From the bridge of the three-masted ship, the Sea Cloud Spirit, the captain shouted the words we were all waiting for.
“Let’s raise the sails!” she shouted, after shutting off the engines, as she maneuvered to maintain an optimal angle for her 18 sailors to climb the shrouds and unfurl the ship’s 44,132 square feet of sail by hand.
Like acrobats, the crew climbed the masts to the upper topgallant sails that towered nearly 200 feet above us. The ship’s captain, Vukota Stojanovic, later insisted that none of this was for show. “Whenever there is an opportunity to sail, we sail,” he said.
For the next hour, the crew pulled on the ropes until all 28 sails flapped in the wind, propelling the 452-foot-long ship, the world’s largest passenger sailboat on which the sails are hoisted by hand, toward its home. first port of call. , Portofino, Italy.
At a time when cruise lines are filling their increasingly gargantuan ships with water parks and basketball courts, the 136-passenger Sea Cloud Spirit stands out with its old-fashioned clipper design and wooden decks. She is the newest ship from Hamburg-based Sea Cloud Cruises, and although she is the company’s largest, Sea Cloud said she wanted to leave room for passengers to connect with the surrounding elements.
“Wherever you are on the ship, you feel like you’re sitting on the water,” said Amelia Dominick, 71, a retired real estate agent from Cologne, Germany, who was on her third cruise aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit.
I arrived for a four-night “test sail” from Nice, France, to the Liguria region of Italy, designed to entice passengers to sign up for a longer cruise. This is what I found.
The boat and the cabins.
The Spirit has many amenities and luxuries, including a gym, library, hair salon, and a spa with a Finnish sauna overlooking the sea. The deck designs are spacious, with nooks created for privacy and relaxation.
Sixty-nine spacious cabins have windows that open to the sea. My room, a junior suite on the third deck, had two large arched windows, mahogany tables, a balcony, and a comfortable sofa and armchair. The marble bathroom was luxurious, with a gold-plated sink and a large jetted tub.
The elegant interior design is inspired by the original Sea Cloud, built in 1931 for Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress to General Foods Corporation, with shiny wood paneling and gold trim. The Sea Cloud was the largest private sailing yacht in the world before Post delivered it to the U.S. Navy for use as a weather reporting ship during World War II. The four-masted, 64-passenger ship has since been restored to her former glory and will sail the Aegean and Adriatic this summer.
Navigation
The experience felt authentic, even before raising the sails, with a detailed safety drill. On most cruises, the drill involves watching a safety video and checking in at a meeting point. But here, passengers donned their life jackets and ran through emergency scenarios that included rationing food supplies and fishing from the lifeboat.
Every day, the sails were raised, even during heavy rain and winds of over 30 knots. Guests who want to participate in the rigging are usually invited to do so, but weather conditions made this sailing too risky.
“It was incredible to see the work of raising and lowering the sails and to experience the force of the wind pushing the boat so fast without the engines,” said Malte Rahnenfuehrer, a 50-year-old psychologist from Zurich, who was traveling with his partner and two children.
Captain
It is rare for cruise passengers to see the ship’s captain after the initial welcome drinks or gala dinner. But Captain Vukota Stojanovic was omnipresent throughout the cruise, from setting sail to being a lifeguard to socializing with guests.
Originally from Montenegro, Captain Stojanovic piloted container ships for years. When he was asked to consider running the original Sea Cloud almost 10 years ago, he hesitated because he had no sailing experience. Even after learning how to handle ropes, and there are 340 ropes (known as working rigging) on the boat, he wasn’t sure. “I grew to love the travel, the ships, the crew and the lifestyle, but I still felt like I belonged on container ships,” he said. “It would be a big adjustment, especially since I would have to shave every day,” he joked.
Ultimately, he accepted the opportunity and worked tirelessly to learn how to sail and operate the boat. Today, she maintains an “open bridge” policy, allowing passengers to visit the control room even when it is fighting the wind.
“The crew and passengers are part of the experience and I like meeting people and getting their feedback,” said Captain Stojanovic.
Atmosphere
Sea Cloud Cruises aims to take a “soft” approach, using wind power to power its ships wherever possible, even if that means changing course to achieve optimal weather conditions. When cruising is not possible, Spirit has two diesel-electric engines that run on low-sulfur marine diesel fuel. The company is also working with ports that have coastal power capability to connect to local electrical power.
On board, there is an emphasis on reusable bottles and paper straws, and crew members separate solid waste for compaction and disposal when in port.
Excursions and Activities
We made stops at Portofino, San Remo, Italy, and St.-Tropez, France, anchored offshore and came ashore in tenders, in contrast to the large cruise ships with their loud horns and thick plumes of exhaust coming from their chimneys.
For passengers who wanted to take a dip (there is no pool), the crew marked an area in the water with floats and an inflatable slide. The water was freezing, but many passengers jumped off the swim platform. Guests can also take “Zodiac Safaris” around the ship to view it from the water.
Excursions ranged from food and wine tours to e-bikes and beach trips. In Portofino, passengers were free to explore the sights independently, including the Castello Brown fortress and the Punta del Capo rock lighthouse. There was enough time to eat on land as the ship didn’t leave until 11pm. During the summer, Sea Cloud Spirit will sail to Spain, Portugal, France and the Azores, among other destinations. On November 11 she will leave for St. Maarten in the Caribbean for the winter.
Wherever the ship goes, said Mirell Reyes, president of Sea Cloud Cruise for North America, the company tries to “stay away from the crowds and the ports where the big cruise ships spit out 6,000 passengers.”
Summer prices, which include food and beverages, range from $3,995 for a four-night trip in a superior cabin to $9,420 for a terrace suite. Seven-night trips cost between $6,995 and $16,495.
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