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Famous British Sailors: 7 of the Most Inspirational 

Some of the greatest sailors the world has ever seen have hailed from the British Isles. With a marine history dating back centuries, our little corner of the world has incredibly strong pedigree when it comes to sailing. Today, British sailors continue to break world records, demonstrating incredible strength, resourcefulness, and bravery in the ultimate conquest - the conquest of the sea. Here’s a run down of seven famous British sailors who inspire us today.

Montel fagan-jordan.

Hailing from Tottenham, Montel was awarded the title of YJA Young Sailor of the Year in 2018. Montel first came to public attention when he led his school team to complete the 605-mile Fastnet Race in 2017, making Greig City Academy the first and only state comprehensive school to have ever competed in the race. Playing a leading role in both racing and fundraising to get the school’s Scaramouche yacht into shape, Montel has gone on to receive continued recognition as an inspiration and personality in the sport.

Ben Ainslie

Sir Ben Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history, winning medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996. Born in Macclesfield, the sailor’s family moved to the Cornwall coast when Ben was 7. By the age of 16, Ainslie had become a Laser Radial world and European champion and a rising star in the Laser class. Three-time winner of the British Yachtsman of the Year title, Sir Ben has been awarded an MBE, an OBE, and, of course, a knighthood for his services to sailing.

Ellen MacArthur

Ellen MacArthur’s story is one of grit and determination. After saving her school dinner money to buy her first boat, she rose to recognition after coming second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in 2001. She went on to beat the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the Earth in 2005, as well as breaking a number of other records for various stretches. At one point on her epic voyage, she was able to sleep for only 20-minutes in three days, as seas relentlessly threatened to capsize her boat. On 7 February 2005, she beat the previous world record by 32 hours.

Sarah Ayton

After battling with meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in her teenage years, Sarah Ayton went onto incredible success as a sailor. Sarah won olympic gold medals in 2004 and 2008, both in the Yngling sailing class (an Yngling is a cross between a dinghy and a keelboat). She was awarded and MBE and an OBE, as well as the Rolex World Sailor of the Year title in 2016. Today, she draws on her experience and success to inspire others as a coach and motivational speaker.

Robin Knox-Johnston

Not many people have single-handedly circumnavigated the world, and the first person to ever do it was Robin Knox-Johnston in 1969. Not one to rest on his laurels, Robin co-skippered with Peter Blake to win the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation in 1994. But Robin didn’t stop there. In 2007, at the age of 67, Robin set a new record for being the oldest yachtsman to complete a round the world solo voyage. The man just keeps on going.

Dee Caffari

For Dee Caffari, circumnavigating the world just wasn’t enough. So in 2006, she became the first woman to single-handedly sail around the world ‘the wrong way’ - that is, from East to West, against the prevailing currents. In 2009, she completed the Vendée Globe - this time sailing the ‘right’ way around the world - setting a new record to become the first woman to sail non-stop around the world in both directions.

Iain Percy is a double Olympic champion, winning gold in the 2000 summer Olympics in the Finn class, and also in the 2008 Olympics in the Star class, teaming up with Andrew Simpson. Percy teamed up with Simpon again to win a silver Olympic medal at the London Olympics in 2012. He was an appointed an MBE and an OBE in recognition of his sailing achievements. After the tragic death of his close friend and co-skipper Andrew Simpson in 2013, Iain said that ‘all his goals changed’. He went on to set up the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, offering young people the chance to sail, and has continued to emphasise the importance of safety and the need for safety innovation.

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13 Top female sailors

Here's our pick of some of the most inspiring yachtswomen. Who's your inspiration?

These 13 women have all achieved excellence as sailors, accomplishing astonishing feats of bravery, stamina and skill at the helm.

From single-handed circumnavigations of the globe to Olympic gold medals, these are some of our favourite female trailblazers in the world of sailing. Who would you add to the list of top female sailors? Tweet us on @ybw

Dame Ellen MacArthur “Courage is not having the energy to go on, it’s going on when you do not have the energy.”

Dame Ellen MacArthur broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, completing the 27,354 nautical mile trip in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds. She beat the previous record by one day, eight hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds.

The retired British sailor loved life on the water from a young age and has previously competed in the Mini Transat solo transatlantic race and the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world sailing race.

Since then, Ellen has launched two charities, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation .

Follow EllenMacArthur on Twitter

Shirley Robertson, MBE and OBE

This Scottish sailor made it into the history books when she became the first British woman to win two Olympic gold medals at two consecutive Olympic games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 competing in the Yngling class. She went on to be named female World Sailor of the Year by the International Sailing Federation and was awarded an MBE in 2000 and an OBE in 2005.

