30 years of Star Clippers A look at CEO & President Mikael Krafft’s vision and passion.
STAR CLIPPERS
STAR CLIPPERS
How one man’s vision and passion became a reality The cruising industry in the 21st century
Finnish island of Aland. At a time when steam-
offers a multitude of options, with huge vessels
powered vessels dominated the seas, it was at
boasting the modern amenities and facilities.
this point that Mikael was inspired by the world
Sometimes, however, it is worth taking a step
of traditional sailing vessels.
back in time to appreciate how different things were. This was Mikael Krafft’s philosophy and
His excitement reached new heights at the age
his dream was to bring traditional tall ship
of ten when his father presented him with an
sailing into the 21st century. Star Clippers takes
18-foot wooden sailboat. It wasn’t long after
a closer look at the life and inspiration of Mikael
that that Mikael embarked on a series of 20-
Krafft and how his passion influenced him.
mile journeys across the open sea, without a compass and unknown to his parents, simply
In 1946, Mikael Krafft was born in Stockholm,
to visit the masterpiece that was Pommern. One
Sweden, and was fortunate enough to grow up
day, not content with merely looking at the ship,
just around the corner from one of the finest
a 12-year-old Mikael climbed up the rigging
yacht builders in the world. The Plyms Shipyard
without permission and was caught by a guard.
intrigued Mikael and ultimately led to the start of his passion for sailing. At just six years old,
The guard yelled: “Come on down!!! If you
he was able to secure a job at the shipyard and,
don’t, you’ll fall down and kill yourself. But I’ll
while carrying varnish and mixing wood stain,
kill you anyway when you come down.” Luckily,
he learnt about Pommern, a four-masted steel
he survived to tell this tale and dreamed of one
barquentine which was docked at the Swedish-
day owning such a vessel of his own.
Mikael Krafft later graduated from the
Clipper in 1992. Krafft embarked on an even
University of Stockholm with a degree in
bigger challenge in the years that followed, with
Maritime Law, before practicing law in France
dreams of building a five-masted full-rigged tall
and Sweden. In the 1970’s, he was appointed
ship, similar to that of the 1902 German vessel,
as manager of L. Jeansson Co., a small Swedish
Preussen. The almighty Royal Clipper launched
shipping company founded in 1875. Under
in 2000, having entered service 98 years after
Krafft, the company expanded into oil storage,
Preussen.
forestry, sawmills, finance/leasing, and real estate – which he pursued further upon moving
The linkage to Preussen is not surprising when it
to Brussels with his family in 1986. He sold his
is realised that Star Clippers was created in 1989
interests in Sweden and founded the White Star
expressly to preserve the traditions of the sea
Group of Belgium, which focussed on real estate
and to enable passengers today to experience, in
developments in the Benelux countries.
air-conditioned mega-yacht luxury with all the amenities, what it was like to have sailed aboard
The dream seemed all but over. Yet, Krafft never
a great clipper ship of a century ago.
did let go of his passion for sailing. While sailing in the Caribbean on board his own sailing yacht,
There are no computerised sails on Star
Gloria, in 1987, he claims all the pieces came
Clippers, and there never will be! The Captains
together. The sailing trips he embarked on in
and the crew are very experienced square-
his youth, his knowledge of traditional sailing
rigger sailors who rely heavily on modern
vessels, and the ventures on board his personal
technology so long as it is reliably based on the
yachts all inspired him and kept the dream alive.
old-fashioned, traditional methods proven over the generations. Some winches are electric-
Along with the assistance of White Star Group,
powered, as few as feasible. Muscle-powered
he established a new line known as Star
winches are widely used.
Clippers. He conducted intense clipper ship research for three years - meticulously studying
Today, Star Clippers offers an elegant nod to
preserved original plans for mid-19th-century
a bygone era of traditional tall ship sailing.
ships. Krafft was also aware that these ships
Passengers can experience this unique way
would have to comply with modern regulations
of travelling while experiencing a range of
and, therefore, modifications had to be made.
beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Far East Asia.
With the help of a trusted team of experienced architects and engineers, plans for the first new
Twice yearly Royal Clipper and Star Flyer
clipper ship in 90 years were successfully drawn
embark on a transatlantic voyage having
up. The result was Star Flyer, which launched
spent the summers in the Mediterranean and
in 1991 and began 7 and 14-day cruises in
winters in the Caribbean, with Barbados and St.
the Caribbean. Followed by sister ship Star
Maarten being the home ports of call between
November and March. Star Clipper currently
“Royal Clipper”, christened in the Principality of
resides in the Far East year-round with a
Monaco by Her Majesty, Queen Silvia of Sweden
number of sailings taking in the Anadaman Sea
in 2000, acknowledged by the Guinness Book of
from Phuket and discovering Indonesia and
Records as the world’s biggest five-masted full-
Borneo during the summer.
rigged ship, his dedication is confirmed.
Mikael Krafft’s objective is to give anyone the
His successes in business ashore have enabled
opportunity to experience a reasonably-priced
him to fulfill his lifelong dreams at sea.
holiday as fabulous as if one had been invited as a guest on one of the utmost mega-yachts of the world. His first two tall ships have now been in successful service for nearly thirty years and with the introduction of his flagship
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