The sail of the century …
Launched in 1992, Star Clipper was the second clipper ships since 1911 to be granted the certificate of Sailing Passenger Vessel by Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. Her sister Star Flyer was the first a year earlier.
Both Clipper and Flyer are four-masted, square-rigged barquentines, 360ft long, with 36,000 sq-ft of sail and carry up to 170 passengers and 75 crew members. They hold the record for the tallest masts in the world at 226ft above the waterline.
The two ships filled a niche in the market calling for the casual yet elegant style of a private yacht sailing vacation as opposed to the bigger-is-better theory of the huge floating hotel-cruise ships. Their big sister, Royal Clipper, joined them in 2000.
PASSENGERS : 170
BERTHS : 85
CREW : 72
FACILITIES : One dining room (one sitting), library, two outside swimming pools.