The Story
The story of Ikigai Sailing
How Ikigai Sailing was born, told by Luca, founder and skipper. The story of someone who left a life on land to follow the sea, turning a personal reckoning into a shared voyage.
Watch the full interview
If you want to go deeper into the personal story behind Ikigai, in this interview Luca retraces the life change, the birth of the vision, the difficulties along the way, and the path that led the project to set sail.
The Story
The story of Ikigai Sailing
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Chasing happiness inside the Matrix
Luca grows up in the world of business, following his father's footsteps and opening his first company while still a minor. Freediving soon lights a deeper love for the sea.
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When the certainties collapse
The commitments multiply, the time for himself disappears. In 2015 a serious family loss becomes an inner earthquake and puts every priority back into question.
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The one-way ticket
Luca frees himself from his commitments, sells what he can, and leaves on a one-way ticket to Thailand, giving himself fully to what he truly loves.
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Thailand: breath, freediving and new encounters
In Thailand he deepens freediving and sailing, earns professional certifications, and meets Brano, while the old world gives way to a new life.
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Tunisia and the vision of Ikigai
During a long, forced stop in Tunisia, inspired in part by the book Ikigai, the vision becomes clear: a boat, friends who share the same passions, and a voyage around the world built on sea, sport and healthy living.
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The first attempt: the monohull
Luca invites a group of friends, Brano among them, to join the project and buy a monohull they find there.
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The legal saga
The first purchase falls through and turns into a long legal case in Monastir.
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Brano and the leap to the Catana 47
Brano becomes the main backer and makes the leap in scale possible: no longer a small monohull, but an ocean-going floating home, a Catana 47. He also supports the digital side of the project through his background in tech.
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Setting sail
Luca and Brano set off together on the Catana 47. Ikigai Sailing sets sail.
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Today: Guna Yala, the Pacific ahead
More than 20 countries and over 10,000 nautical miles later, the current chapter is Guna Yala, in Panama, with the Pacific on the horizon.
In my previous life, I was an entrepreneur. I started very young, following in my father’s footsteps and opening my first business while I was still a minor. My love for the sea came early, through another great passion: freediving. With my first earnings I bought my first inflatable, and soon after, my first real boat.
As the years passed, though, the commitments grew and the time for myself kept shrinking. Stress fed a quiet dissatisfaction, until 2015, when a serious family loss put everything back into question and forced me to reconsider my priorities.
What happened settled a deep conviction in me: everything that happens to us can become necessary, and even from the hardest events, with time and the right disposition, a new beginning can grow, one that carries us toward something better.
I made a drastic decision. I freed myself from my commitments, sold what I could, and left on a one-way ticket to Thailand, giving myself one hundred percent to what I truly loved. There I rediscovered myself as a freediving instructor, deepened my knowledge of sailing, and earned professional certifications. And it was there that I met Brano, while the old world slowly gave way to something new.
That path led me to deliver a boat to Tunisia during Covid. Stranded there for a year, I finally had the time to understand what I really wanted. That was when the idea of Ikigai was born, inspired in part by reading the book of the same name: to bring together friends I had met around the world who shared the same passions, find a boat, and set off to sail around the world, promoting a healthy, sustainable way of living made of sea, sport and adventure.
I invited a group of friends, Brano among them, to join the project. We found a monohull in Tunisia and began preparing her, but the first attempt fell through and turned into a long legal case in Monastir.
Without Brano, Ikigai would probably have set sail anyway, but on a small monohull. His stepping in as the main backer made another scale possible: an ocean-going floating home, a Catana 47. Brano also supports the digital side of the project, thanks to his background in tech.
We set off together on the Catana 47. After more than 20 countries and over 10,000 nautical miles, the outcome of this adventure is exhilarating, and the journey continues: our current chapter is Guna Yala, in Panama, with the Pacific on the horizon.
We look forward to welcoming you on board!
From the logbook
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