 seamounts, Hosegood was able to establish that it is wave patterns that cause fish to congregate over a particular rock formation called Sandes Seamount. As Bertarelli encapsulates it, “The tide creates a suction mechanism like a syringe that drives the cooler, deeper, nutrient-rich water up over the seamount summit as it flushes up and down.” These currents stir up the water, causing the fish living over the seamount to school, attracting predators that are able to hunt easily among the dense patches of fish. “I thought that was fantastic,” he says. “It was so profound. It had not occurred to me – but perhaps we had not asked the right question before. There’s a lot of that in science. More and more I’m seeing that in scientific discovery, something that seems obvious turns out not to be.”

Not every scientist involved in the Bertarelli Programme is a professor – or, at least, not yet. “What’s particularly exciting is that many of these scientists are at an early stage in their careers,” says Koldewey. “We have 12 PhD students and five Master’s students already in the programme. So not only are we delivering world-class science, we’re also training the next generation of marine scientists.”

This is another subject close to Bertarelli’s heart. “It’s possible that the very rigid hierarchy that exists in academia can hinder youthful ability. As a young, smart PhD, you can get out of academia and create a company which will hopefully be as successful as Google or Facebook – but we don’t want all the smartest people to become entrepreneurs. We need some to stay working in academia, pushing the boundaries of our understanding.”

Education is not, he stresses, just what goes on in universities. “I spend almost three months of the year sailing somewhere in the world and wherever I go I think it’s very important to spend time with local people. Wherever my family has been, I’ve found that people who live by the ocean have a great affinity for visitors – perhaps because the ocean has always been our greatest means of transport and exchange. We once spent almost a year in Indonesia , and it was easy and really interesting to engage with local communities. We found out how their fisheries were doing, how they spent their time, what their concerns were.” That way, too, he says, it’s possible to highlight certain behaviours – the discarding of fishing nets, for example – and explain “gently” how they are problematic and how they might change or adapt. “It’s really a lot more fun to engage with the places you visit and to understand how people live their lives. I think philanthropy has to be personal, and our family’s approach is to always make it so.”

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$160 Million superyacht cruises Hawaiian islands

WAIKIKI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A $160 million mega yacht has been cruising the Hawaiian Islands this month.

The VAVA II is owned by Swiss/Italian pharmaceutical tycoon and billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and his wife, songwriter Kirsty Bertarelli.

Bertarelli had the yacht made as a gift for his wife.

How is this for size, the vessel is longer than a football field, equipped with a fold-down beach club, helicopter pad, six decks, swimming pool and can accommodate 36 guests.

The ship took 200 workers more than two years to complete. In 2012, it was reported that it took more than $400,000 to fill the yacht up with fuel.

The mega yacht has been spotted off Kailua-Kona, Lahaina and Waikiki. VAVA II spent last weekend cruising around the island of Maui. As of Friday evening the yacht was heading back to Honolulu.

In case you are wondering, the largest yacht in the world is the Azzam , which was launched in April of 2013 at 590 feet in length. Not much is known about the megayacht and it is rumored to have been built for a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi. The cost a staggering $605 million.

To view photos of the VAVA II on a mobile device click here:  http://bit.ly/1f0S46x

Related link: Larry Ellison's luxury yacht docked just steps from Hawaii homeless camps

Copyright 2014 Hawaii News Now . All rights reserved.

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• America’s Cup

In conversation with: Ernesto Bertarelli

Whatever the outcome, the 37th edition of the America’s Cup will go down in history as the one that saw Alinghi return to the scene, this time as a challenger. The announcement had been in the air for some time but the official announcement came at the end of 2021, 11 years after that edition in which the Swiss team competed against Oracle Team USA.

Bertarelli’s presence in the America’s Cup has been expected for years and in itself is not news. But it is also thanks to him that the process of transformation has been set in motion, giving a significant boost to the competition. In my opinion, there is a subtle thread linking Alinghi 5, the 90-foot catamaran with which Bertarelli tried in vain to defend the America’s Cup in 2010, to today’s AC 75. It could be argued that foils were not yet on the horizon at that time, but the experience gained in that edition certainly broadened the boundaries of imagination, allowing the seed to be planted for the birth of a new generation of multihulls, the AC 72, the protagonists of the 2013 edition in San Francisco.

And today, the Alinghi/Red Bull Racing partnership looks promising, not least because of their triumph at the last Formula One World Championship. But Bertarelli has not been idle before entering the America’s Cup arena again. On the contrary, as he tells us in this exclusive interview, not only did he continue racing but he even created the TF35s, a class of latest-generation foil catamarans. Yes, because performance is one of the cornerstones of Bertarelli’s vision of sailing.  

