Mirabella V
Encyclopedia
Mirabella V is a sloop
-rigged super yacht
launched in 2003. At an estimated cost of over US$50million, she is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.
of the Avis car rental company, Joe Vittoria, and used for luxury private charter
s. All the Mirabellas, including Mirabella V, were subsequently sold and are now owned and operated by others, the Vittoria family has no connection with them any longer. Mirabella V is no longer available for charter under her new ownership.
Vittoria grew up on Long Island and worked as a "launch boy" at a yacht club in Sea Cliff, New York
, where he developed a love for sailing. Two of his sisters married sailors who helped him learn and continue his enjoyment of sailing. Vittoria lived in Greenwich, Connecticut
from 1980 to 1991 and still has a home and membership in the Belle Haven Club, there, although he and his wife, Luciana, later moved to Palm Beach, Florida
. Vittoria made his fortune helping organise the buyout and resale of Avis in the 1980s.
"We can go out on conditions power boats don't want to go out in," Vittoria said in 2010. A few years previously, he said, "we were doing 19-plus knots in 8- to 12- foot seas off Monaco."
To achieve this, the design called for a leisure space maximizing single-mast sloop
rig, composite construction, and the exceptional performance of over 20 knots (39.2 km/h) to windward under sail.
A final demand was that the yacht be able to use the harbour at Palm Beach
, Florida
. This required the use of a lifting keel
to reduce draft
.
Mirabella V was designed by Irish
-based, New Zealand
-born yacht-designer Ron Holland. Technical aspects of the composite construction of hull and rig were supervised by the Hamble
-based firm High Modulus Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of a New Zealand company.
or aluminium
, a composite structure was chosen for her to achieve three goals:
One of the design challenges for the vessel was finding ropes strong enough to pull the sails in, Vittoria said.
and before that Vosper Thornycroft), yard at Woolston, Hampshire, England
. Luciana Vittoria specified the interior styling.
, similar to a garage, has a 29 feet (8.8 m)-long tender for transporting guests to shore. Also on the boat are Lasers, jet skis, ski boats, kayaks and three remote-controlled models of Mirabella V. On the yacht's deck, near the bow, there are swimming pools that are also used as storage for two launches.
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
-rigged super yacht
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
launched in 2003. At an estimated cost of over US$50million, she is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.
Ownership
Mirabella V was built as part of a fleet of super-yachts initially owned by former Chairman and CEOChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Avis car rental company, Joe Vittoria, and used for luxury private charter
Yacht charter
Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and travelling to various coastal or island destinations. This is usually a vacation activity, but it also can be a corporate event....
s. All the Mirabellas, including Mirabella V, were subsequently sold and are now owned and operated by others, the Vittoria family has no connection with them any longer. Mirabella V is no longer available for charter under her new ownership.
Vittoria grew up on Long Island and worked as a "launch boy" at a yacht club in Sea Cliff, New York
Sea Cliff, New York
The Village of Sea Cliff is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 4,995...
, where he developed a love for sailing. Two of his sisters married sailors who helped him learn and continue his enjoyment of sailing. Vittoria lived in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
from 1980 to 1991 and still has a home and membership in the Belle Haven Club, there, although he and his wife, Luciana, later moved to Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
. Vittoria made his fortune helping organise the buyout and resale of Avis in the 1980s.
Design
The owner's specifications called for a yacht which would combine fast sailing with the sort of luxury previously available only in motoryachts."We can go out on conditions power boats don't want to go out in," Vittoria said in 2010. A few years previously, he said, "we were doing 19-plus knots in 8- to 12- foot seas off Monaco."
To achieve this, the design called for a leisure space maximizing single-mast sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
rig, composite construction, and the exceptional performance of over 20 knots (39.2 km/h) to windward under sail.
A final demand was that the yacht be able to use the harbour at Palm Beach
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. This required the use of a lifting keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
to reduce draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
.
Mirabella V was designed by Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-based, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-born yacht-designer Ron Holland. Technical aspects of the composite construction of hull and rig were supervised by the Hamble
Hamble
Hamble may refer to:* The last frontier film location.* The River Hamble in Hampshire, England**Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble* Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Southampton, England...
-based firm High Modulus Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of a New Zealand company.
Use of composites
While vessels of Mirabella Vs size are typically made from steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
or aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, a composite structure was chosen for her to achieve three goals:
- speedy construction
- reduced maintenance (composite materials do not require regular repainting to inhibit corrosion)
- improved thermal and acoustic insulation.
