Nobiskrug luxury yachts are among the most innovative vessels in the world. Take a closer look at Sailing Yacht A – the world’s largest sailing yacht.
The iconic Sailing Yacht A was delivered in 2017 by the German shipyard Nobiskrug. Luxury yachts are rarely greeted with so much enthusiasm.
Measuring an incredible 142.81 metres, when she was delivered to a serial yachtsman all eyes were on her distinctive Philippe Starck-designed exterior. Why?
The three-masted Sailing Yacht A is not only the largest privately owned sailing yacht in the world, she is a real example of yacht owners, builders, designers and naval architects coming together to turn a dream into reality and, by doing so, ultimately challenging the status quo.
Nobiskrug luxury yachts: new standards
Of the few yards in the world that are physically able to construct a 142-metre superyacht of this standard, a vast majority are German yacht builders. Nobiskrug is one of Germany’s leading builders of luxury yachts and, as a yard well-known for pushing the boundaries in yacht technology and engineering, Nobiskrug was selected by the owner’s team to begin work on the pre-engineering stages of this massive project in 2011.
Built with a steel hull and superstructure as well as specially created composite panels to reduce weight, Sailing Yacht A comes in at over 12,500 GT. Although details of her opulent interior are scarce, she accommodates 54 crew, boasts four custom tenders housed in onboard garages, a touch-and-go helipad on the bow and eight decks serviced by multiple elevators.
The Nobiskrug luxury yachts team in Rendsburg and Kiel, Germany worked closely with the owner throughout the entire design and construction process. The team also worked with renowned French designer Philippe Starck for the yacht’s interior and exterior design, and the Dutch firm Dykstra Naval Architects for her naval architecture and engineering.
A design unlike any other
“Sailing Yacht A is a floating sculpture coming from a mental space,” writes Starck on his website. It’s not difficult to agree with the poetic design description from the yacht’s creator. With her exceptionally high bow and an almost seamless profile, Sailing Yacht A is a vessel that could only have come from a particularly creative space, and as one of the world’s most successful designers, Starck certainly knows about creative spaces.
On the long list of design features that make Sailing Yacht A particularly stand out from the cookie-cutter line-up of large yachts regularly seen along the French Riviera is her lack of perceivable windows and deck spaces for the ultimate onboard privacy, as well as an underwater viewing pod specially moulded into the keel of the yacht. Sailing Yacht A’s three masts are another unique talking point in her design and engineering. They are currently noted as the tallest freestanding composite structures in the world, with the mainmast towering more than 100 metres above the waterline.
Pushing the boundaries in yacht design
Sailing Yacht A is precisely the kind of example of pushing the boundaries that we’re coming to see more and more of at northern European yards such as Nobiskrug. Luxury yachts are becoming more innovative than ever before. It takes a lot to create such an industry-shaking yacht as Sailing Yacht A, and the yachting world is seeing leaps and bounds in design, materials and construction methods.
The 80-metre motor yacht Artefact – Nobiskrug’s next addition to the superyacht fleet – is a fantastic example of just that, with a fibreglass structure and largely unprecedented use of heavy glass throughout making for another unique yacht design.