WASHINGTON: The Royal Clipper, one of the world’s most luxurious sailing ships, has arrived in Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna on Sunday, opening this year’s cruise season. Inspired by the tall ship Preussen, the 4,425-tonne Royal Clipper is the largest and only five-masted full-rigged sailing ship built since the Preussen was launched in 1902 only to be gone shortly afterwards, according to Monaco-based company Star Clippers operating the vessel.
The five-mast Royal Clipper, launched in July 2000, arrived from the Romanian port of Constanta and is heading towards Bulgaria’s Nesebar. The 135-meter long ship, which can carry up to 227 pasengers, is the first sailing vessel to call at Varna Port ahead of 2016 edition of Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta scheduled for September.