Shirley worked hard to raise the profile of the sport, presenting and producing CNN’s Mainsail programme and as a BBC Olympic sailing commentator in Weymouth during the London 2012 Olympics. She is also the only woman to take the helm on the superyacht circuit steering the stunning 45-metre Salperton in three regattas in the Caribbean and Sardina.

Follow Shirley on Twitter

Dame Naomi James “What I did was completely different. Ellen is a professional racer; I was an adventurer.”

Dame Naomi James was the first woman to sail single-handed around the world via Cape Horn. She left Dartmouth in Devon on 9 September 1977 and returned 272 days later on 8 June 1978.

New Zealand-born Naomi was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 in recognition of her achievements.

Crazy voyages: sailors who took to the sea without any sailing experience

Tracy Edwards

Credit: Tanya Visser/PPL

Tracy Edwards , MBE, entered her first Whitbread Round the World race at the age of 23. She made history by leading the first all-female crew to the finish line of the Whitbread Round the World Race on board Maiden in the 89-90 race. Her 12 crew won two legs and finished second in its class, the best performances in the race by a British boat since 1977. Edwards is currently busy restoring her beloved Maiden to her former glory.

Tracy Edwards’ iconic yacht Maiden is coming home

Clare Francis

Clare Francis, MBE, was working in marketing when she decided to sail singlehandedly across the Atlantic in 1973.  A year later she took part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham, finishing in third place. The high achiever went on to be the first woman to skipper a yacht in the 1977-1978 Whitbread Round the World Race. She and her Swan 65 finished in 5th place. To add to her impressive achievements, the former yachtswoman is now an international bestselling author with 12 fiction novels under her belt and four non fiction. She is also a trustee of the charity Action for M.E., which raises money and awareness for sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Laura Dekker “There were moments where I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing out here?,’ but I never wanted to stop.”

At the age of 13, Laura Dekker announced she wanted to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly, prompting the Guinness World Records to stop recognising records for “youngest” sailors.

The Dutch authorities objected to her plans and she fought a 10-month court battle to follow her dream. She eventually persuaded judges to allow her departure after agreeing to upgrade to a bigger boat with better navigation equipment, undertake training in first aid and learn how to cope with sleep deprivation.

In August 2010, she set sail on her epic journey onboard her two-masted ketch and arrived, 5,600 nautical miles later, at Simpson Bay on St Maarten in January 2012 – breaking the world record. She was only 16 years and four months of age.

Jeanne Socrates “I’m not really an armchair and slippers person.”

In 2013, British sailor Jeanne Socrates became the oldest woman to sail solo round the world non-stop. This was the 70-year-old’s third attempt to complete the 25,000-mile circumnavigation on her 38ft yacht Nereida.

After 259 days at sea, Jeanne returned triumphant back to British shores. Earlier this year she was awarded with the Cruising Club of America’s Blue Water Medal following her successful voyage.

Read Jeanne Socrate’s blog

Pippa Wilson, MBE

Pippa Wilson continues to be one of the UK’s best female sailors. She won a gold medal in the Yngling sailing class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics along with Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton, gold in two World Championships and gold in one European Championships.

Follow Pippa on Twitter

Sarah Ayton, OBE

Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton is another of the UK’s most successful British female sailors. With two Olympic gold medals under her belt, along with two gold World Championship medals and one gold European Championship medal.

Sarah won an Olympic gold medal alongside Shirley Robertson and Sarah Gosling in the Yngling sailing class in 2004, and again in 2008 with Pippa Wilson and Sarah Gosling.

Follow Sarah on Twitter

Sarah Gosling, OBE

This Olympian is another of Britain’s great female sailors, having won two Olympic gold medals, two gold World Championship medals and one gold European Championship medal.

Sarah won all her medals in the Yngling sailing class alongside Shirley Robertson, Pippa Wilson and Sarah Ayton. Already an MBE, Sarah was awarded an OBE in the 2009 New Year Honours list.

Denise “Dee” Caffari, MBE

Record-setting Dee Caffari came to sailing relatively late after spending five years as a physical education teacher. In 2006, Caffari became the first woman to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe against prevailing winds and currents after 178 days at sea, having started in late 2005.

Just under three years later, in February 2009, Dee Caffari completed the Vendee Globe race, setting a new record and becoming the first woman to sail around the world in both directions.

Follow Dee on Twitter

Kay Cottee, AO 

Awarded the Order of Australia, Cottee was the first woman to successfully complete a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe. Cottee achieved the feat in 1988 in her 11m yacht Blackmores First Lady, and she did it in just 189 days.

