Built in 2011 by Segel Masten Yachten and comprehensively refitted in 2021, Running on Waves is a 64-metre three-masted sailing yacht of a scale and ambition that very few yards have ever attempted. Her three rigs tower above a hull designed to carry thirty-nine guests across eighteen staterooms, attended by a crew of twenty-one, and she splits her year between the Mediterranean in summer and the Arabian Gulf and Cyprus through the winter months.
Under full sail, Running on Waves is an event in her own right. Three masts and a full complement of canvas create a silhouette that stops harbour traffic, and the experience from on deck is equally arresting: the quiet hum of the hull through water, the occasional crack of a shifting sail, and the sense of moving under a power source that was ancient before engines were imagined. When the wind drops, twin engines deliver a cruising speed of eight and a half knots and a maximum of ten, giving her the range and reliability to hold a schedule across the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
Deck spaces stretch across every level. A foredeck jacuzzi sits beneath the bowsprit with views framed by the rigging, while the aft deck offers both a shaded lounge and an open-air jacuzzi that comes into its own at twilight. A sky lounge with panoramic seating provides the best elevated vantage point on board, and a dedicated bar with magenta mood lighting transforms the social deck after dark. Stabilisers at anchor keep the platform steady even when the anchorage is exposed, a detail that matters when thirty-nine guests are sleeping on board.
Inside, the main-deck dining salon centres on a compass-rose floor motif and seats the full party at a single service. A separate intimate bar with banquette seating draws guests away from the dining table for quieter conversations, and the interior throughout carries a maritime art collection, from zodiac murals in the companionway to tall-ship paintings in the guest cabins, that reinforces the vessel’s sailing identity without tipping into pastiche.
The cabin layout is designed for flexibility. The main-deck master suite occupies a full-beam position amidships, with a private salon area and its own en-suite. Four VIP cabins, each individually themed with ship art, helm lamps and nautical references, offer the next tier of privacy. Seven double guest cabins provide comfortable berths for couples or solo travellers, each with its own en-suite and porthole views. And for families or groups travelling with younger guests, triple cabins fitted with bunk beds and additional wardrobe space round out the configuration, all with en-suite facilities, individual climate control and artwork unique to each room.
A crew of twenty-one is one of the highest ratios in the charter fleet for a sailing yacht of this type. Deck crew handle the sails while stewards manage service, the galley team prepares menus scaled for nearly forty covers without compromising quality, and a dedicated water-sports team operates independently from the stern platform. The 2021 refit refreshed soft furnishings, updated navigation and entertainment systems, and extended the water-toys inventory.
Whether the itinerary traces the Cyclades, threads the Turkish coast, or repositions east to Dubai and the Gulf islands for winter, Running on Waves delivers something increasingly rare in the charter market: the authentic experience of ocean passage under sail, scaled to accommodate a party that no ordinary yacht could hold, and served at a standard that never asks the guest to compromise.