Where did you get idea for the TF35 class? It all sprang from the experience we had built up with the D35 (Decision 35 catamaran class, ed.’s note). After 16 years of racing those boats, it was time for a change. The arrival of foils accelerated that decision. So we got together with some friends who had already been racing the D35 and decided to go for something more advanced. I think we have achieved what we set out to do. The TF35 is compact with a manageable budget. It is also unique in terms of performance like the F50s and AC75s which even foil upwind. Results-wise, it also proved its worth by winning complex races with very light breezes like the Bol d’Or. 

From a design perspective, how did you develop the TF35 formula?  The general concept is the result of our vision. Once the platform was defined, I decided to go to very highly skilled professionals, some of whom, like Luc du Bois and Dirk Kramers, had America’s Cup experience from the Alinghi days. 

Does your involvement in sailing also extend to trying to get young people involved in the sport?  I would say that has been a very natural process. After Alinghi’s victory in the America’s Cup, sailing became very popular in Switzerland. Now after over 20 years, Switzerland has a new generation of superb sailors, thanks in part to our involvement in competitive sailing. 

Do you feel the arrival of foils is playing a central role in piquing the interest of the younger generations?  Without a doubt, Anyone under 30 is now looking to foils. It couldn’t really have been any other way. They grew up sailing Moths rather than Lasers. Once you have experienced the feeling of sailing on a foiling boat, it is hard to go back. They are beginning to dominate. 

The 2024 Paris Olympics, for instance, will bring the debut of the iqFoils (foiling windsurf boards). What do you think of this?  Very simple. It’s a one-way street. The performances are unique. Speed is a pivotal factor always: that applies to sailing and other sports. Just look at the progress there has been of late in skiing to make it even more exhilarating in terms of performance. My son wanted to try out the foiling windsurf boards the second he had a chance. They deliver unparalleled emotions: an adrenaline-fuelled experience with not just speed playing a central role – you also get the experience of flying. 

What were you most struck by in the AC75s? I liked virtually everything about the last edition. I have to admit I was wrong about the class at the outset. Contrary to what I thought, they proved very competitive and the racing was really exciting. The only issue perhaps was that there wasn’t enough time to fully appreciate them.

You were the first to turn the America’s Cup into a sporting event capable of grabbing the public’s attention. The Valencia editions are still a fine example of that. So would it be possible to bring the America’s Cup back to that level?  Certainly. In fact, as much as possible has to be done to hold the public’s attention between one edition and the next. Aside from media-related benefits, the other significant aspect is that a racing circuit between Cups helps teams grow their competitiveness. The Valencia editions were memorable in terms of the audience because they were so close-fought. I don’t understand why Luna Rossa isn’t pushing things to get back on the water. They were only at a small disadvantage in terms of speed compared the Kiwis which I am convinced they could bridge if they kept training. 

From the T35s to the AC75s: if you want to win a high level race today, do you need to take many other aspects into account aside from the quality of the crew?  Sailing has evolved so fast that the boats themselves have become more complex to handle and steer. Just like Formula 1 and Moto GP. Factors such as electronics, hydraulics, foiling control systems and the boat set-up more generally, all come into play. Then when you are on the water, the human factor is still pivotal but it is not the only one. Even the way the teams race has changed. The boats are much faster and, as a result, so are the decisions you have to take. It is a bit like comparing 1970s football games with today’s. They seem to be played at completely different speeds. And just like in modern football, we no longer just have the Regista (ed.’s note: a midfielder that sits back and controls the tempo and flow of the game) dictating the rules and making the difference. The most successful teams are the ones with the best resources in every department. Just as happens aboard. And this makes the game much more interesting. 

Speaking of time, how do you perceive it when you are racing?  Time is everything. If you aren’t focused on the chronometer at the start, you can really comprise the result. But when I am actually racing, I go into another dimension that means I step out of time. Speed, concentration, adrenaline and emotions all expand your perception endlessly. 

What was your sweetest victory?  The very last race at Valencia in 2007 against New Zealand. It is still a unique and unforgettable moment in time. 

What is your favourite seafaring memory or experience? There are so many, to be honest. For the last 20 years, I have been spending at least three months at sea. I can’t live without it. Even now, if I stop to think about it, the memories of my experience Papua New Guinea come flooding back – we didn’t see as much as another boat there for an entire month. And then the three weeks I spent in Antarctica when I saw at first-hand how many shades of blue there are in nature. 

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Super Yacht Vava II Docks In Boston Harbor

July 31, 2017 / 11:46 PM EDT / CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) - A roughly 315 foot mega yacht with a helicopter on its upper deck dazzled onlookers near Boston Harbor on Monday.

Vava II was moored off Long Wharf Monday morning. By early evening, it was seen floating out past Castle Island with a party on board.

The vessel is owned by Swiss Billionaire, Ernesto Bertarelli, and his wife Kirsty, former Miss United Kingdom, according to the Daily Mail. Vava II first set sail in 2012 and reportedly cost roughly $150 million to build.

According to Bertarelli.com, Ernesto has ties to the Boston area. He graduated from Babson and also got his MBA from Harvard.

