The new giant is taking shape at a Croatian shipyard. Star Clippers, a company offering luxury yacht cruises, has commissioned a replica of the France II, a legendary ship that sank in 1944. She will be larger than Star Clippers’ current record-holder, the Royal Clipper, which takes tourists on Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises. Both ships were designed by a Pole, Zygmunt Choreń, the owner of Biuro Projektowania Statków Choreń Design & Consulting, a ship design company seated in the northern Polish city of Gdansk.

"Ever bigger sailing ships are in vogue nowadays. They are supposed to carry more and more passengers, and be more and more effective. My job is to make them safe, comfortable and economical," says Zygmunt Choreń.

The new sailing ship will be a five-mast barque, and have the same dimensions as the France II, says Star Clippers owner Mikael Krafft. She will differ from the original in terms of safety and passengers’ comfort, though. The vessel will be truly gigantic: 146 metres long and accommodating 300 passengers. Her predecessor, the Gdansk Shipyard-built Royal Clipper, is 133 metres long and can take on board 227 passengers.

"In the 1980s, I worked in the state-owned Gdansk Shipyard. I remember the director calling me once to ask if I’d like to design big sailing ships. Others were too afraid to take on this challenge. I was fresh from a world cruise, so without much thinking I said yes. This is how it all began," says Choreń. It was during that voyage that a mast broke on the Otago, a Gdansk Shipyard yacht. This made Choreń realise how important a solid design is to crew safety.