''M5'' is a sloop-rigged super yacht launched in 2003 as ''Mirabella V''. She is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.

Ownership

''Mirabella V'' was built as part of a fleet of large sailing yachts used for luxury private

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

s by Joseph Vittoria, former Chairman and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Avis car rental company. She was named after Vittoria's previous yachts. ''Mirabella V'' now belongs to

Rodney Lewis Rodney Ray Lewis, known as Rod Lewis (born 1954), is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Lewis Energy, an oil and natural gas drilling company based in Texas, US. Biography Lewis was born and raised on a ranch in Laredo, Texas, Lar ...

and has been renamed ''M5''. It is no longer available for charters. M5 in Venice

Design

The owner specifications combined fast sailing with motoryacht amenities. ''M5'' has achieved speeds in excess of in 8 1/2 ft seas. To achieve the amenity requirements, a single mast was preferred to other rig types in order to maximize interior volumes in keel-stepped sailing yachts; To achieve the performance requirements, the higher aspect ratio of the single mast sail plan was also preferred in order to provide a better speed potential. A final demand was that the yacht be able to use the harbour at

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

. This required the use of a lifting

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

to reduce

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

. ''Mirabella V'' was designed by yacht designer

Ron Holland Ronald John Holland (born 1947 in Auckland, New Zealand)Ron Holland:De ...

. Load and structural calculations of the hull and rig were carried out by Hamble-based firm High Modulus Europe Ltd, (now part of Gurit).

Technical challenges

While vessels of ''M5''s size are typically made from steel or aluminium, an aramid foam core/vinylester sandwich build was chosen to achieve a shorter delivery date, reduced maintenance (regular repainting to inhibit corrosion is not required) and better acoustic thermal insulation. Historically, large yachts were built with more than one mast in order to divide the sail area for easier handling. Today's technologies in spars, rigging, sailmaking, powered winches and electronics enable rigs with larger sail areas, higher aspect ratios, larger loads and simpler handling, allowing ''Mirabella V'' to be constructed with the tallest mast and largest jib of any sailing craft ever built at the time. One of the procurement challenges was finding sheets strong enough to trim the sails.

Construction

''Mirabella V'' was constructed at the former BVT Surface Fleet yard (formerly VT Shipbuilding, formerly Vosper Thornycroft) at its Woolston Yard,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Luciana Vittoria specified to naval architect Ron Holland her wishes for interior decoration. After changing hands and being rechristened ''M5'', she was handed over for refit to the Pendennis Shipyard in March 2013. She was relaunched in September 2013 with an extended stern and

reverse transom In some boats and ships, a transom is the aft transverse surface of the hull that forms the stern of a vessel. Historically, they are a development from the canoe stern (or "double-ender") wherein which both bow and stern are pointed. Transom ...

, a lighter

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

arrangement and carbon fibre standing rigging.

Particulars of ship

LOA , also called loa, are spirits in the African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou and Dominican Vudú. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their iden ...

: (2013) * LWL (full load): * Beam: *

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

(half load): *Ballast: (2013) * Draught (keel up) (2013) *Draught (keel down): (2013) *Air draught: (cannot pass under any bridge that she can navigate to) *Sail area (mainsail+working jib): *Sail area (mainsail+reacher): *Her UPS

genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

is the world's largest sail, excluding spinnakers.

Accommodation

The boat has a master suite on the main deck and six cabins for as many as 12 guests. The boat's

lazarette The lazarette or lazaret (sometimes lazaretto) of a boat is an area near or aft of the cockpit. The word is similar to and probably derived from lazaretto. A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment a sailor or boatswa ...

stores a tender,

Lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

jet ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

s, ski boats,

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

s and three Radio-controlled boat, remote-controlled models of ''Mirabella V''. The foredeck has two recesses that serve as swimming pools and as storage for two launches.

Launch

''Mirabella V'' was launched on 27 November 2003 and her mast was stepped at the Southampton Empress Dock on 30 December 2003. Her first sea trial took place off Portsmouth on 14 April 2004.

Charter

Under Vittoria's ownership, ''Mirabella V'' was chartered for up to $420,000 per week and about 12 weeks per year, with a balanced operating budget if chartered for 14 weeks per year.

Service

After dragging anchor and running aground in

Beaulieu-sur-Mer Beaulieu-sur-Mer (; ; ; "Beautiful Place on the Sea"), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence- ...

on 16 September 2004, ''Mirabella V'' was towed into

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southern France. It ...

for a survey and subsequently returned to Vosper Thornycroft in Portsmouth for repairs.

References

Notes

Citations

{{reflist, 30em Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Southampton Ships built in Portsmouth 2003 ships 2000s sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Ron Holland Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom