world's largest sailboat mirabella v

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2003: The Launch of the World’s Largest Single-Masted Yacht

November 27, 2003

The yacht Mirabella V was launched at the VT shipbuilding company’s shipyard at Woolston in the city of Southampton in southeastern England. With a length of more than 245 feet (74.7 meters) and a height of 290 feet (88.5 meters), Mirabella V is the largest single-masted yacht (sloop) ever built.

The designer of Mirabella V was Ronald John Holland, a naval architect who has specialized in the design of large sailing yachts. Mirabella V was built by VT specifically for Joseph Vittoria, who served as chairman and CEO of the Avis car rental company from 1987 to 1997 and helped facilitate that company’s acquisition by Hospitality Franchise Systems, Inc. Vittoria had Mirabella V created as part of his fleet of charter yachts, and he named her after previous vessels that he owned. Vittoria had developed a love for sailing while growing up in Long Island and working as a “launch boy” at a yacht club in the village of Sea Cliff on the western region of that island.

Hundreds of people lined up along the banks of River Itchen to watch the launch of Mirabella V. After Vittoria’s wife Luciana christened Mirabella V with a bottle of champagne, a hydraulic ram helped push the yacht down the wooden slipways and into the water.

“The event was historic in more ways than one,” reported Yachting World magazine. “Not only is Mirabella V the largest sloop in the world but it is the last vessel ever to be launched at VT’s Woolston yard, which has been sold and will shortly be demolished.” Phil Rood, VT’s press officer, told Yachting World that more than 600 ships had been launched at that location during the company’s 100-year existence. Rood also noted, “It seems fitting that the last vessel to go down the ways is the biggest of her type. It’s an historic moment.” Mirabella V remained a part of Vittoria’s fleet until 2013, when she was acquired by a new owner and renamed M5.

For more information on M5 (formerly Mirabella V), please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabella_V

Additional information on this yacht’s 2003 launch is available at https://www.yachtingworld.com/mirabella-v/historic-launch-of-worlds-largest-sloop-mirabella-v-38969

Photo Credit: ArnoWinter (Creative Commons)

Iconic yachts: Mirabella V

Mirabella V became a larger part of my inner thoughts around 1996 when, at meetings with my old friend Bob Derecktor, it became clear that my ideas for a large sloop could be realised. Bob did not live long enough to share in the actual creation, but without him I’m not sure I would have continued with the project.

I then turned to Ron Holland, who created the profile that produced for my family the excitement necessary to leave reality behind and go for it. So started four years of study on the practicalities of building a sloop of this size, complicated by my brief to Ron that I wanted it to perform well upwind and be built in composite. With the help of Julian Smith of High Modulus, who had been assisting since my early days with Bob Derecktor, we slowly solved the many problems surrounding the creation of a 75 metre composite hull that must withstand the forces from a 90 metre rig and a 150 tonne keel 10 metres deep when sailing, lifting to 4 metres for port entry. It was clear that it would flex somewhat, but we needed High Modulus and Ron Holland Design to confirm that it was manageable. To reassure us that our calculations were correct, we went to VT Shipbuilding, which had been building minesweepers in composite for some time, and its experienced engineering departments helped to bring it all together.

Mirabella V achieves all that I asked for: she is fast and yet provides all the comforts of a motor yacht without the noise and fuel consumption. To my knowledge, no other sailboat delivers this combination and in addition has a spacious sky deck for lounging, participating in the helming or seating 18 to 20 for a barbecue lunch or starlit dinner followed by a surround-sound widescreen film. Twenty people can sit around the freshwater spa on the foredeck, and a mast lift for three offers views far into the distance. The yacht is the largest built in composite and is believed to be the largest composite structure in the world.

‘After seven wonderful years creating Mirabella V and six exciting years sailing in her, it was time to move on,’ said Joe Vittoria, when she was sold to a private owner in June 2011 . ‘She is in good hands which was very important for us.’

Mirabella V has now been renamed M5 and is undergoing an extensive refit at Pendennis Plus in Falmouth, UK, which will involve redesigning the stern and extending it by 3 metres, adapting both exterior and interior to the new owner’s needs, replacing the main engines and generators and upgrading many other systems, overhauling the mast and rig and repainting the hull. The refit is expected to be completed in 2013.

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Mirabella V: Stretching the Limits

By Barry Pickthall
Updated: October 4, 2007

Everything about Mirabella V is BIG.

At 246 feet LOA, she is the largest composite- structured yacht in the world. Her carbon five-spreader rig stands 292 feet high-the tallest mast. Everything about this 740-ton mammoth of the seas is massive-including her charter fee of $250,000 a week.