Cottee established the trip that is routinely tried by sailors chasing speed records and completed it alone, without stopping and without assistance. She was even washed overboard when her yacht capsized in 20 foot waves. Her achievement is as impressive as it is daunting to imagine, and fortunately she didn’t celebrate the achievement alone: nearly 100,000 Australians were awaiting her in Sydney Harbour when she returned.

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz

And last, but certainly not least, the first woman to circumnavigate the globe is also a sea captain and shipbuilding engineer. Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz set off on February 28, 1976 from the Canary Islands on her own in her 10m yacht Mazurek, returning 401 days later on April 21, 1978.

The Polish sailor has been called the “First Lady of the Oceans” and was inducted into the elite Explorers Club in New York. She narrowly beat New Zealander Naomi James (above) who completed her own circumnavigation on June 8, 1978.

Sir Francis Chichester

A record breaker in the air and at sea, Sir Francis Chichester was a true British trailblazer

Sir Francis Chichester (1901–1972) was a British sailor and aviator, famed for being the first person to single-handedly sail around the world making only one stop.

Sir Francis Chichester and aviation

Born in Barnstaple, Devon, in 1901, as a young man Chichester was a pioneering aviator making his first solo flight in 1929 to Australia. In 1931 he became the first man to fly solo across the Tasman Sea from east to west (New Zealand to Australia), in a de Havilland Gypsy Moth aircraft fitted with floats.

During the Second World War (1939–45), Chichester wrote navigation instruction manuals for the Air Ministry, and pioneered fighter pilot flying navigation techniques that did not require the use of maps.

Gipsy Moth III and transatlantic racing

In 1958, Chichester was diagnosed with cancer. Surgeons recommended the removal of one of his lungs and gave him six months to live. His wife refused to let them operate and helped nurse him back to health. Her nursing was successful and in 1960 Chichester took part in, and won, the first solo transatlantic sailing race in Gipsy Moth III . He sailed from Plymouth to New York in just 40 days, and later claimed his race entry was part of his recovery plan!

Entering into the race again in 1962 he came second but beat the record he’d set on his first race, completing the journey in just 33 days.

Gipsy Moth IV and circumnavigating the world

At the age of 65, Chichester undertook his biggest challenge yet – solo circumnavigation of the world in his yacht, Gipsy Moth IV. Departing on 29 January 1967, he returned to Plymouth around Cape Horn in just 119 days. It was the fastest voyage around the world for a small vessel, and included the longest passage ever made by a small sailing vessel without entering a port of call – 15,500 miles.

Chichester returned to a hero’s welcome, which was televised globally, and was knighted in July 1968. He died just four years later.

Gipsy Moth IV’ s second circumnavigation

In 2004, a collaboration between Yachting Monthly magazine and the United Kingdom Sailing Academy brought about a campaign to restore Gipsy Moth IV to her former glory. She was relaunched on 20 June 2005 and embarked on a second circumnavigation of the world.

Discover where the Gipsy Moth is today

Visit the Gipsy Moth pub in Greenwich

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

The Yachting World hall of fame: 50 yachts that changed the way we sail

• Helen Fretter
• May 13, 2020

We asked historians, round the world race winners and legendary sailors to name the yachts that changed the sport for good. In no particular order, these are the 50 yachts that shifted how we sail...

41. Jolie Brise

Built: 1913 Design: Alexandre Pâris/Paumelle

The 56ft gaff-rigged Jolie Brise was originally built to do a job of work. Although she appears to be a traditional pilot cutter, Jolie Brise was unusual for the time in being built to plans.

She was designed to cross oceans rapidly, and was the last boat to carry the Royal Mail under sail. However, she was too late to really show her worth as a pilot boat, and as steam replaced sail suffered some ignominious years as a tuna fishing boat.

Her fortunes changed after she was sold and refitted for racing, going on to take part in the inaugural Fastnet Race in 1925, which she won. She went on to win the 600-mile epic twice more, a record which remains unbeaten.

Photo: Paul Buttrose

Built: 1929 Design: Sparkman & Stephens

Designer Olin Stephens was just 22 when the 52ft yawl Dorade was launched, built for his father Roderick Stephens as a great gamble on the success of a new business venture, a design house called Sparkman & Stephens.

The yacht, which he described as “a kind of awakening”, was  both beautiful and radical from the outset. She was n arrower in beam and lighter in construction than her contemporaries, partly due to the hull frames being steam-bent rather than sawn.

Stephens was confident that a slim hull with stability gained from a deep lead keel, would pay off. He was correct – although his calculations were thrown into question at Dorade’s launch, when the waterline stripe was three inches below the surface.

Any detractors were silenced by Dorade’s performance in the 1931 Transatlantic Race when she, the third smallest yacht in the fleet, reached the line more than two days ahead of the next. On corrected time, Dorade was almost four days faster. She went on to win the Fastnet Race of the same year by a wide margin.

