Wind Surf (ship)

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Wind Surf leaving Venice
History
Name
  • 1989–1990: La Fayette
  • 1990–1998: Club Med 1
  • 1998 onwards: Wind Surf
OwnerWindstar Cruises
Operator
Port of registry
Ordered1986
BuilderSociete Nouvelle Des Ateliers et Chantier du Havre
Yard number274
Laid downAteliers et Chantiers du Havre, France 1988 by Société nouvelle des ateliers et chantiers du Havre
LaunchedJanuary 1989
Completed27 December 1989
Maiden voyage1990
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage
Length187 m (614 ft)
Beam20 m (66 ft)
Height80 m (262 ft)
Draught5.09 m (17 ft)
Decks8
Deck clearance6.1 m (20 ft)
Installed powerFour diesel-electric engines, and wind
PropulsionComputer-operated sails, and two electric motors
Sail planStaysail schooner, ca. 2,400 m2 (26,000 sq ft) in seven triangular Dacron self-furled sails on five masts
SpeedEngines: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph); engines with wind assistance: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Capacity386 passengers
Crew214

MSY Wind Surf is a five-mast staysail schooner that is one of the largest sailing cruise ships in the world, with two electric propulsion motors powered by four diesel electric generating sets also. She can carry up to 342 passengers, in a total of 150 ocean-view staterooms, 18 ocean-view suites and 2 deluxe bridge suites, with a crew of 210.[1] Wind Surf had been owned and operated by Club Med under the name Club Med 1, and was later transferred to Windstar Cruises.

On a 10 day itinerary that began on December 18, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020, 48 crew members and 51 passengers of the 342-passenger ship tested positive for covid and were taken off the ship for quarantine in Barbados; later many other passengers tested positive and were unable to return home until they tested negative.[2]

MSY Wind Surf cruise sailing along the coast of Venice
MSY Wind Surf cruise sailing along the coast of Venice, from the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore (13/05/2019)

History[edit]

La Fayette was launched in 1989 at the Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre [fr], France, renamed Club Med 1[3] on 14 January 1990. Her sister ship Club Med 2 was launched in 1992 in the same shipyard. Club Med 1 made her maiden voyage in 1990, and sailed for Club Med for eight years.

In 1998, Club Med 1 was sold to Windstar Cruises and renamed Wind Surf. The ship was based on Windstar Cruises' smaller 5,350-ton, 148-passenger Wind Star, Wind Spirit and Wind Song motor sailing yachts. All were also built by Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, France. In 2013, she was featured in the season 7, episode 3, of a Discovery TV series, called Mighty Ships.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Wind Surf". Windstar Cruise Line. 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  2. ^ McCormick, Erin (13 January 2022). "'Not the cruise I signed up for': 30-fold increase in Covid cases upends industry". The Guardian.
  3. ^ "When the Sea is Your Runway, You Hoist French Couture Sails". Windstar Cruises Travel Blog. 30 October 2017.

External links[edit]