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Ernesto Bertarelli: The Team Alinghi mastermind who shook up the America’s Cup

• Matthew Sheahan
• December 18, 2019

The Swiss billionaire shook up the America’s Cup with Team Alinghi. Is he tempted to rejoin the ever-more-radical competition? Matthew Sheahan found out

Photo: Lloyd Images

When Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi (SUI64) crossed the finish line for the final time in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003, the Swiss 5-0 victory was more than just a decisive new entry in the America’s Cup history books. As the pharmaceuticals billionaire and his teammates hoisted the trophy above their heads, the America’s Cup was on course to change.

Ernesto Bertarelli was already famous in the sailing world for his team’s slick performances – and infamous in New Zealand for having poached the country’s top sailing talent. Four years later, in Valencia, his team defended the 32nd America’s Cup. But this time their win led to change of a different type.

Frustration, acrimony and protracted legal disputes followed in the build up to the 33rd America’s Cup. And when the racing finally got underway in February 2010 in giant multihulls, Alinghi was defeated.

Photo: Manuel Queimadelos Alonso / Getty Images

Since that loss Bertarelli has been out of the Cup and away from the spotlight. Instead, he returned to his own sailing aboard the fast, lightweight multihulls that have been his preferred style of racing for many years.

The Alinghi name continued in the Extreme Sailing Series, then GC32 Tour, and aboard the D35 cat which Bertarelli races on his home patch of Lake Geneva.

Bertarelli is different from many of the super-wealthy owners in the sport. A hands-on, talented and accomplished sailor, he is one of the few who can genuinely hold his own against the pros at a busy, high speed leeward mark rounding.

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Yet despite his ability, enthusiasm and passion for racing at the top level, he has remained largely silent since 2010, as the America’s Cup has gone through another series of major transitions.

When wingmasted cats became the new weapons of choice for the 34th America’s Cup, many speculated that Bertarelli would come back into the Cup. That speculation was reignited when he made a trip to Bermuda in 2017 where he was rumoured to have dined with several of his former friends and foes.

Might the foiling monohull and the very open new design rules tempt him to return?

Multihull specialist

In a rare and exclusive interview, I spoke to Bertarelli at his home on the edge of Lake Geneva on the eve of the biggest lake race in the world, the Mirabaud Bol d’Or, a race that he has won seven times.

I asked him whether he missed the America’s Cup? “It was hard to get away because I still really love the Cup. It is the pinnacle of our sport and it’s this particular event, which needs to drive our sport forward.

“So it was tough to leave it at a time when I thought we had done some great things. I thought Valencia 2007 had brought sailing to a very good place. It was also difficult to see it then go to a multihull, which is obviously a part of the sport which I also really love. It was tough to see that happen and not participate.

“Having said that, I had won the Cup twice and by the end of the third campaign I was a little tired of the politics, the work that needed to be done in order to participate and, frankly, some of the characters. I had had enough. And so in that sense it was great to go back to sailing for fun, pure fun.

“I really don’t have any regrets and I think that Alinghi is in a good place. The transition also allowed me to look after some of the younger sailors here in Switzerland, build a team around them and now we have a very strong team. So we are pleased with where we have got to with Alinghi and the story is not over.”

Given his success in the foiling GC32s, where Alinghi’s successes include winning the 2019 world championships and taking the Extreme Sailing Series twice, was he interested in the SailGP circuit ?

“SailGP is interesting. The problem I see is that it’s not really a competitive series. With one owner owning all the boats it doesn’t quite do it for me. It’s a great opportunity for some sailors to sail these types of boats, but I don’t know where it is going to go really.

“I’m a lot more interested in what’s going to happen with the Cup and the new foiling boats that are being designed and built. I really hope that in New Zealand we’re going to have a competitive event.”

Temptation beckons

So how interested was he in getting back into the America’s Cup? “I was tempted,” he admits. “There were quite a few people that wanted to see Alinghi back in the Cup, and that includes sponsors.

“We are a competitive team, we know the game, the multihull and the AC50 class had started to get more settled. I felt that that would be an opportunity to get back into the Cup without reinventing the wheel, yet still with an opportunity to win based on skill rather than on funds and on engineering an innovative breakthrough.

“I think the danger every time you introduce a new class – and this has been a problem since Valencia – is that innovative breakthroughs become a lot more important than sailing skills and teamwork.

An accomplished sailor, Bertarelli loves the thrill of competition and has always been a hands-on owner. Photo: Christophe Margot

“Research and development requires money, so this becomes the game. You still need people, but you need more engineers than sailors and this tilts the balance a bit too much towards design than on the water performance.

“Even though it’s fascinating to see these boats being created, and hearing and seeing some of the mock-ups and understanding what’s going on, you realise that most of the work is happening indoors. This was not exactly what I was looking for. I really enjoy going sailing.”

This might come as a surprise to some who would argue that the Alinghi team, with its deep pockets and reputation for having a sharp focus on success, was happy with the high spending arms race until it went against them.