This megayacht, built by VT Shipbuilding in England at a cost of approximately $50 million, was designed by Ron Holland, but she is very much the brain-child of her American owner, Joseph V. Vittoria, formerly CEO of Avis Rent-A-Car System Inc. He already owns two 40-meter yachts, Mirabella and Mirabella III , and was driven to add to this fleet by the strong desire to develop the ultimate in status symbols. Why did he decide to push existing rig technology to new limits for a cruising yacht, with all the risks that this may encompass? “Very simple, Vittoria replied with a smile. “Someone was going to do it, so why not me? The challenge has been to build the biggest rig in the world.

Now that she has been launched, Guinness World Records will need an additional page to include all the superlatives about this boat. The hull weighs in at a mere 85 tons and draws a little more than 6 feet, but that is without her 150-ton lifting keel, which gives her a maximum draft of 33 feet. Her structure encloses 80 tons of insulation, six luxurious double cabins for guests and a host of less welcome additions determined by the MCA and other organizations that regulate the construction of large yachts slated for the charter trade. These organizations have re-written their rule books for composite superyachts around this project.

“These rules have diluted many of the weight advantages of building in composite”, said Ron Holland. He pointed to the MCA’s insistence that all doors and frames within the yacht have to be made of steel. “We understand their concerns for a fire on board, but unlike powered yachts of this size with their multiple decks, Mirabella ‘s guests and crew have only one floor to climb out on deck.”

“Everything within the boat, including the composite construction, is all made from fire-retardant materials”, Vittoria added. “We think many of these new rules are over-zealous.”

The practicalities are that if a fire takes hold in the galley, for instance, the heat will not even penetrate to the other side of the bulkheads for an hour at least, and should have been put out long before by the yacht’s pressurized fine-spray sprinkler system. Another safety feature: There are no naked flames for the chef to flambé anything. The giant cooktop on which he prepares meals for 12 guests and 13 crew operates on energy induction, so the elements remain cool to the touch and only transfer heat to special magnetic pans.

This design has really pushed the industry to new levels of sophistication in her rig. Mirabella ‘s reacher sets a record as the world’s largest sail-20,450 square feet (the equivalent of almost three tennis courts). Existing sailcloth, including the famed Cuben Fiber, proved too fragile, so Doyle Sailmakers worked with Warwick Mills to develop a special Vectran cloth specifically to meet the challenge. The furling system controlling this sail tips the scales at 3.3 tons, but this is dwarfed by the main headstay furler, which weighs a hefty 5.4 tons. Sheet sizes were another limiting factor to be overcome. No ropes on the market could cope with the loadings on the sails, so Gleistein Ropes developed a buoyant 12-strand 34-millimeter rope to provide a 110-ton safety margin. “That left us having to re-design all the winches and deck blocks to cope with the potential loading, Holland said.

Among the most innovative aspects of this megayacht is her mainsail. Weighing 1.4 tons, it was too heavy to be lifted onto the boat in one piece, so Doyle designed a clever seven-section segmented sail, in which six compression-sprung full-length battens act like curtain rods to link one loop-edged segment with the next. Because of its weight, final assembly had to take place when the sail was bent onto the rig, but should one panel require repair, this can be taken off the yacht with relative ease, leaving the rest of the sail in place.

And the cost of these sails? “Well, I’ve already told my skipper that delivery trips will be made under power. It will be cheaper to replace Mirabella ‘s two engines than to think of buying new sails”, Vittoria jokes.

This project began to form in Vittoria’s mind five years ago, but he says that his wife, Luciana, who manages the family’s charter fleet and strongly influenced Mirabella ‘s interior design and styling, vetoed everything he came up with. In the end, Vittoria called Ron Holland, whom he’d first met in 1974 when he bought one of the designer’s race boats. “He came around to our house with four drawings and asked the family to vote on them”, Vittoria said. “My three sons and I voted for the most racy-looking design. My wife and daughter chose the final design with the dark blue line along the coachroof…. I’ve got used to it now.”

The design began as a 60-meter yacht, and simply grew as the project developed. Holland and Vittoria chose VT Shipbuilding (formerly Vosper Thornycroft), because it specializes in very large composite structures. “They build 65-meter minesweepers here so they had the expertise in composite engineering, and they think big”, Vittoria explained.

Ron Holland’s Vision

Prior to Mirabella ‘s launch, we had the opportunity to sit down with her designer, Ron Holland, for a little technical talk, and came away with a deeper understanding of just how groundbreaking this yacht is, and what a design and engineering challenge she had been. Holland said the first design discussions took place in 1999, and it seems that was none too early, for there was a great deal of detailed engineering to do before construction ever started.

