He came from a family of fighters and could not bear his historical tradition, so history placed him in the pantheon of heroes. Votsis attended the Naval School. He immediately participated in the naval blockade of Crete (1895). He took part in the Balkan wars as a torpedo boat captain and in October 1912, with a daring manoeuvre, he entered the port of Thessaloniki, where he unexpectedly torpedoed the Turkish warship Fethich Bulent. In 1922 he was commander of the destroyer Kilkis and commander of the Greek warship squadron, shipwrecked off Constantinople, he was appointed its High Commissioner. But he resigned soon after a few months for health reasons. He was promoted to Rear Admiral and retired.