This may be the yacht to end all yachts.
Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the coal and fertilizer baron with an estimated personal wealth of $9.2 billion, unveiled a massive superyacht on Monday. Clocking in at 468 feet long and boasting masts near 300 feet high, 'Sailing Yacht A' — named as such to "ensure it is listed first in shipping registers," according to the Daily Mail — is reportedly the largest superyacht on the planet.
Here's a video of this bad boy in action from radio station NDR 1 Welle Nord:
Die Segeljacht "White Pearl" ist nach ihrer ersten Probefahrt wieder in ihrer Werft im Kieler Hafen eingelaufen. Sie gilt als größtes Segelschiff der Welt.
Posted by NDR 1 Welle Nord on Monday, September 21, 2015
This thing is an absolute beast, featuring eight stories, an underwater observation room, a helicopter pad, and God knows what other amenities. The Daily Mail's overview of the ship's schematics is particularly fascinating:
The epic vessel boasts a staggering eight decks and its keel incorporates one of the largest single pieces of curved glass ever made at 193 square feet and weighs a whopping 1.8 tons.
It dwarfs other famous super-yachts like The Maltese Falcon, which is 298 ft and weighs 1,367 tons.
Cruise speed of the ship is 18 mph, with a top speed of 24 mph. The hull is made of steel, with a teak-finish deck.The yacht will have a high-tech digital control system operated using a touch sensitive sheet of black glass in the bridge.
This will allow the crew to raise and lower the sails and even drop the anchor with a brush of their fingers.
Sure, it's a beaut, but you'll never, ever afford a boat like this. Melnichenko shelled out £260 million (or almost $400 million) for this luxurious behemoth, which is set to take its first se trial in Kiel, Germany later this month.
But that doesn't make it any less impressive: as Benjamin Maltby of global yacht consultancy MatrixLloydtold the Mail,"not since the days of mighty clipper sailing ships such as the Cutty Sark has such a large sailing vessel been built."
