The world of mega yachts is not just motor driven

The brobdingnagian world of mega yachts is dominated by motor-powered behemoths. However, the charmingly appealing, almost romantic mode of propulsion by wind is still in use in yachts of these sizes today. Here is an updated list of 10 of the largest sailing mega yachts that are still operating on our seas.

Sailing Yacht A    |    142.8 metres

Though officially classified as a ‘sail-assisted motor yacht’, there no way she can be excluded from this list with those towering 100-metre mast made from carbon fibre. These three masts are free standing and can rotate to catch the wind. Nobiskrug built the Sailing Yacht A in 2015, and delivered her in early 2017. Both the exterior and interior design came from Philippe Starck. Not only is she long – at 12,558 GT, she is also 5 five times larger in volume than the Black Pearl below.

Sea Cloud    |    109.5 metres

As of 2020, the Sea Cloud became the world’s oldest oceangoing passenger ship. She was originally launched as a private yacht in 1931, but served in World War II for the United States Navy, where she became the U.S. military’s first racially integrated warship since the American Civil War. Today, the Sea Cloud sails in Europe and the Caribbean as part of a fleet of cruise ships operated by Sea Cloud Cruises GmbH.

Black Pearl    |    106.7 metres

The excellently-named Black Pearl it proudly and fully sail-powered, with supplementary propulsion from two 400 kW electric motors. She was built by Oceonco, and was delivered in 2018. Dykstra Naval Architects designed Black Pearl’s DynaRig carbon masts and sailing system. The 2,900 m² of sails can be deployed at a push of a single button in just seven minutes, which is utterly amazing.

EOS    |    92.93 metres

The EOS was built in 2006 by Lürssen, but not much is known about the three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner because much of the details were intentionally kept secret by her owner, media mogul Barry Diller. However, we do know she was refitted in 2011, but caught fire in Norway and had to return to the yard to be repaired.

Athena    |    90 metres

She is reported to be one of the fastest sailing superyachts, capable of cruising at 19 knots under good wind thanks to advanced engineering. The Athena was built by the Dutch Royal Huisman Shipyard in 2004, for US software developer Jim Clark.

Maltese Falcon    |    88 metres

The Maltese Falcon is one of the most photographed mega yachts of our time, because just look at her. She was revolutionary at the time of building in 2006, with three free-standing rotating carbon fibre masts that hold 2,397 m² across 15 square sails. This gives her exceptional performance, with a reported top speed and cruising speed of 24 knots and 16 knots. In fact, she won both the Corinthian spirit class ant the overall Perini Navi Cup in 2018.

Aquijo    |    85.9 metres

Dutch yards Vitters and Oceonco collaborated to create this largest high performance ketch in the world. Her twin masts are 90 metres in height and carry identical mainsails of 1,192 m² mainsails. When her code sails are up, the total area of sails reach 5,051 m². The project was of such enormity that items like shrouds, winches, and jib sheets had to be custom-made, and the project took 6 years to finish, from 2010 to 2016.

Sea Eagle II    |    81 metres

Another sailing mega yacht by Royal Huisman, the Sea Eagle II was recently delivered in 2020. The three-masted schooner is the largest aluminium sailing yacht in the world at 1,150 GT. She has 3,500 m² of sail, and features carbon Panamax rigging.

 M5    |    77.6 metres

She was previously christened Mirabella V at her launch on 2004, but her new owners renamed her M5. In 2014, she completed a refit that redesigned and extended her stern section by 3-metres. However, the disrupted her balance, and so in 2020 another major refit in NCA shipyard sought to correct this. Her keel was cut in half, and she was given a new livery as well.

Badis I    |    70 metres

She was rechristened Badis I from Sybaris, and was completed in 2016. Her builder, Perini Navi, is an Italian yard and the Badis I is the second largest sailing yacht from the yard. Her name comes from a Greek settlement in ancient Italy that was infamous for hedonism, feasts, and excess.

The list of the largest sailing yachts of the world does not need regular updating, as you may guess. Even so, occasionally a new one is build and a shuffle is needed, or something terrible happens, like the Phocea (75.13 metres) that caught fire and sank off the coast of Malaysia in 2021.