Most 56-metre yachts on the charter market are motor yachts. YAZZ is a three-masted schooner, and she uses that rig as more than decoration.
Built in steel by Aegean Yacht in 2007 and refit in 2023, YAZZ carries the profile of a classic schooner without the compromises that usually come with one. Exterior lines by Yavuz Osman Mete keep her silhouette long and low; the interior, by Osman Aslandere, trades the dark, cramped joinery many sailing yachts settle for in favour of open, light-filled saloons that would not look out of place on a much larger motor yacht.
Two MAN engines back up the sail plan, giving her an 11-knot cruise and 800 nautical miles of range under power, enough for genuine island-hopping through the Aegean and beyond, not just short hops between anchorages. At 426 GT and under a full set of masts, she draws attention at anchor in a way that a similarly sized motor yacht rarely manages.
Below decks, the layout favours groups who want variety over a uniform template. Five staterooms, four doubles, a twin and a triple, sleep 11 guests, each cabin distinct rather than repeated: portholes and warm mahogany in some, striped nautical textiles and brass fittings in others. A crew of 12 runs the yacht, freeing guests to move between the multiple lounges without ever feeling the operation behind them.
Those lounges are where YAZZ separates herself from most schooners her size. A saloon dressed in cream sits forward of a formal dining room paneled entirely in dark polished wood, itself a short walk from a study corner stocked with a proper humidor, a whisky guide and a backgammon board, a small, deliberate nod to guests who want somewhere quiet to sit with a drink. On deck, teak stretches unbroken from the aft cockpit, where the wheel and binnacle still sit exposed to the weather, as they should on a yacht like this, to a shaded alfresco dining table that seats large groups under a lit canopy, with a bar built into the same run of deck.
She charters for $135,000 per week and currently spends her summer season in the Mediterranean; winter cruising grounds are available on request rather than fixed, so guests planning an off-season charter should raise it early in the booking conversation.
For groups drawn to the idea of a tall ship but unwilling to give up modern comfort, YAZZ offers a genuine middle path: real masts and real sailing capability, paired with an interior and range that hold up against far newer motor yachts in the same size bracket. She rewards guests who want a yacht with a rig to look at from the beach, not just another white hull among the moorings.
Guests who charter YAZZ for a full Aegean season tend to remark on the same thing: how differently the yacht sits at anchor compared with a motor yacht of the same length. The rig catches the eye of every boat that passes, and the teak decks underfoot never feel like they are competing with engine rooms or tender garages for space, since the layout was drawn around sail and lounge rather than machinery.
