Top 100 yachts in the world - new list
by PRWeb/Sail-World Cruising on 3 Jan 2014
Azzam decks - the size of the people on deck indicates the size of the yacht SW
Boat International, media organisation to the rich and famous superyachts of the world, every year publishes the top 100 yachts in the world. This year the list shows that the delivery of the 180 metre superyacht Azzam has pushed Roman Abramovich’s 162.5 metre yacht Eclipse into second place after dominating the Top 100 list since her launch in 2010.
Azzam, at a staggering 17.5 metres longer than Eclipse and boasting an innovative waterjet drive system that propels her to over 31.5 knots, was built by the Lürssen yard in Germany – reputedly for the Abu Dhabi Royal family – and becomes the new largest yacht in the world.
The largest sailing boat in the world is Sea Cloud, which was launched in 1931, owned by heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post while she was married to a keen yachtsman. She served as a patrol vessel for the US Coast Guard during World War II and in 1955 was sold to the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo, who renamed her Angelita. After his overthrow, she was acquired by Clifford Barbour, who renamed her Antarna. New German owners rescued her from neglect in 1978, returned her name to Sea Cloud, and rebuilt her in Bremerhaven.
The yacht now charters in the West Indies during winter and in the Mediterranean in summer, operating with 60 crew and offering 34 cabins.
This means the well-known Maltese Falcon is 'only' in second place.
For the full list of the top 50 sailing boats in the world, go to http://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/the-register/top-50-largest-sailing-yachts/
These are the biggest boats, but it's interesting what's happened at the other end of the list too. When Boat International's Top 100 was first put together in 1990, the smallest vessel to make the list was the 44.83 metre Paraiso; this year’s No.100, Reborn, comes in at 75.5 metres overall length.
Expected deliveries for 2014 show how the size of the 100 largest privately owned superyachts continues to grow.
Due for delivery in 2014 is the 140 metre motor yacht Victory, built by Fincantieri Yachts and the largest yacht yet built in Italy; she is one of seven 100-metre-plus yachts due to launch in the next 12 months.
Notable yachts in this year’s List include the 99 metre Feadship Madame Gu, at No.30, with exterior and interior design by British designer Andrew Winch. She is the largest yacht yet built in the Netherlands, and features, among other things, a helicopter hangar under the foredeck. At the lower end of the list, Hampshire II is a 78.5 metre yacht designed for a sports-loving owner that has its own basketball court and features a helicopter platform that can be transformed into a playing field for basketball, tennis, baseball, badminton and football.
The fastest megayacht in the Top 100 is the Feadship Ecstasea, which can propel her 85.95 metres to 35 knots. Another Feadship in the List, 78.2 metre Venus, is widely purported to have been ordered by late Apple founder Steve Jobs. Philippe Starck styled the unusual exterior and the interior with the owner, and she was engineered by De Voogt Naval Architects.
For the full list, go to boatinternational.com/yachts/the-register.
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