Yet, a look back at the style of the campaigns, and the balance between design and sailing prowess, suggests that Bertarelli chose to spend his money on people rather than technology. The 33rd America’s Cup Deed of Gift Match is a good example of this.

Bertarelli racing his D35 at the Mirabaud Bol d’Or. Photo: Loris von Siebenthal

“The DoG match was a very interesting experience and I have no regrets there, I learned a lot. And one thing I learned was that it’s very hard to compete if the rules are changed. In any Cup cycle you want to understand how the rules are going to be set, but the rules are never set upfront.

“It’s a little bit like walking into a casino. If the odds are too skewed on the side of the house, you’re not going to go back. The DoG match was more about how can we twist the rules to favour us versus the other guy.

“Ultimately our boat was a great boat and the basic structural platform was used in the next Cup. But when the wingsail came in I just said: ‘This is getting out of control. I’m going to have to spend another €30 million for a wingsail and it might not stop there because the rules might change yet again.’

“So we stayed with the conventional sail knowing that the wing was going to be a big element.“

Back to monohulls

Has he ruled out a move to the new AC75 monohulls some day? “I need to see what’s going to happen in New Zealand. Once one boat crosses the line we will know more. We will know who is in charge and who they choose as a Challenger. Every cycle is different.

“But, I like stability because I think ultimately the magic in the America’s Cup is the match. And for a match you need to try to find a ways to bring the teams together.

“In Valencia the magic of the event was that all the boats had their moments because they had a chance to be matched up to a bigger team. Today with the current class, unless you have a massive budget you have no chance.”

Alinghi winning the America’s Cup as defender in 2007. Photo: Jose Jordan / Getty Images

As an owner who enjoys being an integral part of the team, does he think there is still a place for an owner aboard? “There is space for owners and I’d argue that you need an owner who is involved and understands the platform, understands what’s happening in the team and on the water, and then ultimately makes the right call for the Cup,” Bertarelli comments.

“I don’t think foilers are any different to any other boats. They’ll become safer. People are learning to sail them much better. The first time I sailed a foiler was around the Isle of Wight in 2015 against the British America’s Cup team. We were both on GC32s and we were both struggling. We were wiping out on the waves. It was physically painful.

“Now I sail the GC32 and the teams are very skilled and boats don’t wipe out anymore, at least only once in a while. We foil gybe and foil tack, and what is great is that sailing is more exciting.”

After an intense period in the spotlight of the America’s Cup with all the political arguments and public scrutiny, is he a different person now? “I hope I’ve changed. I think as you mature you learn more about yourself. You are able to take a bit more distance. Maybe I’m more aware of the sort of unnecessary friction that happens. I think I’ve grown to be less affected by it now.

“If I was in the Cup I’d want to make sure that there was not too much of that and accept it as a part of every relationship. So I think I learned to deal with things better.”

Having won sailing’s most prestigious trophy, twice, what drives him to carry on sailing? “It’s not so much the trophies which bring me back to sailing, but because sailing is both a mechanical and a team sport, when things happen at the highest level, I find it fascinating. I think it’s magic.

“Those moments where time stops and you’re in a different place. You’re in complete harmony with your team, your boat and the wind. You make the call and by magic the shift is there. We had that last weekend. We didn’t win, but for about half an hour we sailed perfectly. It’s a fantastic sport for that.”

How Team Alinghi changed the America ’ s Cup

Alinghi’s win in Auckland in 2003 signalled the end of Team New Zealand’s dominant reign. The Swiss victory in the 31st America’s Cup was the first and only time a challenger has won on its first attempt.

The 32nd Cup, as envisioned by Bertarelli and the brains trust at Alinghi, was very different. First, having won on behalf of a club in a country that had no ‘arm of the sea’, Bertarelli put the hosting of the event out to tender. More controversy followed.

Confirming the adage that ‘if you win the Cup, you make the rules,’ the show took root in Valencia, Spain. A new, public-friendly model was rolled out across the entire Valencian venue and the circus grew like never before.

Celebrating Alinghi’s historic Cup win in 2003. Photo: Dean Purcell / Getty Images

While high fences and security cameras surrounded many bases, Alinghi opened their doors to anyone who fancied a look inside. A free to enter spectator area, a visitor centre with educational exhibits and simulators and a shop reinforced Bertarelli’s plan to turn the America’s Cup inside out.

On the water Bertarelli’s team won again, in the last event for the IACC monohulls in 2007. But negotiations for the next generation of boat for AC33 were derailed as a fierce argument over the validity of the Spanish Challenger of Record.

The Americans took Alinghi’s Société Nautique de Genève to court and won. The 33rd Cup bottomed out, leaving the match to operate under the most basic terms of the Deed of Gift, or DoG match as it is often referred to.

Russell Coutts and Ernesto Bertarelli celebrate winning the 2003 America’s Cup. Photo: Nick Wilson / Getty Images

With only a few rules the arms race between defender Alinghi and challenger Oracle Racing ramped up as their designs went to the very edge of what was possible. A giant cat and a monster tri emerged.

