PAGE 6 • SPRING 2005 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
FEATURED SAILBOAT • THE MIRABELLA V
By Charlie Nobles
M
irabella V, the largest single-masted sailing vessel retracted draft was a building requirement so that Mr.
afloat today, is one of the most ambitious yacht Vittoria could get the boat into Palm Beach Harbor.
design and construction projects of our time.
If you actually did sell all your Internet stocks before the
Designed by legendary naval architect Ron Holland, market crash and are interested in chartering Mirabella V, visit
Mirabella V was the brainchild of businessman Joe www.mirabellayachts.com for more information. You may also
Vittoria, former chairman and CEO of Avis. Vittoria, email Jacqui Beadon, who operates the chartering company for
reportedly tired of seeing all the 200+ foot motor yachts Mirabella V at Jacqui@beadonyachts.com.
the latest group of young technology billionaires was
R
putting to sea, decided to show the world that it was
possible to marry the grace and performance of a sailing
sloop with the amenities of the best-equipped motor
yachts. The astounding result is the 247-foot long, 292-
foot masted Mirabella V. Launched in mid-2004, it is
Joe’s fifth in a series of custom designed boats.
Built of composite materials, Mirabella V is capable of
sustaining speeds around 16 knots, and sails surprisingly
well to windward. She features six spacious, solid teak
en-suite guest cabins, and is currently available for
charter. But start saving your pennies now: even if
you’re planning on splitting the cost with 11 friends —
the maximum number of guests typically allowed is 12
— a single week charter will set you and your friends
back a bit over $20,800 each at Mirabella V’s weekly
Photo credit: Andy Walder
charter rate of $250,000. But hey, the meals, open-air
movie theater and pool with Jacuzzi are included along
with impeccable service from your crew of 13-16.
If the accompanying photos don’t adequately portray the
magnitude of the world’s largest sloop, perhaps some of
the facts about it will…Mirabella V’s boom weighs 2700
kg. (watch out for that accidental jibe!) She has 110
km of electrical wiring throughout. She displaces over
750 tons. Her lift-bulb keel alone, the heaviest in the
world, weighs 150 tons. When retracted, the boat draws
13 feet. After spending the requisite eight minutes to
A double decker-bus fits inside the hull of Mirabella V
lower the keel, the draft becomes 33 feet. The shallower
Photo credit: Julian Hickman
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