Very little on Mirabella is off the shelf, from the top of her mast, whose height prevents her passage through the Panama Canal, to the tips of her twin rudders, designed as a pair to get enough surface area for steering without excessive draft. The main boom is 90 feet long and big enough to allow the sail to drop into it for storage, dimensions which qualify it for superyacht status on its own. The intermediate booms-what Holland calls “mega-battens”-are bigger than many masts.

In order to carry the anticipated 40-ton loads, the running sheets had to be designed for 110 tons breaking strength and still be pliable enough for self-stowing. Once that hurdle was overcome, then the custom winches could be designed, and only then, finally, the deck layout.

Mirabella is the first composite yacht to achieve MCA 500-ton certification, and is the largest composite structure ever to be classed by Det Norske Veritas. Because her parameters exceeded all the published rules, design calculations had to be done from scratch, entirely by “proof of concept,” and approvals gained by negotiation with the regulators.

Finally, there were the many little things not ordinarily in a yacht designer’s brief. As an example, custom watchmaker Arnold & Son is handmaking Mirabella watches, one model for the charterer and a different one for his guests. The design, of course, required input from Holland and his approval of the finished product.

-Dudley Dawson

Initial sailing trials saw Mirabella sailing upwind at 8 knots in 14 knots of apparent wind. “It took a bit of time to get her up to speed, but once in the groove, she sails very easily”, Vittoria reported. Holland predicts that she will reach 20 knots broad reaching in a good breeze, but Mrs. Vittoria, who has a dislike for sailing at any sort of angle, has insisted on a safety system that pays out the sheets automatically whenever the yacht exceeds 20 degrees of heel.

What do you get for $250,000 a week? Apart from the six-star accommodations and a crew who among them speak five languages, the yacht has two swimming pools sunk into the foredeck, one filled with sea water, the other doubling as a freshwater Jacuzzi. Then there is the giant open-air movie theatre on the main deck and an entertainment and barbecue area aft. The stern garage houses a 29-foot Hinckley launch, personal watercraft and diving equipment, but the pièce de résistance is a ride in the three-man crow’s nest that whisks you at elevator speed, 200 feet up the mast.

The toughest task during this three-year project was,”convincing the wife”, Joe Vittoria said emphatically.

How Big is Mirabella V ?

Compared to a J-Class yacht, above, the scale of Mirabella V is obvious. Just consider the size of the mast. At 290-feet, and taller with antennas and instruments, she can not fit under the Golden Gate Bridge, which stands 220 feet above the water. A Hudson River cruise is off limits since she will not make it under the Verrazano Narrows bridge either.

The mast is more than half the size of the 555-foot Washington Monument, one of the tallest masonry structures in the world, and would reach to about the 24th floor of the Empire State Building. It supports nearly 40,000 square feet of sail, or nearly an acre. That’s canvas, not grass. From the keel tip to the top of the mast, she measures 328 feet.

Mirabella ‘s mast isn’t the only item that will drop jaws. Consider that the keel alone weighs nearly as much as 100 SUVS! And the hull has so much volume that you could drop in several double-decker buses. That’s big.

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M5 (ex Mirabella V) restyled by Pendennis Shipyard

M5 's stern was remodeled at the pendennis shipyard in falmouth, uk and completed her sail trials successful..

M5 was originally built in 2004 as Mirabella V . Until she is still the largest sloop with over 75 meters (length of the hull) and an almost 90 meters long mast.

Designed and manufactured by Carbo-Link with OYS making the fittings, the 34 new carbon fiber stays, and titanium fittings with built-in dynamic fiber optics have decreased the weight of the rig by 18 tons. The sail trials not only established the M5 ‘s potential speed but tested the new system and balance of the yacht under sail for the first time. During several hours on the water with challenging sea conditions, the remodeled boat performed well, reaching 17.7 knots in 18-23 knots of wind.

The project, due to be completed over the next month, has seen a collaboration between Pendennis and the original designer Ron Holland , to achieve the Owners idea of extending the stern by 3m which has created a new sleeker profile providing an impressive aft deck area. During the refit, Pendennis has completed extensive engineering works and the interiors have been redesigned by UK company Redman Whiteley Dixon .