The yacht became the first in a new generation of deep keeled, slim hulled, powerful racing yachts. Dorade was famously restored to once again race in the Transatlantic and Fastnet Races in 2015, scoring podium finishes in both offshores some 84 years after her first win. Sparkman & Stephens, of course, went on to become the most prolifically successful yacht design office of the 20th century.

43. Sundeer 68

Built: 1988 Design: Steve Dashew

An unsung hero of yacht design, Steve Dashew built small numbers of highly specialised cruising yachts.

Andrew Bishop of the World Cruising Club comments: “The powerful, balanced rigs are designed with sail handling for short-handed crews in mind, which, combined with their easily driven hull forms, make for consistently high speeds in a wide range of conditions. These boats were ahead of their time for modern fast cruising yachts.”

The range began with the 1978 Deerfoot , a 68-footer that featured the first swim platform, fore-and-aft watertight bulkheads, and an aft engine room.

They later launched the Sundeer range, which could comfortably cover 230 miles a day, a distance Dashew describes as “the magic number that keeps you safe and comfortable”.

Built: 2007 Design: VPLP

The 33rd America’s Cup pitted a 34m trimaran against Alinghi’s giant catamaran. For BMW Oracle USA designers, VPLP, the project was a golden opportunity to rapidly accelerate multihull development, resulting in the famous wingsail.

Lauriot Prévost remembers: “In the original brief the boat had to be designed and built in ten months, and then there were lawyers and postponements, which meant instead of having ten months we had almost two and a half years.

“So that’s how the wingmast came onto the boat. Having worked on the platform, on the appendages, on everything else, we had to work on propulsion.” The original idea came from design director Mike Drummond.

“It was a crazy project because even at the final finish, when the second leg had been won by USA 17, we still had some modification projects that were on the table, changing the main hull and so on,” recalls Lauriot Prévost.

“It was really, really very intense. But I think the America’s Cup is exactly this: you can have the skills and money to achieve in two years what would take five or ten years on a usual project.”

45. Contessa 32

Built: 1970 Design: David Sadler / Jeremy Rogers

The gateway for many owners into yacht racing, the Contessa was a one-design, avoiding the vagaries and expense of IOR, and performed just as well as a family cruiser. Its seaworthy reputation was cemented during the 1979 Fastnet, when of the 58 boats in the smallest class, only one finished – the Contessa 32 Assent .

David Glenn explains: “The key to the the Contessa 32’s success was that the boats could perform two roles equally well. They could be raced as a one-design, which meant you didn’t have to adhere to the vagaries and expense of IOR, which was then the predominant racing rule, and perform just as well as a family cruising yacht.

“The David Sadler/Jeremy Rogers Contessa was designed in 1970 and more than 750 were built. At one time they had their own class in Cowes Week and they still race through an active class association. A good looking and very seaworthy yacht, chosen by many who wanted a go-anywhere, reliable and – for her day – fast boat.

“By today’s standards her accommodation is very limited. Nonetheless, a real winner in her time and many people aspired to owning one. They still do! She had that ‘must have’ ingredient. ”

46. Aqua Quorum

Built: 1996 Design: Adrian Thompson

Ocean racer Dee Caffari nominates Pete Goss’s  Aqua Quorum. “ Most of my racing offshore is spent on boats with canting keels,” she explains, “but i f we go back to 1991, Michel Desjoyeaux sailed the first distance offshore with a swing keel in a mini 6.50. This then led onto Pete Goss sailing Aqua Quorum , an open 50, in the 1996 Vendee Globe becoming the first to sail round the world with a canting keel.

“From this moment the world stopped questioning the canting keel concept. We agree that there are risks and as a result many races have adopted the one-design rule to try and reduce the risk factor, but no one has moved away from the extra stability and power this design can produce. It sure beats having 15 people on the rail to act as ballast!”

Built: 1953 Design: Blondie Haslar

With her unstayed Chinese ‘junk’ rig set on a modified 25ft Folkboat hull, Jester is unique. She was created by Herbert ‘Blondie’ Haslar, who believed that one did not need a racing machine in order to cross ocean miles.

He then sailed her in the 1960 race which he established for fellow singlehanded, Corinthian yachtsmen, from Plymouth to New York – at the time a revolutionary concept and the first solo ocean race.

It was won by Francis Chichester in  Gipsy Moth II , with Jester second, and the race became the hugely successful OSTAR, held on a four-yearly cycle in various incarnations for many years since.

Jester competed in each one, until finally damaged by a rogue wave and abandoned in 1988. A replica Jester was built – and again raced in the OSTAR – in 1992.

