The world's largest private sailing yacht
After a month of sea trials, the sailing yacht A left Germany, to undergo a few more months of sea trials before being delivered to its rich owner, Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko, next spring. The latter would have an estimated wealth of 13.4 billion dollars (12 billion euros). Like its motorized counterpart - the motoryacht A - this sailboat has the name of the first letter of the alphabet. And the reason would be to appear first on the shipping register.
At 142.81 m (469 feet) in length, it would be the largest private sailing yacht in the world and would have cost £360 million (?417 million). Its ultramodern design breaks with the codes in force in the world of superyachts, especially sailing. This "sailboat" is distinguished by its very large and tall hull, which gives it a motoryacht look. Without its three carbon masts, it would be difficult to identify it as a sailboat.
We can clearly recognize the touch of the French designer Philippe Stark, who had already designed the superyacht with an A engine, also designed for the Russian billionaire.
With an interior volume of 12,600 gross tons and an area of 8 decks, the main features of the A are its underwater observation room, its hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system and its ultramodern navigation systems. We can also note its bomb-proof glass or its 40 security cameras.
The construction was carried out in the greatest secrecy, even though we know that the Dutch studio Dykstra Naval Architects designed the rigging and keel or that Magma Structures in the United Kingdom designed the carbon masts, which are 100 m above the waterline, a height higher than that of Big Ben in London.
Two 4,827 hp MTU diesel engines will give it a maximum speed of 21 knots. Its cruising speed will be 16 knots and should allow it to cover 5,320 nautical miles.
After the engine, the sail
Russian businessman and billionaire Andrei Melnichenko had the 119-metre-long superyacht A, a £240 million (?278 million) motor yacht built in 2004, designed by Philippe Starck and Martin Francis, and built and delivered by Blohm & Voss Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Germany 2008.
In 2011, he repeated the operation, but this time with his counterpart under sail, the sailingyacht A. To design this 469-foot (142.81 m) yacht, one of the largest in the world, he had once again called on Philippe Starck, in collaboration with Doelker & Voges. This time, the German shipyard Nobiskrug inherited the construction. And after a launch in 2015, it has just been delivered to its owner.
