The second circumnavigation – this time rounding the six capes

26 June 2020, the new SY Alithia was delivered. It is an 80 feet world cruiser built by Solaris Yachts in Aquileia (Trieste). The new yacht sets new standards in marrying sailing performance, ease of handling, blue water seaworthiness with stunning minimalist aesthetics.

side view of the yacht

SY Alithia has five cabins and is the home for friends and family. We plan to visit the most remote islands of the planet far from the conventional routes exploring untouched nature and authentic cultures. There will be challenging passages rounding the world’s roaring capes and exciting cruises discovering the world’s distant archipelagos.

Highlights of the contemplated route over seven years are:

  • The Mediterranean, Italy, Greek Cyclades and Ionian Sea
  • The Stockholm and Aland Archipelago
  • Corsica, the Baleares, Ireland, Iceland, Svalbard and Lofoten
  • The Canary Islands, Transatlantic and the Caribbean Islands
  • Latin American Coast and Cape of Good Hope
  • Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Chagos, Western Australia
  • Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Steward Island and New Zealand
  • New Caledonia, Papa New Guinea, Melanesia and Micronesia
  • Seto Inland Sea (Japan), Aleutian Islands and Alaska
  • Vancouver, Hawaii, Cook and Marquesas Islands and Cape Horn

The second world circumnavigator yacht – again Alithia

SY Alithia is designed and built according to the strict standard rules of the Maxi Ocean Yachts and specifically for a circumnavigation rounding the capes. This requires the utmost strength, safety and seaworthiness. The yacht is a monolith of carbon reinforced fiberglass pre-preg Sprint technology where the structural components such as hull, deck, bulkheads, girders and floors are firmly connected so that it results in sort of a structural cage absorbing the loads from mast, keel and chainplates.

The yacht has a length overall of 23.995 meters, a waterline length of 22.575 meters, a beam of 6.4 meters, a draft of 4 meters and a 36.6 meter high mast. With its high performance hull, a 317 square meters’ sails plan and a displacement (lightship) of 43 tonnes, famous Argentinian naval architect Javier Soto Acebal designed the yacht to sail well in light all the way up to heavy wind and sea conditions. The deck is completely flush. The main and jib sheets are controlled by Magic Trims, 4:1 tackles made by double acting hydraulic cylinders, who eliminate the need for on deck winches and sheets. The downwind sail is a cableless top-down furling 3Di Helix sail that attaches to the bowsprit. A new load sharing technology eliminates the need for a furling torque-cable, reduces the load on the boat, mast, and rigging and thus achieves a significant weight reduction throughout the entire boat.

top view of the yacht

The profile and the use of space is carefully optimised. From the double helm stations driving double rudders there is a full view over the bow, as there is full view from inside the semi raised salon. All interior is natural light flooded. There are five cabins with eleven berths. Crew quarters for a couple are fore and owner cabin aft. There are three guest cabins with one offering an additional Pullman berth. The engine room is comfortably accessible for maintenance and the lazarette designed for easy deployment of the tender, compressor, five scuba diving sets, bicycles and storage.

The resilience of the systems and the storage capacities are laid out for long durations without resupply consistent with the mission to sail off the beaten track into unchartered distant territory.