Votsis was born in the island of
Hydra in about 1877. He belonged to the prominent Votsis-Kountouriotis family: he was the nephew of admiral
Pavlos Kountouriotis, while his maternal great-grandfather was
Georgios Kountouriotis, participant of the
Greek War of Independence. During his studies at the
Naval Academy, he served in the
naval blockade of
Crete in 1896–97, in the run-up to the
Greco-Turkish War of 1897. == Honours ==