Sailing yacht A

Move over, aerospace and automotive designers. Yachtbuilders are leading the way on carbon-fiber innovation.

While sailing yachts comprise only a single-digit percentage of the superyacht market, some significant and extraordinary yachts have launched this past year. Here’s a sampling.

Currently in build for Russian billionaire/yacht owner Andrey Melnichenko, 469-foot sailing yacht A is being completed at the Nobiskrug yard in Germany where she was spotted on the move just after her giant carbon masts – the world’s tallest ever – had been installed.