But despite the mass of speculation these two America’s Cup leviathans triggered, when it came to it the racing in 2010 was an anti-climax. Only two races were required.

Larry Ellison’s Oracle Racing won, with Bertarelli’s former right-hand man Russell Coutts in charge. It was a bitter pill for the Swiss boss to swallow, especially as the event marked the first step for the Cup into a world of high performance catamarans, Bertarelli’s speciality.

Who is Ernesto Bertarelli?

Born in Rome in 1965, Ernesto Bertarelli graduated from Babson College and Harvard Business School, USA, before inheriting Serono from his father in 1995. The Geneva-based pharmaceuticals company was then worth around $100m.

As CEO and deputy chairman he turned the company into a multibillion-dollar biotech company specialising in reproductive health, multiple sclerosis, and metabolism. The company was sold to Germany’s Merck KGaA in 2006 for $13.3bn.

Bertarelli’s parents were both keen sailors and he was introduced to sailing early on. His sister Dona is also a keen racing sailor and owns the 140ft trimaran Spindrift as well as racing a D35 cat on Lake Geneva.

He lives in Gstaad and Geneva with his wife, Kirsty, a former Miss UK and a singer-songwriter, and their three children.

First published in the December 2019 edition of Yachting World.

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America's Cup : Bertarelli breaks his silence

Tatjana Pokorny

 ·  12.04.2015

Two-time America's Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli is breaking his silence. For a long time, the Swiss has watched from the sidelines the activities of the current Cup organisers, who defeated his team Alinghi in 2010 in an unequal exclusive match enforced by the courts and forced them out of the competition. But now Bertarelli is clearly fed up. In a commentary, he attacks the American Cup defenders. He is not alone in this, as more and more experts are taking a verbal swipe at Larry Ellison's team, which seems to have been bending the most important regatta in international sailing to its whim for some time now.

Bertarelli's original comment can be read on the Facebook page of LX Sailing - here at YACHT online in translation:

"The AC 48 is an interesting boat, but the registration costs for the AC are now higher than those of the boats! It's just a shame that the organisers can't come up with clear and transparent rules. I'm not sure if they intend it that way, but the way they organise it is quite obscure. Today they want to turn it round to smaller boats, tomorrow they might do the opposite.

I am amazed that they have managed to upset Patrizio Bertelli, who has played such an important role in the modern America's Cup. It proves that we were right to withdraw from the America's Cup. Bertelli has spent tens of millions developing a new boat and suddenly they are telling him that he did it all for no reason.

I love the America's Cup. I won it. And it will always be a part of me. So of course I follow the action. But it's disappointing to see what's happening. Just look at the fact that they have decided not to recognise the Isaf rules. That leaves the door wide open for any kind of trouble. That is very disappointing.

There has to be a decent defender and a decent challenger. That is the basis of the America's Cup: two yacht clubs that challenge each other and - together - decide on the rules of the event. Yet in the past two editions, the defender has chosen a challenger who has withdrawn shortly afterwards and left control to the defender alone. So I ask the question: can we still call this the America's Cup if the basic rules of the event are no longer followed?

If I were the defender, I would ask the strongest teams - Emirates Team New Zealand or the Luna Rossa Challenge - to become the Challenger of Record. Today, people like Bruno Troublé say that it has become a beach event that smells of chips. That's his opinion, but when someone like him says something like that, it means there's a problem.

I'm glad I'm not in Patrizio Bertelli's place. I've had my share of setbacks, but the chapter is now closed for me. My story with the America's Cup ended in 2010. It may start again one day. For example, if the Kiwis win the Cup and establish fair rules. But not today!"

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A l'intérieur du Bayesian, le somptueux voilier qui a coulé

Le superyacht qui a coulé en Sicile possédait un mât très particulier

Un superyacht, c'est rarement moche. Mais disons que celui de Mike Lynch, le «Bayesian», était vraiment particulier. Dépourvu des dorures inutiles ou de chichis pompeux, dont ont coutume de s'encombrer les ultrariches. Non. Le Bayesian, c'était d'abord un bijou technologique de 56 mètres de long, tout en démesure - mais tout en élégance.

Un géant des mers design et raffiné

Cela fait un moment qu'il sillonnait les mers, ce superyacht aux proportions démesurées, dont la coque et la superstructure étaient toutes deux en aluminium. Un choix stratégique pour lui offrir légèreté (l'aluminium est trois fois plus léger que l'acier), l'empêcher de rouiller et faciliter d'éventuelles réparations. Si le design de ce «super-rafiot» est né dans le cerveau d'un éminent concepteur de yachts, Ron Holland, il a été bâti en Italie par le constructeur naval Perini Navi, l'un des plus réputés du monde.

C'est en 2008 et sous le nom de «Salute», («santé» en italien), que le superyacht estimé à environ 14 millions de livres prend les eaux d'assaut et rafle, au passage, plusieurs prix prestigieux.