Unprecedented rig
Historically, yachts over about 25 metres long were typically built with more than one mast in order divide a vessel's sail area into smaller and more-easily handled units. Today's technologies have improved reliability of both larger sails and spars and simplified their handling, allowing Mirabella V to be constructed with the largest mast and largest jib of any sailing craft ever built.One of the design challenges for the vessel was finding ropes strong enough to pull the sails in, Vittoria said.
Construction
Mirabella V was constructed at the former BVT Surface Fleet, (formerly VT ShipbuildingVT Group
VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...
and before that Vosper Thornycroft), yard at Woolston, Hampshire, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Luciana Vittoria specified the interior styling.
Dimensions
The scale of Mirabella V lends itself to superlatives:- More than twice the length of the massive J-classJ-class yachtThe J-Class serves as a rating for large sailing yachts designed between 1930 and 1937. Reserved for a wealthy elite of yachtsmen, these boats were used to compete with the best sailing talents in three races of the America's Cup.-The 1930s:...
yachts of the 1930s, she is large enough for a double-decker busDouble-decker busA double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
to drive inside the hull without protruding out the top. - Her mast extends 88.5 metres (292 ft) above the waterline, almost twice the height of Nelson's ColumnNelson's ColumnNelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian...
in Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The compression load at the base of the mast is over 440 tonnes. - With her keel fully lowered, Mirabella Vs draught of 10.09 m (32 ft 10 in) is a few inches more than the 70,000 tonne ocean linerOcean linerAn ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
QE2RMS Queen Elizabeth 2Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
. - With a beamBeam (nautical)The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 14.80 metres, Mirabella V is wider than a Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Type 42 destroyerType 42 destroyerThe Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy... - She cannot pass under any bridge she can navigate to (there are bridges high enough e.g. Royal Gorge BridgeRoyal Gorge BridgeThe Royal Gorge Bridge is a tourist attraction near Cañon City, Colorado, within a theme park. The bridge deck hangs above the Arkansas River, and held the record of highest bridge in the world from 1929 until 2003, when it was surpassed by the Beipanjiang River 2003 Bridge in China. It is a...
, Colorado, but these are over rivers or over land), which includes the Centennial BridgeCentennial Bridge, PanamaPanama's Centennial Bridge is a major bridge crossing the Panama Canal. It was built to supplement the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas, and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway; upon its opening in 2004, it became only the second permanent crossing of the canal.-...
over the Panama CanalPanama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. - Her UPS (GenoaGenoa (sail)The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below. It is a type of large jib or staysail used on bermuda rigged craft that overlaps the main sail, sometimes eliminating it. It is used on single-masted...
) is the largest sail in the world (1,833 m² / 19,730 sq ft), excluding spinnakers, since Kokomo III now has a 22000 sq ft (2,043.9 m²) spinnaker.
| Metric | Imperial | |
| LOA | 75.2 m | 246 ft 8 in |
| LWL Waterline length The Waterline length is a measurement of ships and boats. The term denotes the length of the vessel at the point where it sits in the water. It excludes the total length of the boat, such as features that are out of the water... (full load) |
61 m | 200' |
| Beam Beam (nautical) The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position... |
14.82 m | 48 ft 7 in |
| Draught Draft (hull) The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained... (board up) |
3.9 m | 12 ft 8 in |
| Draught (board down) | 10.09 m | 32 ft 10 in |
| Lifting Keel Keel In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event... |
150 tonnes | 165 tons (US) |
| Displacement Displacement (fluid) In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks... (full load) |
740 tonnes | 816 tons (US) |
| Mast Mast (sailing) The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship... Height (above waterline) |
88.5 metres | 292 feet |
| Sail area (mainsail+working jib) | 2385 m² | 25,675 sq ft |
| Sail area (mainsail+reacher) | 3380 m² | 36,490 sq ft |
| Main engines (2): power at 2100 rpm | 788Kw | 2 x 1,056 bhp |
Accommodations
The boat has a master suite on the main deck and six cabins for as many as 12 guests. To avoid scuffing the teak wood decks, visitors are asked by the crew to remove their shoes. The boat's lazaretteLazarette
A lazarette is a special area on a boat. It is often an area near or aft of the cockpit. The word is similar to and probably derived from Lazaretto....
, similar to a garage, has a 29 feet (8.8 m)-long tender for transporting guests to shore. Also on the boat are Lasers, jet skis, ski boats, kayaks and three remote-controlled models of Mirabella V. On the yacht's deck, near the bow, there are swimming pools that are also used as storage for two launches.