CALLING ALL INTREPID EXPLORERS!
The planet’s largest privately owned residential ship for intrepid travellers, The World, has just revealed its 2020 expeditions
Noah, eat your heart out: the largest privately owned residential yacht on the face of the planet is to take an astonishing globe-spanning voyage this 2020, including docking at 100 ports across Southeast Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, Europe, United Kingdom, and North and South America.
Known as The World, the yacht, which carries 150 travel mad families, will sail 45,000 nautical miles, starting at Hong Kong in the New Year, and visiting 16 maiden ports during the remarkable continuous worldwide journey. A team of experts and local guides will also be onboard, providing hands-on experience and know-how, for those who don’t know one end of a boomerang from another.
The super yacht of all super yachts will initially explore Southeast Asia’s cities and simply breath-taking beaches, including Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. That’s followed up by a two-week expedition in West Papua – a ravishingly beautiful area of unparalleled marine bio-diversity. Here, residents can observe many tropical bird species and get up close and personal with some 12,000 species of fish while diving and snorkelling.
In February, it takes a two-month circumnavigation of Australia, including extended visits to more than 15 ports of call in all seven of the nation’s states, and an eight-day expedition across the Kimberly region, on Australia’s remote western coast in March. Here, residents can gaze upon the far-flung terrain’s long canyons and waterfalls, go shark and crocodile-spotting, and observe natural wonders such as the horizontal waterfalls at Talbot Bay.
In spring, the World passes over the Red Sea to the Middle East, while summer is spent in the Mediterranean and Adriatic. In early autumn, it enters Northern Europe / Scandinavia, Russia and the United Kingdom, before sailing the breadth of North America’s eastern coast then crossing the Panama Canal: Panama, Peru, Argentina and Chile await. There’s also a four-day expedition for thirsty residents to the Chilean winelands, personally curated by the ship’s Beverage Manager. The year ends with an expedition to Antarctica: vast ice sculptures, seals penguins et al.
And if that’s not enough for you, the yacht itself contains six restaurants, golf facilities with golf simulator and resident pro, a full-size tennis court at sea, along with everything else you’d expect (swimming pools, a spa etc). Described as being more like a “well-staffed home or exclusive country club” this floating marvel caters for those who prefer experiential or in-depth travel; circumnavigating the globe every three years or so, to embark on in-depth expeditions. All in all, it’s quite some boat ride.