What is the world’s largest sailing boat?

Belonging to wealthy owners, the world’s largest yachts measure close to 100 metres in length. In this article, you’ll find a non-exhaustive list of these behemoths of the seas, starting with the largest of them all: the Sailing Yacht A.

What are the largest sailing yachts on Earth?

Even though it’s motorised, it’s hard not to mention the Sailing Yacht A. At 142.81 metres long and with three masts rising 100 metres above sea level, it is without doubt the largest sailing boat on Earth.

Her ultra-modern design is by Frenchman Philippe Stark. This incredible vessel has 8 different decks, a gross tonnage of 12,600, hybrid diesel-electric propulsion and ultra-high-tech navigation instruments. It’s a gigantic boat that cost its owner, Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko, a whopping €30 million to build.

The world’s largest sailing boat is the Royal Clipper. This cruise ship measures 119.40 metres. She has been in operation since July 2000 and is owned by the Monegasque shipping company Star Clippers. It has five masts and 42 sails (for a total of 5,000 square metres of sail area) and can service up to 600 passengers in its 106 cabins.

The STS Sedov is a 117-metre-long four-masted sailing ship flying the Russian flag. Built in 1921 in Kiel, Germany, by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, she was offered to Russia by the Germans as compensation for damage caused during the Second World War. She was first used as an oceanographic vessel before becoming the world’s largest training ship, which she still is today.

As a training ship for Murmansk University, she is used to train Russian naval officer cadets, civilian sailors and fisheries engineers. With 65 sailors and 164 cadets, she goes out to sea for around 3 months.

Its 34 sails give it a load-bearing surface area of 4,192 square metres. She has an additional 128 hp engine.

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Sea Cloud is the ninth name of this 109.5-metre steel-hulled four-master built almost 100 years ago. She was originally built and assembled in 1931 in Kiel, Germany, for the American billionaire Edward Francis Hutton (the ship was then called the Hussar II).

She was used in turn as a private vessel, then as a diplomatic ship, weather station, submarine hunter, training ship, etc. In short, a long and rich career until her complete restoration in 1978 after her purchase by the Sea Cloud company. Today, this luxury sailing ship can carry 64 passengers in its 32 cabins.

Mir is another training ship belonging to the Russian Navy. It was built in 1987 at the Lenin shipyard in Gdańsk. With a length of 109.2 metres, it can accommodate up to 20 officers, 38 men and 144 cadets.

In the 1990s, the Mir took part in and won numerous regattas. Nowadays, she mainly takes part in “armadas”, these gatherings of prestigious ships for tourists.

The Black Pearl is 106.7 metres long. Assembled by the Dutch shipbuilder Oceanco on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Burlakov, she has three DynaRig masts giving her a total sail area of 2,900 square metres.

Thanks to a clever system for recharging the batteries on board using a propeller, the Black Pearl’s range has been extended, and she can cross the Atlantic on just 20 litres of diesel. Finally, her average speed is 20 knots, which is more than respectable for a vessel of her size.

The sailing yacht Eos is a 93-metre-long luxury sailing yacht. It is owned by Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle. This luxury yacht can accommodate 26 guests and a crew of 37. This incredible yacht was built in 2006 by the German shipyard Nobiskrug.

The Eos is a veritable floating palace, with 7 decks, an indoor heated swimming pool, Jacuzzi, hairdressing salon and even a cinema! But what makes this yacht even more unique is its ability to sail around the globe non-stop, thanks to its 12,000 litres of drinking water and 100,000 litres of tank capacity.

The crew is made up of around a hundred experienced sailors ready to tackle any weather conditions. She is 225 feet long and hoists a total of 43 sails. Her cockpit is located at the rear of the hull and can accommodate up to 48 people.

The Maltese Falcon is an 88-metre three-master built by the Perini Istanbul shipyards in 2006. Initially owned by multi-millionaire Tom Perkins, she was sold to Elena Ambrosiadou, the manager of the Ikos investment fund.

It has kept its original name, directly inspired by the 1940 John Huston film of the same name starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor.

Estimated at 100 million dollars, the ship has three self-supporting and rotating masts (DynaRig system) designed in carbon fibre, 60 metres high and capable of supporting a total sail area of 2,400 square metres. The masts can rotate with the wind to optimise the boat’s speed.

As well as being one of the largest yachts in the world, it also has two 1800 hp engines.

The Aquijo Superyacht was built in the Dutch shipyards of Oceanco and Vitters. Launched in 2015, she is 85.9 metres long. The two masts of this ketch reach a height of 91 metres.

Designed for charter, this tourist vessel has all the necessary amenities (Wi-Fi, spa, terrace, gym, etc.). It can take 12 guests in its 7 cabins and 17 crew members.

As to which is the largest sailing yacht in the world, that depends on how you define the word ‘sailing yacht’. If we consider only sailing boats built to navigate the oceans, then the Maltese Falcon is unquestionably the largest. But if you include all types of sailing boats, including racing yachts and cruising yachts, then the record goes to the 330-foot Sea Cloud II.