As soon as "boote Exclusiv", the sister magazine of YACHT, which reports on the international superyacht scene every two months, published its new ranking of the 200 largest sailing yachts in the world at the beginning of September, the media pounced on it, from tabloids and the yellow press to the majority of serious daily and weekly newspapers. It seems that the floating luxury companions of the rich and famous exert an enormous attraction on journalists and readers alike.
Where does this fascination for the world of glamour and glitter come from? It certainly cannot be explained by the sheer size of the ships or the immensely high bank balances of their owners. A large part is probably due to the wealth of technical innovation that lies behind the sometimes minimalist, sometimes exuberantly staged luxury - and which is probably not found in such a concentrated form anywhere else in yacht building.
We took the current ranking of sailing superyachts as an opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the scene. What spectacular innovations are the biggest yachts coming up with? Where are developments in rigs heading, which are the most exciting propulsion concepts from an ecological point of view? And above all: What will the next generation, which is currently being planned or built, bring?
Now available in the new issue of YACHT (issue 20/2019, available now in magazine shops and as Digital edition available).
Pascal Schürmann
Editor YACHT