Technically Jester was also very innovative, thanks to Haslar’s wind vane self-steering and rudimentary trim tab system, which he refined further over four Atlantic crossings – claiming to only take the tiller for an hour during the 1960 race. By 1970 over 600 units of Haslar’s Pendulum Servo Gear system had been fitted to yachts around the world.

Many other developments in short-handed racing were first tried during runnings of the OSTAR, such as the earliest weather routing in 1968 (it was subsequently banned).

48. Westerly Centaur

Built: 1968 Design: Jack Laurent Giles

“Designed in 1968 by Jack Laurent Giles, this was the people’s cruising boat, the ‘floating country cottage’,” comments David Glenn.

“She was a motor sailer really but she changed yachting by getting families afloat in their thousands and she is a still much loved second-hand yacht. Westerly built (I think) some 2,500. Those numbers speak for themselves.”

Built: 1912 Design: Camper & Nicholson

The 15-metre was the first yacht designed with a Marconi topmast, which was fitted with a track which meant the topsail could be hoisted from deck.

With 72 wins out of 81 starts for Istria , the gaff rig was rapidly demoted to the history books. Istria was also the first large yacht to be built using laminated materials to save weight.

Photo: Jean Jacques Bernard.

50. Ceramco

Built: 1980 Design: Farr

Peter Blake’s 68-footer with a bulb keel and flat stern was designed to surf around the world in the 1981-82 Whitbread, but she was dismasted on leg one. The crew set a jury rig and sailed 4,400 miles to rejoin the race and resume battle with Flyer .

Updated from an article that first appeared in the November 2016 issue of Yachting World magazine.

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The 25 Greatest Superyachts of the Past 100 Years

Yacht design and technology—from steam engines to hydrogen fuel cells—have changed dramatically over the last century. these 25 standout vessels have been at the forefront of that revolution., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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A Century of Sea Change

Yachts have seen remarkable transformations in design and technology in the last 100 years. The lengths and shapes have changed decade by decade, from the mini-ocean liners of the 1920s to a more glamorous, fuller shape by the 1950s, eventually giving way to the layered wedding-cake construction that was so popular until about a decade ago. Now, just about anything goes, judging from the list below, with yachts boasting vertical bows being the most popular.

Technology also changed over the years, from steam engines to diesel to a growing list of hybrid diesel-electric powerplants. In the next five years, expect to see the first generation of superyachts with hydrogen- or methanol-powered fuel cells. What really hasn’t changed in the last century are owners’ desires to create superyachts that are unique, often clashing with the accepted design norms of the time.

Here are the 25 greatest superyachts from the last 100 years.

'Delphine' (257 Feet 9 Inches) 1923, U.S.A.

Delphine is the original 1920s oceangoing queen. American automobile magnate Horace Dodge commissioned the vessel, rumored to have once hosted former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and Michigan shipbuilding company Great Lakes Engineering Works built it in 1921. At 258 feet, Delphine remains the largest yacht ever built in the U.S. that is still in operation. She is also the largest active steam-driven yacht in existence. The two original 1,500 hp steam engines were re-equipped with two modern water-tube boilers during a 2003 refit, which provide 18 metric tons of steam per hour. Surviving a stint in the U.S. Navy during World War II, several fires, and multiple owners, Delphine is today fully restored to her 1920s glory, including original teak on the main deck and a revived Tiffany-designed interior.

'Talitha' (247 Feet) 1929, Germany

Talitha is one of the world’s first superyachts with an exceptional pedigree. F. Krupp built the vessel, which was originally penned by naval architects Cox & Stevens (leading designers of their day), in Kiel, Germany. First known as Reveler , Talitha was delivered in 1929 to Russell Algar, chairman of the Packard Car Company. A string of high-profile owners ensued, including John Paul Getty Jr. in the 1930s, son of one of the richest men in the world at the time. Getty commissioned an exterior and interior redesign by late superyacht designer Jon Bannenberg and, in 1993, a full reconstruction was completed at the Devonport shipyard in Plymouth, U.K. Regular refits since, including a 1999 newly installed wheelhouse, has made Talitha successful as a popular charter yacht.

' Malahne' (164 feet) 1937/2015, UK

Originally designed and built for the owner of renowned J-Class yacht Velsheda , classic motor yacht  Malahne enjoys a period interior designed by Scottish designer Guy Oliver (best known for styling London’s 10 Downing Street and Claridge’s). Original Art Deco features include Baccarat crystal, Willer porcelain, Georg Jensen silverware, and a lamp by 1930s designer Edgar Brandt. The yacht was once used as the production headquarters for Lawrence of Arabia and had luminaries such as Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra walking the teak decks. In 2015, it underwent an extensive restoration at British shipyard Pendennis, which focused on maintaining its old-world glamour, including the yacht’s 25-foot custom-built Cockwells varnished Brazilian mahogany high-speed tender.

