Sailing with Paul Elvstrøm: "He had this sixth sense for sailing"

Becoming friends

Croce and Paul Elvstrøm were close friends, and through Elvstrøm Sails Italy and the company’s first venture into clothing, the close friends also became business partners.

- It’s hard to tell this story in a shorter form, but I will try – in reality, there’s probably enough for more than a book…, Carlo says and adds.

- I knew Paul for many years and followed his career even earlier than that. In fact, sailing was a big part of my family all the way. My father’s family were involved with sailing since the 1870’s, and his grandfather was one of the 80 founders of the Yacht Club Italiano, so sailing goes back a long, long way for us.

- I’m from 1945, so I heard this later, as my father told us about this amazing young Dane who won in Torquay in 1948. The sailor, who after the regatta used to sit in front of the mast of his Firefly, sails flapping, no rudder, while he went backwards towards the beach slaloming between the boats moored in the bay, steering just by moving his weight. It was of course Paul Elvstrøm, and he was in some way a conversation piece ever since that day. I have probably known about him since I was eight years old.

Carlo’s own sailing career progressed, and he finally met Paul in the late 60’s when Carlo and his brother Luigi raced the Star World Championship in Copenhagen in 1967 and over time it formed a unique friendship between Carlo and Paul:

- It is just impossible to describe my memories with Paul. We were super close and I sailed a lot with him in and out of competition in Half Ton Cups, Quarter ton, One ton, Soling… But above all I remember the times I went to Denmark to sail with Paul. Just the two of us on his trimaran, and honestly, I learned more about sailing on those trips than I did in my entire time in the Olympic world. Paul was such a natural. He had this sixth sense for sailing and a sort of talent which is simply impossible to teach or learn. It’s a part of your DNA. I could tell you hundreds of examples of his fantastic talent shining through, but above all, it was an honor to experience it live.

Carlo’s dream

Carlo Croce got involved in the business by 1972 – although it was in a slightly different way that Carlo Croce and Paul Elvstrøm became business partners. Croce had an offer, and soon, it gave the business at Elvstrøm Sails another leg as clothing became a new source of goods.

- In ’72, I was approached by two brothers from Milan. They were long time fans of Paul Elvstrøm and already had bought boats from him, too. They were keen on the idea of distributing goods from Elvstrøm in Italy, and since they knew I was a friend of Paul, they contacted me first. I then organized a meeting and Elvstrøm Italy soon came to life, Carlo says and adds:

- Their ventures later led them to buy a textile corporation in Milan, which then led to the idea of creating a line of technical Elvstrøm clothing. The idea was well-received, and we managed to get the clothing on the map in a really good way. As I got involved, Paul often referred to the project as Carlo’s dream, to unfold the story of his through clothing.

From then on, things quickly started to shift. Some of the products became real blockbusters, and just to point out one, Carlo recalls that a classic wool cap sold to the tune of 40.000 pieces in a year:

- The focus was on classic designs of a good quality, and Paul was backing the idea – even with the early 70’s being a tough spell for his main business. Our idea soon turned to become a full range.

The more technical clothing, developed with input from Paul and Trine Elvstrøm through their years in the Tornado, was an instant hit.

- We had a technical line, fully designed by Paul and Trine Elvstrøm with all sailing gear you could imagine. From jackets to shoes, gloves and so on. And the export was great – we soon found ourselves exporting to especially Germany, Spain, Greece and Turkey, and even as far away as in Japan, the products sold in fine numbers. At the time, our Japanese distributor even had two shops, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. It grew quickly.

The big upturn did however come to a stop again, as the brand was included in a bigger group – but it fell out again. Carlo had the rights back and tried to restart it, but to no avail.

- I held the rights for many years afterwards, and I trust Elvstrøm Sails will do a good job under their own name. SailWear is the new variation of the brand, and I trust Elvstrøm Sails in creating products in the quality and style the name deserves.

Sailing on

In the meantime, Carlo Croce has been very involved in Italian sailing – and despite not sailing consistently anymore, the sport is still a big part of Carlos daily life.

- For some years I sailed a Laser on our holidays in Greece but having sailed professionally in a class like the Flying Dutchman, I still feel I sailed the peak of my era in sailing boats – and I have so many good memories from the time in Flying Dutchman. I still meet the guys from back then, and I have been with Fondazione Tender to Nave Italia since 2007 – a project, where we run an old 65 metre square rigged sailing ship with support from the Italian Navy. We sail with an average of 500 kids a year, helping them to overcome and cope with various handicaps.

This is, however, not the only project in or around sailing, which Carlo Croce has invested much of his time in since then. Presidencies is another.

- I became the president of Yacht Club Italiano and Federazione Italiana Vela, and then later, the opportunity with ISAF came along. I had never considered ISAF, but I was called by an Italian member of the ISAF, who asked if I would consider to be a candidate. It was already a short time before the actual election would take place, but I accepted after some consideration. I knew my chances would be slim given the short timeframe – but to my surprise, I was elected. It worked well in the end – despite that I started out leading a board of 11 members I had never met beforehand; he says and adds:

- I remember that I called Paul on the night of the election and said, that I had been elected as the new president of ISAF. He responded and asked, if I was crazy. Typical Paul, but I guess he was right…, Carlo ends.