I found myself next to oligarch Andrey Melnichenko's monstrous sailing ship-battleship

Surprising everyone, locals and tourists alike, a few days ago one of the strangest, wildest, most modern, outrageously expensive and generally one of the most extravagant and shocking sailing vessels of all time arrived in Corfu: the futuristic sailing ship "A".

Tremendous and spectacular in every dimension, Hamilton Bermuda-registered "Sailing Yacht A" is 142.8 meters long and is the largest in its class - despite its unreal size and especially its design by modern design guru Philippe Starks probably put 'A' in a class all its own. The mega yacht was built to the order of 46-year-old Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko, a close friend of Roman Abramovich, and cost 400-430 million euros. Its name, however, a simple "A", does not correspond to the exclamations of awe it causes wherever it docks, as its form, its technical characteristics and every detail of it leave the world with their mouths open.

"A" is the initial letter of the name Alexandra, the wife of Andrei Melnichenko. With a personal fortune estimated at $13.5 billion and ranking 88th among the richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine, Melnichenko is the definition of a dashing man: in honor of his beautiful lady, the Russian tycoon wanted to create a super yacht unlike any other. A completely unique boat, just like her. And indeed, even if he did not conquer the Top 10 of the most expensive yachts, Melnichenko caused an earthquake in the world of tycoons who throw their money into the sea. Because his "A" is truly a work of art in hypermagnification, revolutionary in many of its technical characteristics, a landmark boat that every crowd covets and - rightly - envies. Behind a single outer shell that encloses it and erases its eerie, enigmatic silhouette, 'A' has 8 decks connected by lifts and escalators. Parking is provided for four dinghies (also designed by Stark), jet skis, hovercraft, cars, etc., and a helipad would be a must.

Indicatively, only the middle mast, which reaches 100 meters, is higher than the Statue of Liberty (93 m) and even the iconic Big Ben of London (98 m). The three masts, the largest ever made from carbon fibre, are intended to hoist sails totaling 3,747 square meters – about half the size of a football pitch. And with those sprawling, state-of-the-art yarn-woven sails in full deployment, the 'A' is designed to withstand winds of 90 knots, a Category 2 hurricane. every mast without affecting the stability and safety of the vessel in the least. More generally, however, there is a multitude of technological innovations that have been implemented in almost every individual area of the ground-breaking "Sailing Yacht A" so as to fulfill every ambition of its owner.

Infinite opulence and technology

It is characteristic that in order to realize the vision of the Melnichenkos, a German company specializing in glass constructions of extreme demands produced the longest single-piece and curved glass surface ever made. The captain and officers gaze at the horizon through a piece of glass 15 meters long and weighing 1,800 kilograms. But the most impressive thing is that in the hull of "A", in its tail section, the passengers have the unique chance to observe the marine environment under the propellers and through high resistance crystals, which have replaced much of the metal that in a conventional vessel would have been used at that point for reasons of structural stability.

Melnichenko seems to have known exactly what he wanted and what he was asking for in order to acquire the ultimate (motorized) sailing mega yacht, long before it arrived to be launched in Kiel, Germany, at the Nobiskrug shipyards. Probably because he had "warmed up" with his previous, equally spaceship, a yacht also designed by Philippe Starck. Melnichenko received it on January 3, 2008, but rather quickly realized that something even more extreme would suit him. Hence he proceeded to order the yacht "A" in March 2011. With it, from 2015 until today, he has been enjoying the fulfillment of a dream, but also the circumnavigation of the Ionian Sea, together with his guests on "A", who may reach the 16 people, and necessarily the 54-member crew.

The master bedroom is located at the top of the boat and, according to international media, has a rotating bed for a 360-degree experience inside the wet element, something that was also tried on "Motor Yacht A", the Russian tycoon's previous mega yacht. Finally, for security reasons, room-to-room doors only open with a fingerprint sensor. "A" could be compared, in terms of its distinctive style, only to the most unconventional yachts in the world, such as that of Princess Moza, wife of the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, but also his famous "Guilty" Greek businesswoman and collector Daki Ioannou. On the other hand, the yacht of the Katarian princess combines the opening of the jaws of a shark with the shape of an Easter egg, while the boat of Dakis Ioannou is simply a completely unusual looking vessel, which left speechless everyone who saw it for the first time in the Greek islands.

As for the entertainment possibilities, dozens of speakers and about 25 television screens have been discreetly placed throughout the boat, many of which the visitor could easily mistake for simple mirrors.

The 5 million euro wedding party

The dashing Andriy Melnichenko, whether he wanted to or not, became world famous through the two unlikely "A's", the boats named after the first letter of his wife, Aleksandra Nikolic. A former model with a remarkable career on the international catwalks, Ms. Melnichenko enjoys life next to the tycoon, moving between the couple's ultra-luxurious residences in Russia and France, while of course there are always the two "A's" for guaranteed impression.

Andrei was born in Russia on March 8, 1972 and grew up following in his father's footsteps: he studied Physics at the State University and then graduated from the Plekhanov University of Economics. Fortunately for him, he did not continue the family tradition and became a professor of either Physics or Economics. Instead, together with some of his classmates, they tackled computers and IT applications that mainly related to financial transactions. This enabled him to establish, in 1993, the first private bank in Russia, MDM Bank.

But it is not his business activities that made Andrey Melnichenko world famous, but his secular wedding with model Alexandra Nikolic in 2005. The two met in 2003 - and while Alexandra was already a sought-after model - at an event where they had attended several Russian oligarchs. The love between them was lightning fast and within two years they decided to get married. Their wedding took place on the French Riviera in September 2005 with hundreds of guests. But the highlight of the night was the more than $5 million the Russian tycoon spent to secure the appearance of pop superstars including the late Whitney Houston, Julio and Enrique Iglesias, and Christina Aguilera.