'Savarona' (446 Feet 9 Inches) 1931, Germany

Launched in 1931, Savarona was built for an heiress, enjoyed by royalty, and starred on the big screen. Built by Blohm & Voss for Emily Roebling Cadwalader, granddaughter of Brooklyn Bridge engineer John Roebling, 446-foot Savarona was featured in the German science-fiction film Gold . The Turkish government bought the vessel in 1938 and leased to Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu in 1989, who spent $45 million refurbishing the yacht. The original steam turbine engines were replaced with modern Caterpillar diesels, but the original 282-foot gold-trimmed staircase remains. Today, Savarona is the official presidential yacht of the Republic of Turkey.

'Shemara' (212 Feet, 2 Inches) 1938, Great Britain

Within a year of being built in 1938, 212-foot Shemara was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and used throughout World War II as a training vessel for anti-submarine warfare. Following the end of its service, the superyacht returned to her owner Bernard Docker, who entertained high society aboard its decks. Later in life, Shemara endured long periods of neglect until current owner Charles Dunstone acquired her in 2010, starting the long road back to refurbishment. Alongside much of the original teak and steel exterior features, Shemara is now fitted with a Rolls-Royce diesel-electric system, including two electrically driven azimuthing pods and a bow thruster.

'Christina O' (325 Feet) 1943/1954

Possibly one of the most eminent superyachts of all time, 325-foot Christina O didn’t begin life in the spotlight. Built in 1943 by Canadian Vickers, the vessel served as a frigate in World War II until 1954 when Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis bought it as war surplus for a mere $34,000. He spent $4 million on the refurbishment and then entertained the world’s elite on board, from Maria Callas and Grace Kelly to Jack and Jackie Kennedy, prior to Onassis marrying Jackie. Named after Aristotle’s daughter, Christina O enjoys a bronze-edged swimming pool with a mosaic dance floor that rises at the push of a button. The stools in Ari’s Bar retain the original leather upholstery.

'V2V' (ex-Carinthia VI) (137 feet, 7 inches) 1973, Germany

The first major yacht designed by Jon Bannenberg and a breakthrough build for German shipyard Lürssen, Carinthia VI is a star of the decades, commissioned by supermarket magnate Helmut Horten as the sixth yacht in his Carinthia fleet. However, Carinthia V was in fact the original version but sadly hit an uncharted rock on her maiden cruise in the Mediterranean and sank. Horten ordered an almost identical replacement (this time with extra watertight bulkheads) and used Carinthia VI until his death in 1987. In 2016, the yacht suffered severe damage in a fire. Its new owner then bought the yacht, undergoing an extensive rebuild in Turkey to its original Bannenberg lines that was completed in 2023 when the yacht was renamed V2V.

'La Sultana' (214 Feet 56 Inches) 1962, Bulgaria

A Bulgarian passenger ferry turned Soviet spy vessel, 214.5-foot La Sultana has a checkered past. Built in 1962 for operations in the Black Sea, it was absorbed into the Russian fleet during the Cold War and sent to the North Atlantic for unofficial reconnaissance on the United States and United Kingdom. In 2015, La Sultana  completed a seven-year refit, which saw the addition of a raised bow, seven guest cabins across six decks, and a diesel engine installed to drive the original propeller. Several spying instruments were also discovered, including a radioactivity detector and thick aluminum insulation across the entire boat. The original push button steering controls are still in operation.

'Highlander' (164 Feet) 1986, Netherlands

American media mogul Malcolm Forbes commissioned the 164-foot Highlander , built by Feadship to a Jon Bannenberg design with De Voogt naval architecture, in 1986. The yacht’s historic guest list reads like a who’s who of Hollywood stars, from Elizabeth Taylor to Robert De Niro. Two bathrooms in the master suite are offset by six guest cabins. Those lucky enough to charter this piece of yachting history also have use of Forbes’s original cigarette boat, now re-painted in jet black with a bold red stripe.

'Tatoosh' (303 feet) 2000, Germany

Built by Nobiskrug for cellular pioneer Craig McCaw, the 303-foot Tatoosh was more famously owned by the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, who bought the yacht off McCaw in 2001. Penned by German designer Claus Kusch—with input over the years from Jon Bannenberg, Terence Disdale, Martin Francis, and Stefano Pastrovich— Tatoosh is arguably one of the foremost explorer yachts of the modern age. The vessel was conceived to be a world cruiser with all the toys and entertainment that a yacht could carry. Alongside two helicopter landing pads, it has 11 staterooms for 19 guests, a heated swimming pool with a lifting floor, a cinema, and a dive center with a nitrox refilling station for deeper dives.

