Aquijo

A landmark sailing collaboration

Aquijo brought together two Dutch yards, Oceanco and Vitters, to build the largest high performance ketch afloat. Delivered in 2016, she represented a rare sailing project for Oceanco, whose reputation rests largely on very large motor yachts. The collaboration paired Oceanco's considerable engineering muscle with the deep sailing yacht expertise held at Vitters. The result is a benchmark that genuinely stands alone within its class. No other yacht quite occupies the same territory as she does.

A build of this ambition needed both yards working closely in concert, and the outcome fully justified the effort. Aquijo showed that a giant sailing yacht could offer the volume owners expect from a motor yacht without giving up real speed. She entered the fleet as a genuine one off, with no true sister anywhere. For owners drawn to sail at the very largest scale, she remains a singular reference point. Her rarity is a large and lasting part of her appeal.

A Bill Tripp performance ketch

The naval architecture and rig are by Bill Tripp, one of the leading names in performance sailing yachts. The design brief called for comfortable world cruising allied to real speed, and Tripp delivered a ketch that carries 3,821 square metres of sail upwind. With the Code 1 set that total area rises to a remarkable 5,051 square metres. Twin towering rigs give her the raw power to match her considerable scale. She was very plainly built to sail hard when the wind fills in.

Her steel hull and aluminium superstructure carry teak laid decks and a broad 14.48 metre beam. A deep 5.23 metre draught helps her hold a course and stand up firmly to that vast sail plan. The profile is purposeful and sleek, clearly the work of a serious performance studio. On her maiden season she recorded 20.4 knots in a strong breeze. The numbers on the log fully back up the looks on the water.

The world's largest high performance ketch, with motor yacht volume and genuine speed.

Volume under sail

The interior is by German studio Dolker and Voges, who worked closely with the owner's family to shape a warm, liveable space. Despite her committed sailing pedigree, Aquijo offers the interior volume of a large motor yacht below decks. An owner's deck features a rear facing bedroom with commanding views straight out over the wake. The detailing balances comfort with the hard practicality a serious sailing yacht always demands. She never once asks her guests to rough it.

She accommodates up to fourteen guests, served by a dedicated crew of sixteen. Living spaces are generous and light, a genuine rarity on a yacht built to perform. The layout supports long ocean passages in real, sustained comfort. Owners can chase the wind hard and still enjoy motor yacht ease at anchor each evening. That combination is, in the end, her defining trick.

Speed and range

Aquijo was engineered to cross oceans quickly under sail, holding high average speeds whenever the wind allows. Her maiden Mediterranean season saw an average near 19 knots in strong conditions. The 3Di North Sails wardrobe and twin rig give her real flexibility across a wide band of wind. Under power she carries the systems and tankage for confident self reliant world cruising. She was built to keep moving in almost any weather.

Handling a rig and sail plan of this size safely demanded advanced deck engineering and genuinely powerful winches and hydraulics. Both yards focused hard on making a very large ketch manageable for her crew. Her deep keel and substantial displacement keep her steady and sure footed at speed. For an owner, she delivers thrilling performance alongside real seagoing security. The engineering is what makes the excitement feel entirely safe.

Who she suits

Aquijo suits a committed sailing owner who wants the thrill of a fast rig without ever sacrificing space and comfort. She rewards ambitious ocean crossings and long cruising seasons in remote, wind blown waters. Her sailing character sets her clearly apart from the motor yacht crowd. This is a yacht for people who want to sail seriously at the very top of the size range.

As an asset she is genuinely unique, the largest ketch of her type ever built anywhere. That rarity underpins her standing firmly whenever she comes to market. For a buyer who loves sail but still expects large yacht volume, she has almost no direct rival. Few yachts anywhere marry performance and comfort on this scale.

Why an owner chooses a sailing yacht this size

Grossmann, the German industrialist who commissioned Aquijo, has credited her sensitive steering directly: "she handles like a boat one quarter of her size". That is a claim about how she actually feels at the wheel, not a builder's marketing line, and it is echoed in her recorded sea-trial numbers: over 20 knots in 30 knots of breeze, and 10 knots close-hauled in just 8 knots of wind.

Bill Tripp, who drew both the naval architecture and the rig, has said owners who choose a yacht like this "are not looking for the sure thing, they're really looking for the unknown", pointing to sailing in South Georgia or diving with hammerhead sharks as the kind of experience that motivates the choice. He also designed the sail-handling specifically around control rather than raw speed, saying the rig was built "to keep [loads] in a range that was controlled" even though, in his words, Aquijo "is not shaped as a motoryacht, she is easily driven". That control extends to the keel: a retractable 220 tonne lead fin that lets her draught run from 5.2 metres raised to 11.6 metres fully down, so she can choose between a shallow anchorage and full sailing performance on the same afternoon.

Для кого: A serious sailing owner who wants the world's largest performance ketch with the volume and comfort of a large motor yacht.