MSY Wind Surf
ex La Fayette
© Josep Pretel
Steel twin screw high-tech sail-cruiser built by Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, France in 1989 (Yard No 274) for Service et Transports Cruise Line (Club Mediterranean), Nassau, Bahamas.
Technical Details
- Cost: $140million
- Length on deck: 187.20m(overall)
- Breadth of hull: 20.0m (extreme)
- Draught: 5.0m(maximum)
- Tonnage: 14,745 gross/1,654 deadweight
- Engines: Four 6-cylinder Wartsila-Duvant Crepells diesel-electric engines
- Propulsion/Propellers: 9120kW/2
- No of masts: 5/7 computer-controlled sails
- Sail Area (sq ft.m2): 26,910/2,500
- Speed: 12 knots (under engine power only) 15 knots (with sails raised)
- Capacity: 453 passengers
- Passenger decks: 8
- Crew: 163
- Call Sign: C6IO6
- IMO Number: 8700785
- MMSI Number: 309242000
- Registry: The Bahamas
- Sister Ship: Club Med II
Current AIS Location
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History
January 1989: Launched as LA FAYETTE.
“One of a pair of the world’s largest sail-cruisers, WINDSURF is part-cruise ship, part-yacht (its sister ship operates as the CLUB MED II). This is a larger grander sister to the original three Windstar Cruises vessels. Five huge masts of 164ft/50 metres (these actually rise 221 feet, or 67.5 metres above sea level) carry seven triangular, self-furling sails (made of Dacron) with a total surface area of 26,882 sq ft (2,497 metres). No human hands touch the sails, as everything is handled electronically by computer control from the bridge. The computer keeps the ship on an even keel (via the movement of a water hydraulic ballast system of 266,814 gallons/1 million litres), so there is no heeling (rolling) over 6 degrees. When the ship is not using the sails , four diesel-electric motors propel the ship at up to approximately 12 knots.
December 29th 1989: Delivered to Services et Transports Cruise Line (Club Mediterranée), Nassau, Bahamas.
1990: Began cruising.
April 1997: Sold to Carnival Cruise Line, Nassau, Bahamas and renamed WIND SURF.
© Benoit Donne
1997: Commenced sailings under Windstar Cruises.
1998: Registered to Wind Spirit, Nassau, Bahamas.
© John Mavin
© Nigel Thornton
October 31st 2005: Registered to Wind Surf, Holland. Management; Holland America Line.
August 13th 2007: Management; Windstar Cruises Ltd, Nassau, Bahamas.
© Manuel Hernández Lafuente
All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Benoit Donne, Manuel Hernández Lafuente, John Mavin, Josep Pretel and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
