Seen in these incredible images under full sail for the first times is Oceanco and Vitters' jointly created sailing yacht and largest ketch in the world, the 86 metre Aquijo. The enormous yacht houses two towering masts which together carries a whopping 5,000 square metres of sails with an incredible volume of 1,538 Gross Tons.
Designed by Tripp Design Naval Architects, Aquijo is created as one of the world’s largest high performance sailing yachts. The project benefitted from Oceanco’s craftsmanship and the industry-leading innovation and expertise Vitters Shipyard is known for. Together with interior design studio Dölker & Voges, the team managed to create a race-ready sailing yacht with on board amenities only found on some of the largest motor yachts afloat today.
The yacht boasts a vast aft deck with a selection of seating areas, dining for up to 20 guests, an outdoor grill setup and an indoor/outdoor bar. Wide staircases connect the main deck aft to the swim platform on the deck below allowing guests direct access to the sea. Her extensive beach club area, a unique space rarely found on sailing yachts, is one of Aquijo’s most impressive features, offering a spa area with steam room and sauna and a large hot tub with views out over the water.
Designer Bill Tripp comments on her technical capabilities: “We started out with a lifting keel and fitting the yacht with a very particular rig. From the beginning he made it clear that he didn’t want an aero rig but two masts instead. Boats that size are often three-masted but from an aesthetics point of view he opted for two, which seemed like a reasonable request to us. From there our work involved making the rig controllable and not having too many sails having to go up at the same time. The final configuration essentially makes Aquijo a four-sail yacht which makes her an interesting and fairly easy boat to sail. In Palma we were out in near 30-knots of wind and with a reef in the mizzen and the one in the main and the staysail up, we felt quite comfortable. No one was looking around thinking uh-oh, what’s going to happen next.”
Photos by Stuart Pearce
Y.CO now offers clients the opportunity to charter this one-of-a-kind yacht throughout the Mediterranean this summer season with weekly rates from €400,000. For more information, contact Y.CO.
+377 93 50 12 12