En 2020, le Salute est réaménagé et change de nom après être passé entre les mains du magnat de la tech britannique Mike Lynch: ce sera désormais le Bayesian. Selon les sites de location en ligne, le navire est également proposé à la location. Comptez tout de même 195 000 euros (166 000 £) pour une semaine d'escapade maritime avec vos proches.

L'expérience en valait sans doute le coût. Avant de sombrer, le navire pouvait accueillir jusqu'à une douzaine d'invités, répartis dans six cabines différentes – une principale, trois doubles et deux à lits jumeaux. Dix membres d'équipage, installés dans des quartiers séparés, complétaient cette équipe.

Tout ce beau monde réparti, selon le Times , en trois sections distinctes: une zone pour l'équipage vers la proue, les cabines des invités au milieu et la cabine principale, celle du propriétaire, à l'arrière du voilier.

Quant aux intérieurs luxueux, ils sont de la patte de l'architecte Rémi Tessier, qui a également conçu des navires pour le milliardaire suisse Ernesto Bertarelli et des suites pour l'hôtel Claridge's à Londres. Objectif du designer? Un superyacht à l'atmosphère «familière, pure et naturelle», inspiré des intérieurs japonais.

Surfaces en sycomore blanchi et en teck dans les espaces communs; acier inoxydable, ébène et cuir utilisés pour les espaces privés. Avouez, ça en jette.

Un lieu de plaisir absolu

Toutefois, une partie de l'attrait du navire ne résidait pas seulement dans ses cabines cossues et ses salles de bains design; c'est surtout avec ses espaces extérieurs, spécialement conçus pour profiter un maximum des activités, boissons et dîners en plein air, que le Bayesian régalait ses occupants.

A l'arrière du bateau, un garage abritait également tous les jouets possibles et imaginables: jet ski, skis nautiques, wakeboards, kayaks de mer, sans oublier les indispensables donuts et banana boat. C'est dans ce même secteur que se trouvait l'annexe pour escorter les invités dans les ports et les baies isolées.

Le mât le plus haut du monde

Toutefois, le Bayesian devait avant tout sa renommée à une autre particularité: son gigantesque mât en aluminium de 72 mètres, longtemps considéré comme le plus haut du monde, avant que celui du superyacht de Jeff Bezos, Koru, ne lui vole la vedette l'an dernier. Une véritable prouesse technique, selon un ancien capitaine au Times, «qui lui permet de transformer son comportement dynamique et sa stabilité en navigation et en moteur». Bref, d'aller immensément vite, avec près de 3000 mètres carrés de voile.

Cependant, comme souvent avec la folie des grandeurs et les ambitions démesurées, ce même mât qui faisait sa fierté pourrait avoir coûté extrêmement cher au Bayesian. Quelques heures seulement après que ses gestionnaires, Camper & Nicholsons, aient confirmé que le superyacht avait coulé lundi aux premières heures de l'aube, à la suite de «mauvaises conditions météorologiques», avec 22 personnes à son bord, les premières théories fusent pour expliquer la catastrophe.

Plusieurs experts et sources anonymes se succèdent dans la presse britannique pour évoquer l'idée que le poids du mât aurait pu jouer un rôle décisif dans le chavirement , en poussant la coque au-delà de son «angle d'envahissement» - le point auquel un bateau ne peut pas se redresser après avoir basculé à un angle prononcé.

Le mât «n'a pas aidé», reconnait notamment Sam Jefferson, rédacteur en chef du magazine Sailing Today , au Telegraph . «Avec ces vents extrêmement forts, la stabilité était évidemment un problème et je suppose que le bateau était coincé sur le côté et n'a pas pu se redresser avant de se remplir d'eau».

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Enrôlés en juillet, ils viennent de prêter serment début août pour défendre leur patrie. Et maintenant? Maintenant, les voici déjà en route vers la zone de combat. Vers Koursk. «Sauvez nos jeunes!», supplient avec désespoir les mères des conscrits de la région de Mourmansk, tout au nord de la Russie.

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For America’s Cup winner Ellison, whether it’s…

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For America’s Cup winner Ellison, whether it’s software or sailing, competition is personal

American BMW Oracle BOR 90 sails during race 2 of the 33rd America's Cup against Swiss defender Alinghi off Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

American BMW Oracle crew members react after winning the 33rd America's Cup against Alinghi off Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

BMW Oracle Racing owner Larry Ellison, center, waits with the crew as they wait for the start of race 2 of the 33rd America's Cup against Alinghi 5 in Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

BMW Oracle Racing owner Larry Ellison raises the America's Cup trophy after winning the 33rd edition of the sailing classic against Alinghi in Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, right, and Alinghi's owner Ernesto Bertarelli pose next to the trophy of the America's Cup at Valencia's port, Spain, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, ahead of the start of the sailing race. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

American BMW Oracle BOR 90, left, and Swiss Alinghi 5, right, sail during race 2 of the 33rd America's Cup off Valencia, Spain, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

The pugnacious Oracle CEO and the crew of his 114-foot, high-tech trimaran became the first U.S.-sponsored team in 18 years to win the world’s oldest sailing trophy, after trouncing the Swiss Team Alinghi in successive races — the first was Friday — making a third event unnecessary in the best-of-three competition off the coast of Spain.

