Taking to the waters, the behemoth of the waves: £330million superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire sails through its first sea tests to become one of the world’s biggest sailing vessels.
Check out the incredible live footage in the video below:
The world largest sailing yacht ever built with 144m and 3 carbon fiber masts (300ft high! 91m) is built by the German Naval Yards shipyard in Kiel for the Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko.
The yacht is the newest asset for Russian billionaire, with Melnichenko speculated to be worth a cool £9.7 billion
It was seen undergoing tests and employing its sails for the first time in Strande, nearby Kiel, northern Germany, its shadow dwarfing other nearby sailing boats.
At eight-decks and with masts that are nearly 330ft tall, it eclipses the height of London’s Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Bell known as Big Ben, and has its own underwater lounge surrounded by thick glass.
It also boasts a digital control system that has a touch sensitive sheet of black glass, allowing the crew to raise and lower the sails and anchor with the swipe of their fingers.
Sailing Yacht A’s keel incorporates one of the largest single pieces of curved glass ever made at 193 square feet, creating an underwater lounge on the bottom deck, and it is powered by a hybrid diesel-electric system at a top speed of 21 knots (24 mph).
Mr Melnichenko, who has made his vast fortune with investments in coal, fertilisers and banking, was said to have put his other superyacht Motor Yacht A up for sale, as he replaces it with the grander Sailing Yacht A.
The 44-year-old lives a glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle with his 39-year-old wife Aleksandra, a former model and pop star from Serbia.