'Al Salamah' (456 Feet 10 Inches) 1999, Germany

At the time of its construction in 1999, 456-foot Al Salamah was the third largest yacht in the world. The build began at German yard HDW in Kiel but was completed by Lürssen in Bremen, the only yacht builder at the time capable of meeting the owner’s demanding timeline. Al Salamah was commissioned by the late Saudi Arabian crown prince Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Estimated to be worth in the region of $200 million and accommodating 36 guests, the ample amenities include a cinema, a fully equipped onboard hospital, two full-time beauticians, a business center, and a spa.

'H' (ex-NEOM) (311 feet) 2000, Netherlands

Delivered in 2000, the 311-foot  H   remained the largest Oceanco yet built and the largest yacht built in Holland until the delivery of Kaos (ex- Jubilee ) in 2017. Originally named Al Mirqab , the vessel was a highly private yacht under the ownership of the Qatar royal family before ex-politician and co-owner of Formula One Force India team Vijay Vittal Mallya took ownership in 2006. The Maltese government seized the lavishly outfitted yacht, which includes a helipad large enough for a twin-engine helicopter, Elton John’s baby grand piano, a full medical suite, and triple engines each delivering 10,000 hp, in 2017 over unpaid maritime bills. NEOM was auctioned off to her current owner in 2018.

'Rising Sun' (453 Feet) 2004, Germany

Built for Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison in 2004 and currently owned by business mogul David Geffen, Lürssen’s Rising Sun is another Jon Bannenberg success story, completed two years after the designer’s death. Even with her 453-foot length and 7,841-gross tonnes volume, Rising Sun achieves an impressive top speed of 28 knots. The owners were impressed enough with the speed to build a suspended, tube-like walkway so visitors can see the four MTU 20V 8000 M90 diesel engines providing the power. A bank of full-height curved windows run along the entire length of the superstructure, flooding the interior with natural light and giving the yacht a striking exterior profile.

'Motor Yacht A' (390 feet, 4 inches) 2008, Germany

Few yachts divide opinion like M/Y A . Designed by Philippe Starck, engineered by naval architect Martin Francis, and built by Blohm + Voss, the yacht is rumored to have cost in the region of $300 million to bring to life. Characterized by its head-turning reverse bow and vertical superstructure, the vessel is a private floating fortress where guests’ access to the water is restricted to the stern. It boasts a cathedral-like tender garage and three swimming pools; it’s also the predecessor to the even more controversial S/Y A , which emerged nine years later and briefly held the place of world’s largest sailing yacht before being displaced by Koru.

'Dubai' (531 Feet 5 Inches) 2006, Germany

Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei first commissioned Dubai in 1995 to be built in collaboration by German shipyards Blohm + Voss and Lürssen. But the superyacht was not completed until 2001 by Platinum Yachts when current owner, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, took over the project. British studio Winch Design crafted the exterior, and the vessel is reported to have cost in the region of $400 million to build. Dubai  was the largest yacht in the world until 2010, when she was replaced by Roman Abramovich’s 533-foot Eclipse . Dubai ’s amenities, spread across eight decks, include a helipad, two 33-foot chase boats, a squash court, and 20 Jet Skis.

'Savannah' (273 feet, 11 inches) 2015, Netherlands

Savannah is renowned for being the first hybrid yacht on water, with fuel savings of up to 30 percent. It blends a single diesel engine with three gensets, batteries, a propeller, and an azimuting pioneering electro-mechanical propulsion platform. Built by Feadship, the yacht’s 41-foot beam was such a tight fit for the Dutch canals during delivery that the builder wrapped her in protective film and used plywood on the sides to serve as fenders. With its interior and exterior designed by Cristina Gherardi Benardeau, the yacht was also ahead of its time, with a corridor of double-height video walls, a floating superstructure, and an underwater Nemo lounge.

'Maltese Falcon' (289 Feet) 2006, Turkey

The legendary Maltese Falcon broke the mold of yacht design when launched in 2006. Perini Navi’s 289-foot, three-masted schooner was the result of its adventurous owner, the late Tom Perkins, and naval architect Gerard Dykstra’s radical design idea. The show-stopping Dynarig concept, now coined the Falcon Rig, catapulted Maltese Falcon to becoming the world’s most instantly recognized yacht, not to mention one of the most complex and largest sailing vessels ever built. The contemporary, computer-controlled sail system is based on freestanding carbon masts and yard-arms into which the sails furl. This system allows for easy sailing in all sea conditions. Famous charterers include Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, and Google cofounder Larry Page.