“It’s an absolutely awesome feeling. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this team,” Ellison, who was on board for the race, told a TV crew on the scene moments after the BMW Oracle boat, dubbed USA-17, finished the second race 5 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of its rival.

But the quick victory came after a years-long quest, into which Ellison, the world’s fourth-richest man, poured hundreds of millions of dollars from a personal fortune estimated at $27 billion. In addition, he waged an extended legal battle against his bitter rival, billionaire Swiss yachtsman Ernesto Bertarelli, to make sure the race was staged on what Ellison considered fair terms.

During those years, Ellison also was spending billions of shareholder dollars to gobble up smaller companies and major competitors, including PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems and, most recently, Sun Microsystems. Ellison, who cofounded Oracle as an upstart database vendor in 1977, has built the Redwood City business into one of the biggest commercial software companies on Earth — with $23 billion in annual sales and $117 billion in total stock value.

“He is perhaps the most aggressive CEO in the tech industry today,” said Jon Fisher, a former Oracle vice president who now teaches business at the University of San Francisco. Fisher added that Oracle, a company that vies with such giants as Microsoft and IBM, is both highly competitive and ruthlessly “engineering-centric,” even compared with other tech firms.

The 65-year-old Ellison has long cultivated a swashbuckling reputation — driving fast cars, piloting jet planes and even breaking a few bones while body surfing in Hawaii. In 1998, he won a 700-mile yacht race off the coast of Australia after sailing through a storm that killed six crewmen on other boats.

And he has not been shy about exploiting that image. In recent years, Ellison’s keynote speeches at Oracle’s Open World — a convention that draws 40,000 programmers, customers and industry executives to San Francisco each year — have been introduced with thundering music and dramatic video of Ellison and the BMW Oracle boat racing on the high seas.

Ellison also is known for publicly deriding his rivals, both in the tech industry and the sailing world. Last fall, he assured a dinner audience in San Jose: “We have the fastest boat, we have the best crew, and if it’s a fair race, we’ll win.”

USA-17 was built with bleeding-edge technical features that helped it skim the ocean at speeds up to 40 knots (46 mph). It has an unusual three-hulled design, made from carbon fiber and topped with a towering 223-foot “wing sail,” a rigid structure like an oversized airplane wing that is controlled by nine adjustable flaps.

Winning the America’s Cup also took money. Ellison and Bertarelli each spent millions on boat design, construction and wages for a small navy of crew members and onshore support staff. While the exact numbers are undisclosed, Ellison has said he spent $200 million to enter the last America’s Cup in 2007, when he failed to reach the finals.

And in keeping with Ellison’s approach to competition, he told those attending a Silicon Valley Churchill Club dinner in September that his feud with Bertarelli had become “very personal.”

To an interviewer in Spain last week, Ellison, a college dropout raised by adoptive parents, said of Bertarelli, the heir to a Swiss pharmaceutical fortune: “I don’t like him.”

During their two-year legal battle, Ellison frequently complained that Bertarelli, as the winner of the last America’s Cup, was trying to dictate terms for this year’s race that would make it impossible for anyone else to win. But their rivalry dates back to 2003, when Bertarelli’s Team Alinghi defeated Ellison in that year’s finals.

Ellison later retaliated by hiring away Bertarelli’s skipper, Russell Coutts.

Making things personal is how Ellison achieves his goals, according to Mike Wilson, author of a 1997 biography whose title, “The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison,” plays off a joke that made the rounds in Silicon Valley. The punch line: “God doesn’t think he’s Larry Ellison.”

Ellison made business personal in Oracle’s early days by declaring war on rival database company Ingres, Wilson said. Later in the 1990s, Ellison took on Microsoft’s Bill Gates by publicly calling PCs of that era “ridiculous” and arguing that they should be replaced with less expensive devices that would access software over the Internet. The concept is similar to cloud computing, a leading industry trend today, but Ellison was early in talking about the technology.

Wilson said Ellison believes “if he creates an enemy, he can vanquish it.”

Now, with the recent $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Oracle is expanding into the hardware business. Ellison has loudly proclaimed his intention to beat industry leader IBM in the market for high-end corporate computer systems.

“I enjoy competition. I think life is a series of acts of discovery,” Ellison told his Churchill Club audience.

But when asked if he would rather win the America’s Cup or lure a customer away from SAP, a German software company that has been one of Oracle’s major rivals, Ellison said he’d much rather beat the Swiss sailing team.

Explained Ellison: “We beat SAP all the time.”

Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022.

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• Meet John Sobrato, Sobrato Organization

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Chairman, sobrato development companies and joint venture board member.

