he concept began in 1987 when Panagiotis Strouzas assembled the first female crew for open sea boats in Greece and perhaps the world. The effort was embraced in 1994 by the mobile telephony company Telestet and since then, for the last 15 years, they have been racing together in most of the biggest sailing races in Greece under the name WIND ZANTINO.

According to the skipper Panagiotis Strouzas, the reasons which led him to begin with a female crew were first to prove that women are just as good as men in handling open sea boats and second to do something different.

So, he succeeded in achieving both his goals by creating a boat and crew which have carved a historic course both through sailing and successes, as well as through the sponsorship aspect.

It is not by chance that WIND has been supporting this concept for 15 continuous years and every year adds something more to the whole attempt. The aim of both WIND and of the skipper, is and will remain the greatest possible involvement of women in the sport of sailing, since during the sponsorship over 100 women have sailed in races on the boat and have been initiated into the secrets of this tough sport and linked their lives to sailing.
 
In the 15 years that the boat has been racing it has won a series of significant victories in races of every distance and degree of difficulty. From victories in the largest sailing race in Greece, the Aegean Rally, to races such as that of Hydra, the Ionian and others, with a course around buoys which is extremely demanding on the crew. The crew trains following the instructions of Panagiotis Strouzas during summer and winter, consistently and systematically, and their training is reflected in their successes.
 
For the requirements of the sponsorship over the 15 year period, four boats have been used: the Samoa type Dehler 34, the Dodico II type Sigma 40, while from 1996 to 2000 the Zantino-Telestet, a X-362 was used which was replaced with one that has been used until today, the WIND ZANTINO, a X-362 sport.
 
Especially for this year, the role of WIND ZANTINO is to become the ambassador of the initiative “The Dolphin’s Path” (www.spotadolphin.gr) , contributing, thus, to the protection of dolphins living in the Greek Seas. This way, it will assist in the recording of the dolphins in the Aegean Sea and it will inform people about the protection of this dearest and admirable species.
 
WIND ZANTINO has its own webpage. At http://www.windzantino.gr one may find detailed information about the boat, the prizes and the crew, get updates about the latest races, see the racing schedule, download pictures and get the racing results.