At over 295 feet (90 meters) the mega yacht Athena is not only a huge three masted schooner, she is one of the largest privately owned sailboats in the world. Built by the Royal Huisman boat yard, this enormous boat was designed by Pieter Beeldsnijder to combine traditional schooner style with modern sailboat technologies. Although weighing in at 1,126 tons, this gargantuan yacht regularly travels at an impressive speed of 18 knots under sail.
Built for entrepreneur Jim Clark (Silicon Graphics and Netscape) the mega yacht Athena sports one of the best media lounges found on the high seas, in a bridge-deck penthouse with all the latest gadgetry to watch one of the thousands of DVDs kept in the film library. Another of the notable gadgets used in the sailboat is the SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system used to monitor and provide up to 2,600 alarms for all the yacht's technical systems, helping to assure safety and efficiency while under sail.
For scuba divers there is a dive locker with tank filling facilities, diving gear stowage, and a workshop. There is even a decompression chamber set in the lazarette for emergencies.
Although most of the guests would never consider setting foot in the mega yacht's galley, the chefs aboard are treated to one of the most complete food-service facilities found on any private yacht. It was planned by restaurant consultants, and includes only top-of-the-line cooking and refrigeration equipment.
Athena's sails are set on plate-built Rondal Alustar masts, with carbon fiber booms and gaffs carrying 2,660 square meters of sails. Three headsails furl onto their stays, three topsails furl into the upper masts, and three mainsails furl into the booms. It is reported that with these sails flying, the Athena sailboat can reach speeds under sail nearing 20 knots! When not sailing, the Athena mega yacht is driven by twin 2,000-hp Caterpillar diesels with variable-pitch propellers, and 270-hp bow and stern thrusters.
The Athena designers kept an eye on power generation and consumption during the design process, insisting that the mega yacht be as noise and pollution free an environment as possible. Athena needs a lot of power however, with 86 sailing related hydraulic functions associated with her enormous rig, not to mention the huge kilowatt load demanded by Athena's lights, air conditioning, galley, electronics and wine coolers. So, three 290-kW generators were included on the mega yacht to meet power demands.
The Athena sailboat is steered by a small wheel or autopilot joystick from inside the wheelhouse, which is equipped with the latest glass bridge technologies as seven flat screens allow the crew to monitor and control navigation and shipboard functions. The sailboat can also be steered from bridge wings in close quarters, and for the traditionalist, an old style spoked wooden wheel with binnacle can be found on the deck forward of the bridge.
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