By Duffy Jennings | Published: October 2009

On a polished credenza in John A. Sobrato’s corner office in Cupertino sits a scale model of his 147-foot yacht, the only item on the eight-foot-long sideboard. The modern white craft’s long sleek lines and pointed bow make it easy to imagine the boat cruising on the high seas, destined for exotic ports, Sobrato at the helm.

But that’s not much of a stretch. John Sobrato has been the captain of his own ship for more than fifty years, ever since he began selling homes while he was an underclassman at Santa Clara University. Today he pilots a family real estate development organization now known as much for its philanthropic work in Silicon Valley as for its vast property holdings.

A charter member of Joint Venture and a longtime board member, Sobrato feels strongly about the organization’s regional education programs, and has contributed both time and dollars to the Alliance for Teaching initiative that works to develop, recognize and reward teachers in Silicon Valley.

“That’s what we really need in this valley,” he says. “Teachers are the most important asset we have, and our education system in this state is failing them and our students. Colleen Wilcox is doing a great job with that program.”

Joe Parisi, CEO of Therma and a fellow Joint Venture board member who has been Sobrato’s friend for some forty years, says Sobrato is “always fair-minded, very generous, easy to get along with and very community-oriented.”

“John is probably the most organized person I know,” Parisi says. “He is so focused on whatever he is doing. He can get more done is less time than anybody.”

Sobrato, now 70, was born in San Francisco, the only child of Ann and John M. Sobrato. His father had emigrated from Italy after working as a chef for the American army during World War II. Starting as a dishwasher, the elder Sobrato eventually saved enough to open his own place, which became renowned as John’s Rendezvous in North Beach.

“John’s Rendezvous and Bimbo’s were the two most popular places in town,” Sobrato said. “My father’s restaurant was Herb Caen’s favorite place to go. I worked there sometimes, but my father told me not to go into the restaurant business. It was so hard.”

The family moved to Atherton when John was two, but he was only twelve when his father died of cancer in 1952. With a young son to support, Ann Sobrato took English classes, sold the restaurant and went into real estate on the Peninsula.

Young John went to Bellarmine Prep then enrolled at Santa Clara as an engineering major. “But I quickly found out I wasn’t cut out for it,” he says, “and I switched to business.” That turned out to be an understatement. By his junior year, he was working three days a week selling modest homes in Palo Alto.

“I thought real estate would be interesting,” he says. “Back then, three-bedroom, one-bath homes cost around $20,000. With ten percent down, almost anyone could afford to buy a house.”

John graduated from Santa Clara in 1960, the same year he married his wife, Sue, whom he met at a wedding at the Palo Alto Elks Club. They will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary next year.

After graduating from Santa Clara, Sobrato founded Midtown Realty, specializing in the resale of popular Eichler homes, and then expanded into commercial real estate, working with his mother and partner Carl Berg. In 1974, he sold Midtown Realty to concentrate on the commercial development of properties in the rapidly emerging high technology industry.

Sobrato has been responsible for the development and construction of more than 250 office and R&D facilities totaling in excess of 15 million square feet. Today the Sobrato Development Companies owns a portfolio of properties encompassing eight million square feet and 7500 apartments in California, Oregon and Washington without institutional partners.

The portfolio includes the corporate headquarters of Apple Computer, Netflix, BEA, Siebel Systems, EMC, NVIDIA and Verisign as well as buildings housing offices for Yahoo!, the County of Santa Clara and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

In 1998, Sobrato created the Sobrato Family Foundation to provide philanthropic support to non-profit organizations and projects. Nearly forty-five non-profit service providers receive rent-free office space in two of Sobrato’s office parks in Milpitas and San Jose. Since 2000, the year Ann Sobrato died, the family has donated nine buildings and 124 acres of land valued at $312 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

“My mother was the one who started the family on the concept of giving back to the community,” says Sobrato. “She was a pink lady at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park and volunteered in many other community activities.”

In 2007 the Society of Fundraising Professionals recognized the Sobrato Foundation as the Foundation of the Year from a field of 175 international foundations..

John and Sue Sobrato have three children, John Michael, Sheri and Lisa, and seven grandchildren. John Michael, a 1983 graduate of Santa Clara University, is now the CEO of the family business.

John A. Sobrato is a member of many business, education, civic and community boards and foundations, and has received numerous honors and awards for his contributions to Silicon Valley’s business and non-profit communities.

John comes to the office weekly and travels frequently up and down the Pacific Coast for business, but in spite of his busy schedule, he plays tennis three or four days a week and finds time to ski – on both water and snow.

“I love to be active,” he says, looking fit and tanned. “I had a heart attack when I was 37 and it changed my life. I lost 50 pounds, quit smoking and got in shape.”

When he’s not working, you can find him and Sue spending time with family and traveling.

“We take the boat all over the world,” he says, nodding towards the model. “I love that boat. We spend a lot of time on it, sailing everywhere.”

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