Ignazio, Your Rideboat Captain in Portopalo
Come aboard. Let me show you my sea.
Ignazio was born and raised in Portopalo di Capo Passero, in a fishing family with deep roots in the town’s maritime life.
His father was an experienced fisherman who worked in different seas around the world. Ignazio therefore grew up in a family where the sea was not simply the landscape outside the front door. It was part of everyday life—a world of work, responsibility, knowledge and respect.
While still young, Ignazio began working as a fisherman in the waters of Portopalo. It was there that he learned to observe the wind, recognize changes in the currents and understand that every day at sea requires attention and the ability to adapt.
Before becoming a coastline to share with visitors, this sea was already part of his life and his family’s story.
From Portopalo to the Americas
Ignazio’s experience did not end in Sicily.
The sea took him as far as California and Santo Domingo, where he continued working in the fishing industry, encountering different waters, boats and ways of living along the coast.
Working far from Portopalo broadened his experience while also helping him understand the value of his own roots. Today, he brings together the maritime traditions passed down through his family and everything he learned during the years he spent away from Sicily.
This knowledge guides every Rideboat tour. Before choosing the route, cruising pace or places to stop, Ignazio observes the wind, water movement, light and visibility.
The sea is never exactly the same. For this reason, each experience may have a different rhythm, combining livelier moments of cruising with peaceful stretches, swim stops, stories about the area and moments when the landscape speaks for itself.
It is not about following a fixed schedule. It is about knowing the sea well enough to read it.
Different Paths, One Identity
Ignazio’s story is not only about fishing.
He also worked in the fashion industry—an experience that may seem far removed from life at sea, but one that strengthened his attention to style, presentation and detail. That sensitivity can now be seen in the identity of Rideboat and in the care with which he welcomes guests on board.
He later opened Bukowski, a gin bar on Portopalo’s main street. It became a place dedicated to gin culture, conversation and bringing people together, where he developed his own personal way of welcoming guests, listening to them and making them feel at ease.
His passion for gin and his connection to the local area also led to the creation of CilieGin, a gin characterized by Pomodoro di Pachino IGP.
The project reflects Ignazio’s way of sharing this part of Sicily: starting with something deeply connected to the region and transforming it into something original and contemporary.
Fishing, fashion, Bukowski and CilieGin may appear to belong to very different worlds. In reality, they reveal the same person: someone connected to his roots, curious about what he encounters and able to bring together tradition, style and hospitality.
Rideboat: Ignazio’s Way of Sharing Portopalo
Rideboat brings together the different experiences in Ignazio’s life: his family’s maritime culture, his years as a fisherman, the attention to detail he developed in fashion and the pleasure of welcoming people that grew through Bukowski.
Rideboat was not created as just another boat tour company in Portopalo di Capo Passero. It is Ignazio’s personal way of opening his world to others and sharing the coastline from the perspective he knows best: the sea.
Ignazio personally leads every Rideboat experience. Before departure, he explains the planned route and the conditions of the day. During the cruise, he shares stories about the coast, the lives of local fishermen and the places encountered along the way—without turning the tour into a rigid or impersonal guided visit.
There is time for questions and conversation, but also for silence. Some guests enjoy the thrill of cruising, while others prefer to relax, hear stories about Portopalo or simply watch the coastline from the water.
Ignazio adapts the pace of the experience to the conditions of the day and to the people on board.
He speaks Italian, English and Spanish, allowing international guests to communicate with him directly and discover Portopalo through the eyes of someone who was born and raised here.
A Personal Experience, from Booking to Boarding
From your first request for information until the day of the tour, Ignazio personally assists you.
He helps you choose the most suitable experience and sends the exact boarding location, meeting time and directions before departure.
With Rideboat, you are not simply choosing a catamaran or a route. You are choosing to discover Portopalo with someone who has lived, observed and respected this sea since he was young.