We have booked a cruise on the Star Clippers line’s “Royal Clipper” for a true tall ship sailing adventure! Star Clippers are proud to say that:
Royal Clipper was officially recognized by Guinness World Records in 2001 as the world’s largest square rigger in service.
www.starclippers.com/ca/our-fleet/tall-ships/introducing-royal-clipper
While we are excited to be recreating the golden age of sail aboard the Royal Clipper, it’s interesting to note that:
- She’s not the “largest sailing ship ever built”; that title is still held by the Great Eastern (we think).
- She’s pretty much the only vessel in the world square rigged on all five masts. The Golden Horizon, launched in 2000, is much bigger but is a barque (fore-and-aft rigged on the fifth mast).
- And the Preussen, after which the Royal Clipper was modelled, was even larger than her imitator, but sank in 1910 neatly taking care of the “in service” qualifier.
And of course sailing purists would insist that the Royal Clipper isn’t a “true” sailing ship since she is engine assisted and only sails about 60-70% of the time. But we don’t care about all that; we’re just going to enjoy!
Read our Posts about this trip:
Tall Ship Sailing in the Caribbean
We have booked a cruise on the Royal Clipper and will be sailing through the Windward Islands of the Caribbean ...