'Eclipse' (533 Feet) 2009, Germany

Aside from stealing the title of world’s largest yacht from 531-foot Dubai by a mere 1.5 feet, Eclipse is an exercise in amenities. Delivered to her owner Roman Abramovich in 2009, the vessel features a 52-foot swimming pool within an extensive beach club, two helipads, and a helicopter hangar under the foredeck. The 533-foot yacht is powered by a diesel-electric system driving azimuthing pods, one of the first of its kind. Eclipse retained the title of world’s largest yacht until the arrival of 590.5-foot Azzam in 2013. Designed inside and out by Terence Disdale, Eclipse took five years to build and is reported to have cost in the region of $590 million.

'Chopi Chopi' (262 Feet) 2013, Italy

Tasked with an experienced owner’s brief for a private yacht on which to spend long family holidays, CRN delivered with  Chopi Chopi . The largest yacht built by CRN at the time of her 2013 launch, the 262-foot Chopi Chopi remains the Italian yard’s flagship. A 656-square-foot owner’s suite with private terrace is complemented by a helipad capable of landing a three-ton helicopter. The interior ceiling heights are in excess of seven feet. But the focus of the design is on comfortable outdoor living, realized by a large beach club with an adjoining sauna, hammam, and spa with a treatment room.

'Azzam' (590 Feet) 2013, Germany

At a whopping 590-foot, Azzam has held the title of world’s largest yacht since her launch in 2013. Azzam was built by German yard Lürssen in a record three years for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the current President of the United Arab Emirates. Alongside a 95-foot main saloon, Azzam carries a submarine and its own missile defense system. Two gas turbines and two diesel engines propel the yacht through the water more than 32 knots.

'Black Pearl' (350 Feet) 2018, Netherlands

Delivered by Oceanco in 2018, the 350-foot Black Pearl is only the second yacht in the world to be fitted with Dykstra’s DynaRig carbon masts and sailing system. Its eye-catching black sails span 9,514 square feet and can be set in a record seven minutes with the push of a button. The hybrid propulsion system combines wind power with two electric propulsion motors, and its controllable pitch propellers generate enough energy to support the yacht’s hotel load. A waste heat-recovery system is just one of the onboard features that helps to realize the owner’s vision of a “zero-impact” yacht.

'Excellence' (262 Feet) 2019, Germany

Built for an experienced serial owner, American automobile magnate Herb Chambers, the Winch-designed 262-foot Excellence was delivered in 2019. The vessel takes its design inspiration from Motor Yacht A , which Chambers at first didn’t care for but then began to love. The piercing reverse bow (that mimics the beak of an American eagle) and triple-height glass-fronted atrium give it curb appeal but has also led to the yacht being likened to a spaceship. Driven by the desire to have a connection to the outdoors, the design rests upon a symbiotic relation between the indoors and out and was ultimately successful, partially due to the use hundreds of square feet of curved, mirrored glass panels.

'Koru' (417 feet) 2023, Netherlands

Oceanco’s 417-foot Koru , commissioned by Jeff Bezos, is a three-masted, black-hulled schooner with a bowsprit, classic lines, and white superstructure. Reportedly costing $450 million to build and accompanied by a 246-foot custom Damen support yacht  Wingman , the new vessel is the world’s largest sailing yacht (knocking S/Y A off the top spot). Koru also holds the title of the largest superyacht ever built in the Netherlands and the tallest sailing yacht in the world, with masts that measure over 230 feet.

'Obsidian' (417 feet) 2023, Netherlands

Feadship’s 2023 delivery Obsidian has the appearance of a spaceship. But the boat’s technically advanced propulsion package, described as having a 90 percent reduction in total CO2 emissions, is what places it on this list, carrying the Dutch builder one step closer to its goal of achieving a zero-emission superyacht by 2030. The hybrid diesel-electric system is designed into a single-floor engine room creating additional interior space for owners, guests, and crew. With no drive shafts or rudders, the steering is done through a pair of electric Veth contrarotating thrusters. The diesel generators will also run on HVO, a second-generation biodiesel that manufacturers describe as a net-zero CO2 fuel. A low profile, horizontal styling features, and clean exterior shapes are a preamble for the yacht’s interior, which includes an underwater observation area—known as the Aqua Lounge.

'Luminance' (417 feet) 2023, Germany

Delivered in late 2023, Lürssen’s eighth largest build, Luminance , ranks as the 12th largest yacht in the world and is the 30th yacht built by the German shipyard with an exterior design by Espen Øino. The six-deck behemoth is one of the most significant yachts to be launched this year, with an internal volume of 9,000 GT, a beam of 66 feet, and an interior by Francois Zuretti. The gigayacht features two helipads, two Jacuzzis, a large swimming pool, and a distinctive stretched bow.

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