M5 carries now a water plane on aft deck

Stepping the huge mast

Close to the wind when she was MIRABELLA V

Main Specifications of Sailing Yacht M5

	Vosper Thornycroft
	75.22 m (pre-remodel) / 77.6m (post-remodel)
	14.82
	10 m
	Ron Holland
	Ron Holland
	Redman Whitely Dixon
	Composite - Eglass
	2004

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Historic launch of world’s largest sloop, Mirabella V

November 27, 2003

David Glenn joined the crowds thronging the banks of the River Itchen to watch the world's largest sloop Mirabella V emerge from VT's Woolston yard, the last yacht to launch from this famous ship-building site

The much awaited and considerably delayed launch of Joe Vittoria’s 247ft (75.20m), £30 million, Mirabella V, the world’s largest sloop, took place at the VT shipyard at Woolston in Southampton today in front of hundreds of people lining the banks of the River Itchen.

Due down the ways at 1200 GMT after Vittoria’s wife Luciana had released the traditional bottle of christening champagne, the 500-ton composite hull, minus its 150-ton lifting keel, had to be given a nudge with a hydraulic ram to set it off along its greased wooden slipways.

Mirabella V should have been launched some six months ago and the tallow that had been put in place between the runway and the wooden cradle, in which the yacht sat, had hardened over time causing a 15-minute delay.

The event was historic in more ways than one. Not only is Mirabella V the largest sloop in the world but it is the last vessel ever to be launched at VT’s Woolston yard which has been sold and will shortly be demolished. According to VT’s press officer Phil Rood more than 600 ships have been launched from this site in the company’s 100 years history. “It seems fitting that the last vessel to go down the ways is the biggest of her type. It’s an historic moment.”

As we stood watching and waiting for the massive hull to slide into a sun-bathed Itchen River following a night of storms, a great cheer from the 250 VT ship workers and Joe Vittoria’s guests signalled the moment had arrived and the gleaming, white painted hull slid effortlessly towards us. Her broad stern created more of a wave than a splash but the precision operation went smoothly with only inches to spare either side of the hull. Divers were sent down to remove the cradle still attached to the hull and then Mirabella was shepherded alongside a nearby wharf by tugs.

Mirabella V will be towed to Portsmouth on Sunday 30 November where she will be moored alongside in the Naval dockyard to have the steel fin of her lifting keel lowered into its casing through an opening in the deck. She will then be floated into a flooded dry dock on the floor of which will be the bulb of the 150-ton keel. The dock will then be drained, the steel encapsulated bulb offered up to the fin and the two sections welded together. If observers think the hull of this extraordinary yacht is impressive, wait until they see the mast. The 285ft (87m) carbon fibre tube is still in the Porchester yard of Halmatic (owned by VT) where is was constructed but it will shortly be taken on a barge to Empress dock in Southampton where it will take a team of riggers two weeks to dress it during December. The standing rod rigging from Ocean Yacht Services, weighs 15 tonnes alone and each Bamar furler for the headsails more than 3.5 tons each. As John Channon of Bamar said: “Every job needed to dress the mast will take a team!” The plan is to step the mast between Christmas and the New Year. Nobody can be quite sure when the first sailing trials will take place but the most optimistic prediction is late January 2004. Certainly by February or March Mirabella V will be preparing for her first outing and Yachting World and yachtingworld.com will be there to record yet another remarkable moment in sailing history.

Mirabella V is owned by Joe Vittoria who sold the car rental company Avis Inc in 1987 after becoming chairman and CEO. Together with Mirabella C and Mirabella 111C, both sailing yachts of more than 130ft (40m), he will charter Mirabella V to a maximum of 12 guests who will pay US$250,000 a week for the yacht. Mirabella V’s first charter obligation will be the Cannes film festival in May and next winter she will head for the Caribbean.

Tel: +66 (0) 808-290-122
[email protected]
121 King Street, Melbourne

S/Y Mirabella V

Mirabella V is the jewel in the crown of a fleet of superyachts that began with Mirabella I, which began construction in 1990 in Thailand. Mirabella I, III and V were owned by Joseph Vittoria, who was the former CEO and Chairman of Avis Car rental.

Joseph Vittoria required his yachts to be fast when sailing together with the luxury of superyacht amenities. Mirabella V surpassed all expectations of the yachting world and at 75 metres LOA and with an 89.5 metre high mast is the largest single mast sailboat in the world. (Mirabella V has recorded impressive speeds over 19 knots under sail). Joseph Vittoria also specified that this superyacht would be able to use Palm Beach, Florida harbour. In order to achieve this, a lifting keel was designed to reduce the draft to 3.81 metres when lifted from 10.21 metres when fully deployed.

Mirabella V was designed by Ron Holland, the famous New Zealand superyacht designer who first became known for his successful racing yacht designs in the 1970s. Joseph Vittoria’s wife, Luciana assisted in the interior décor specification and design. Whilst in the early design stages, load and structural finite stress analysis scenarios were simulated using high-tech specialist computer software of the proposed hull and rig. This very important work was completed by High Modulus Europe Ltd in Hamble near Southampton, United Kingdom. (High Modulus are now a part of Gurit).

