See full version: Creole: On board the world’s largest wooden sailing yacht
But at 65 metres, this fantasyland of a yacht was never going to be a practical training boat for the aspiring sailor. “I started learning on little dinghies, when I was around 10 years old, like normal kids do,” she says. She sailed a Laser around the lake at St Moritz, brushing up at summer camps in England, Brittany and Mallorca. “I always loved the sea — it is something like my ecosystem: the water, the sun, the wind.” [links]
Maurizio Gucci, the last member of the family dynasty to run the fashion empire, shared the same enthusiasm for the water and bought Creole in 1983, two years after Allegra was born. “I think at the time it was a little bit crazy,” she says. “We’re talking about the beginning of the 1980s, when there was not the knowledge we have now about restoring classic boats. And obviously Creole is not a normal classic yacht, she is an enormous classic yacht.”
“I was fascinated that you could stay on a boat that was built as long ago as 1896 — it’s a little piece of history,” she says. “I just fell in love with this world. When you go sailing on a classic boat it is magic. The feeling, the sound of the boat on the water is something you cannot describe. With modern boats, yes, you can go very fast, and you have the adrenaline. But with a classic — it’s pure, it’s like poetry. When you have the boat that is perfectly balanced, with the sails and the wind, it’s something fantastic.”
“Another great memory is crossing the Med, from Spain to France or to Greece. I remember the beauty of the dark sky, the silence of being in the middle of the sea in perfect conditions and enjoying the quiet and the magic of the night. I remember lying in the cockpit covered by towels to protect me from the humidity.” [links]
Indeed, this 65.3 metre behemoth is the largest wooden sailing yacht in the world. Creole was launched as Vira by Camper & Nicholsons in 1927 for US carpet manufacturer Alexander Smith Cochran, who messed about a little too much with the design post-splash. He thought the masts looked too tall and had them cut (too much), adding more ballast to compensate for the newly stumpy masts. The result was too much roll and poor performance. more
The all-French catamaran Douce France, built in 1998. The yacht, made entirely out of aluminium, is a schooner built to naval architecture and exterior designs by Van Peteghem Lauriot Provost. The sailing yacht can reach up to 15 knots or cruise at 12 knots and has twin Cummins engines for when an extra boost is needed. here
Hodor, Astilleros Armon - 66.2m Photo: Clint Jenkins Photography Built in 2019 by the Asturian shipyard Astilleros Armon, Hodor is a support vessel to the Feadship Lonian and was designed by Incat Crowther who worked closely with the owner to fit his needs on this catamaran superyacht. The support vessel is designed to facilitate guest transfers to Lonian and offers extended recreational capabilities and extra crew and equipment. She can carry up to five tenders (including one of 17 metres) on her aft decks and has a fully-certified helicopter landing pad. [links]
Silver Cloud, Abeking & Rasmussen - 41m The 41-metre Abeking & Rasmussen yacht Silver Cloud is a SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) built in 2008. This catamaran has circumnavigated the globe several times already and is an excellent expedition yacht complete with a sizeable helipad and extensive diving equipment, along with plenty amenities on board including a media room, a Jacuzzi with tremendous views and a panoramic main saloon. more
Sarha, Sea Management - 42m Photo: Maarten Janssen First known as Lady of the South Pacific, Sarha was built in 1988 to designs by H2 Yacht Design and with in-house naval architecture. This catamaran yacht can sleep up to 30 guests who can be taken care of by as many as 26 crew.
Charley, Echo Yachts - 46m Photo: Echo Yachts This catamaran by Western Australia-based shipyard Echo Yachts is a 46-metre-long support vessel to White Rabbit and has an impressive volume of 702 GT. She features a large touch-and-go helipad, dive store, decompression chamber and specialist SONAR equipment, making her an ideal support vessel for wreck diving.
This huge square rigger is the newest and perhaps the most popular yacht to join the big 3. Maltese Falcon represents a departure from traditional yacht design, from a naval architecture and engineering standpoint, as well as an interior design one. She is a very modern yacht and like the other three quite unique in the yachting world. here
MIRABELLA V length: 75.22m (246' 9") [links]
The launch of the newest superyacht, MALTESE FALCON, has completed the ‘big three’ triumvirate - and even brought on some friendly rivalry between the yachts. The yachts may be chartered here from between 275,000 USD - 500,000 USD per week, plus expenses. more
ATHENA Length: 90.00m (295' 3")
The three largest luxury private sailing yachts in the world (ATHENA, MALTESE FALCON and MIRABELLA V) stand head and shoulders above the rest. All three yachts represent incredible feats of design, engineering and yacht building - and all are completely unique in the world of yachting.
Motor Yacht A was Andrey Melnichenko’s first purchase, and now he has moved into the sailing side of the industry.
When money isn’t a problem for you, you can afford to found the fertilizer producer EuroChem, and buy a bigger boat, right? Especially when your net worth is estimated at £6billion. more
It is believed that the billionaire named the sailing yacht “A”, because he wanted to ensure it is listed first in shipping registers. here
Special build by a German shipyard, the yacht has been made specifically for the Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko. more
At 468ft in length, and called “Sailing Yacht A” is the biggest sailing ship in the world. more
Mr Melnichenko is expected to recover some of the costs by licensing the technology developed for the vessel for commercial applications.
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