Benedetta Iovane: "From the Amerigo Vespucci to her adventure as an influencer on superyachts"

SUPER YACHT 24, during the latest edition of Sea You, which just took place at Marina Genova, had the opportunity to meet and interview Benedetta Iovane, a young industry insider, expert sailor and yachting enthusiast.

A quick visit aboard one of the pleasure boats docked in Sestri Ponente was enough to learn more about the new initiatives and ideas this young engineer with a unique background has in mind.

Benedetta, let's start by telling you where your passion for sailing comes from.

"My passion for the sea began very early. My mother always tells me that when I was little, when the sea was rough on a boat, instead of being scared, I would fall asleep."

You also have an important past as a sailor, right?

"It was love at first sight with the sport of sailing. I went to my first sailing course with a classmate at age 9 and never looked back. I began competing a few years later until I was 18, following the traditional path with Optimists, Laser 4.7s, and 420s, participating in national and international regattas."

What was the next parenthesis?

At 18, I briefly embarked on the training ship Amerigo Vespucci as a civilian cadet, and it was an experience that definitively sealed my love for the sea and sailing, with a touch of discipline and method that the Navy can teach. A profound respect for the sea, for the forces of nature that are greater than us humans, and the perseverance that is the key word in the Vespucci's motto are lessons the sea has instilled in me. For me, the sea is a life teacher and a source of inspiration, and boats are the element that connects me to it.

Graduated in engineering?

My degree in civil engineering changed my way of thinking. I'm not an engineering genius, but I've always sought the whys and the ways of understanding phenomena, and these studies have allowed me to find explanations for my curiosity.

The sea waves, which are the common thread of my life, also recur in my experimental theses. Through laboratory experiments in a 2D channel with a scale model of a harbor defense structure, I studied the phenomenon of wave overflow in relation to the variation in the shape of the wave wall of a given harbor defense structure.

Did the landing take place at this point?

“The distance from the sea in my professional life was short-lived.

My professional experience at RINA provided me with the hands-on tools to understand the technical aspects of vessel safety. In Venice, I oversaw the outfitting of the Costa Diadema at Fincantieri and, at the same time, a whole series of workboats in the lagoon. I subsequently moved to Viareggio to focus more on pleasure craft.

What job do you do today?

“The freelance yacht management business that began in 2015 with the management of pleasure boats, to which commercial vessels have also been added.

Alongside my yacht management work, to put it in nautical terms, I dream of creating a digital island where all those who love the sea and life on board can land, describing boats and everything that revolves around them through the filter of my eyes through the use of modern communication tools.”

That's why you call yourself an aspiring YouTuber... what do you plan to do?

“My goals are to promote the quality, beauty, and uniqueness of yachts, to foster passion and spread awareness of the nautical world, especially Italian yachting, given that we can boast shipyards that have shaped the history of important Italian yachting.

That's why I created the Instagram profile b.lex_benedettaiovane, where every day I select and share the news I find most interesting and publish reviews of selected yachts. I'm working on creating a YouTube channel, which will feature interviews with owners, designers, and shipyards, including a focus on the world of refits and yacht reviews. I was recently asked to develop a series dedicated to boating on a digital terrestrial channel, but that's another story.

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