Usually, superyachts of this size are built from steel or aluminium. Mirabella V, however, is constructed from an aramid foam core and vinylester. This material was chosen in order to reduce build time and maintenance and has improved acoustic thermal insulation properties when compared to steel and aluminium hulls and superstructures.

Mirabella V was built at the BVT Surface Fleet Yard, which was previously known as Vosper Thornycroft Shipbuilding Yard in Woolston, Southampton. She was launched on 27th November 2003 and later re-named M5 and re-launched in September 2013 following a refit and extended stern and transom modifications by the new owner.

Scott Taylor and his Superyacht Painters team repaired the keel blade of Mirabella V following a collision in 2005. This was a specialist ceramic fairing job carried out at the BVT Surface Fleet Yard. They also repainted the hull and deckhouse using Awlgrip paint and renewed the anti-fouling using Hempel underwater system. Also in 2005 Scott Taylor and his skilled painters completed interior paintwork and varnishing in Genoa, Italy.

Read Project Manager Paul Johnson’s Mirabella V testimonial here .

Read the VT Shipbuilding Project Manager Peter Holloway’s (Sub-contractors) testimonial here .

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COMMENTS

Mirabella V - Wikipedia
Mirabella V was designed by yacht designer Ron Holland. ... Her 1,833 m 2 (19,730 sq ft) UPS genoa is the world's largest sail, excluding spinnakers. Accommodation
Inside Mirabella V – the largest sloop in the world
Nov 10, 2003 · Mirabella’s reacher at 20,450ft2 (1,900m2) will be the biggest sail in the world and will be made by Doyle Sailmakers, who have been commissioned for three sails, including a working jib ...
M5 Yacht • Rodney Lewis $50M Sailing Superyacht
The Sailing Yacht M5, originally known as Mirabella V, is the world’s largest single-masted yacht. The yacht is powered by two Caterpillar marine engines, reaching top speeds of 14 knots. The SY M5 was designed by renowned yacht designer Ron Holland and constructed under the supervision of High Modulus Europe Ltd.
2003: The Launch of the World’s Largest Single-Masted Yacht
Nov 27, 2019 · The yacht Mirabella V was launched at the VT shipbuilding company’s shipyard at Woolston in the city of Southampton in southeastern England. With a length of more than 245 feet (74.7 meters) and a height of 290 feet (88.5 meters), Mirabella V is the largest single-masted yacht (sloop) ever built.
Iconic yachts: Mirabella V - BOAT International
Jan 14, 2015 · The yacht is the largest built in composite and is believed to be the largest composite structure in the world. Update ‘After seven wonderful years creating Mirabella V and six exciting years sailing in her, it was time to move on,’ said Joe Vittoria, when she was sold to a private owner in June 2011 .
Mirabella V: Stretching the Limits - Yachting
Oct 4, 2007 · Everything about Mirabella V is BIG. At 246 feet LOA, she is the largest composite- structured yacht in the world. Her carbon five-spreader rig stands 292 feet high-the tallest mast. Everything about this 740-ton mammoth of the seas is massive-including her charter fee of $250,000 a week.
M5 Yacht (ex Mirabella V) - the biggest sloop in the world
Feb 14, 2014 · M5 was originally built in 2004 as Mirabella V.Until she is still the largest sloop with over 75 meters (length of the hull) and an almost 90 meters long mast. Designed and manufactured by Carbo-Link with OYS making the fittings, the 34 new carbon fiber stays, and titanium fittings with built-in dynamic fiber optics have decreased the weight of the rig by 18 tons.
Historic launch of world’s largest sloop, Mirabella V
Nov 27, 2003 · The much awaited and considerably delayed launch of Joe Vittoria’s 247ft (75.20m), £30 million, Mirabella V, the world’s largest sloop, took place at the VT shipyard at Woolston in ...
World’s largest single-masted yacht returns! – Cool San Diego ...
Sep 21, 2022 · The world's largest single-masted yacht has returned to San Diego! The M5, originally called the Mirabella V, is now docked on the Embarcadero near the Maritime Museum of San Diego. You can find it directly across from the County Administration Building. I spotted the towering mast while walking nearby, so I had to go take…
S/Y Mirabella V - History - Yacht Refit Asia
Jul 6, 2023 · Joseph Vittoria required his yachts to be fast when sailing together with the luxury of superyacht amenities. Mirabella V surpassed all expectations of the yachting world and at 75 metres LOA and with an 89.5 metre high mast is the largest single mast sailboat in the world. (Mirabella V has recorded impressive speeds over 19 knots under sail).