Sailing Yacht A: World’s tallest superyacht sets sail

CORRECTION - The luxury sail-assisted motor yacht 'Sailing Yacht A' passes Elsinore, North Sealand, Denmark, on February 6, 2017.
The yacht, owned by Russian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko, was build in Kiel, Germany and is now passing through Denmark on its way to Kristiansand in Norway. / AFP / Scanpix Denmark / Keld Navntoft / Denmark OUT / The erroneous mention appearing in the metadata of this photo by Keld Navntoft has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [sail-assisted motor yacht 'Sailing Yacht A'] instead of [motor yacht 'M/Y A']. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention from all your online services and delete it from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it  to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.        (Photo credit should read KELD NAVNTOFT/AFP/Getty Images)
Sailing Yacht A: the world's tallest yacht
01:10 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

Is this the ultimate super yacht?

Sailing Yacht A, Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko’s latest venture, has finally left the Nobiskrug shipyard in Kiel, Germany and will undergo final sea tests before being delivered to its owner.

Estimated to have cost $450 million, the yacht is taller than the Statue of Liberty and, at 143-meters in length, will be the eighth longest superyacht in the world. Its three carbon masts – each measuring more than 90 meters – are the tallest of any boat.

All three masts are able to withstand twice the weight of a commercial Boeing Dreamliner wing.

Designed for a cruising speed of 16 knots (18 mph) and top speed of 21 knots (24 mph), the sails combined will be the same size as a football field.

Melnichenko, estimated by Forbes to be worth $11.6 billion – making him the 139th richest person in the world – will add Sailing Yacht A to his 119-meter Motor Yacht A.

The alphabetically-aware Melnichenko named both boats “A” so they appear at the front of shipping registers.

“Andrey Melnichenko is a man with exceptional vision,” Boat International magazine wrote in 2015 after Super Yacht A’s design details were released.

“Where other yacht owners like to blend into the background, he wants his superyachts to push the boundaries of design, creativity and technology as well as make a statement.

“His first superyacht, Motor Yacht A, rocked the superyacht world with its radical design and now he’s done it again.”