Phocea was the largest sailing yacht in the world before the 2004 launching of Athena by Royal Huisman. She was built at the Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

 Naval Dockyard in 1976 for the well-reputed, single-handed yachtsman Alain Colas. Shortly after competing in the Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or STAR, is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the USA, and is held every four years....

 she was converted into the charter yacht "Club Mediteranée".

It is currently (June 11, 2009) harbored at Stazione Marittima, Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

 (Italy).

Refit

In July 1997, Phocea was purchased by Mouna Ayoub

Mouna Ayoub

Mouna Ayoub is a well-known French socialite and businesswoman of Christian Lebanese origin. Frequently in the media, she is often a guest of the Cannes film festival and makes headlines in French gossip magazines. At the age of 20 she converted to Islam in order to marry Nasser Al-Rashid, a 40...

 and she began her transformation into a sailing yacht at Lurssen

Lürssen

Lürssen is a German shipbuilding company based in Bremen-Vegesack.Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels...

. Whilst retaining her unmistakable identity, she has received major interior and exterior upgrading by British naval architect Butch Dalrymple-Smith. The interior contains living and accommodation areas with wood panelling, and some furniture by David Linley. The Owner's Suite is situated on the main deck whilst the VIP guest cabin and four other double cabins, all with full ensuite facilities, are located on the lower deck. She won the 1999 ShowBoats award for best refit.

Nasser Al-Rashid

Nasser Al-Rashid

Nasser Al-Rashid is a Saudi Arabian businessman. . He is reputedly an influential advisor to the Saudi royal family and a billionaire...

, Mouna Ayoub's ex-husband, partly paid for the $17 million refit of the Phocea, by the sale of "The Mouna", a 112 carat (22.4 g) record-breaking diamond.

Crash

Phocea crashed into rocks off Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

 in August 2005 while the Prince

Prince Michael of Kent

Prince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...

 and Princess Michael

Princess Michael of Kent

Princess Michael of Kent is an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V....

 of Kent were aboard. Three people were seriously injured. The yacht was damaged below the waterline.

Specification

• Length overall: 246 ft (75.0 m)
• Beam: 31.43 ft (9.58 m)
• Draft: 20.47 ft (6.24 m)
• Number of guests: 12
• Number of crew: 15
• Built: 1976 by Toulon Naval Dockyard (refit at Lurssen in 1999)
• Designer: Michel Bigion
• Engines: 1 x 1056 hp MTU
  MTU
  MTU may refer to:Networks and Internet* Maximum transmission unit, the size of the largest packet that a network protocol can transmit* Multi tenant unit, a telecom term referring to a building with multiple offices or apartments...
  
  
• Cruising speed: about 12 knots (23.5 km/h) under power, 12-18 knots under sail
• Approximate range: 2000 nmi (3,704 km)
• Fuel consumption: 195 litres (51 US gallons) per hour at 11.5 knots (22.5 km/h) cruising

See also

• List of large sailing yachts
• List of motor yachts by length
• Large Sailing Yachts
  • The Maltese Falcon
    The Maltese Falcon (yacht)
    The Maltese Falcon built by Perini Navi is a clipper sailing luxury yacht, commissioned and formerly owned by American venture capitalist Tom Perkins. It is one of the largest privately-owned sailing yachts in the world at , similar to Royal Huisman's Athena and Lürssen's Eos...
    
    
  • Athena
    Athena (yacht)
    Athena is a clipper-bowed 3-masted gaff rigged schooner built by Royal Huisman in 2004 for internet entrepreneur James H. Clark. Clark purchased a 47.4 meter sloop, Hyperion, from Royal Huisman in 1998...
    
    
  • Eos
    Eos (yacht)
    The Eos is a three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner. The ship is one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, and as of 2009 was owned by movie and media billionaire Barry Diller, husband of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. According to a 2007 article in Harper's Bazaar, Eos...
    
    
  • Mirabella V
    Mirabella V
    Mirabella V is a sloop-rigged super yacht launched in 2003. At an estimated cost of over US$50million, she is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.-Ownership:...