Orient Express train adventures from the golden age of luxury train travel own a legendary status. Lavish decor, impeccable service, and peerless cuisine were the order of the day. Quality was demanded, luxury was immersive, manners were exceptional, in a lavish setting emphasizing comfort and wealth. Things were genteel, civilized, and, in a word, nonpareil.

Travel aboard an Orient Express rail car was, and remains, a privileged and polished adventure. It offers an exploration of the world, reaching to extraordinary points like Paris, Istanbul, London, Vienna, Bucharest, Innsbruck, Venice, and Athens. It presents the opportunity to join in elegant salon discussions with writers, artists, and painters, moving in circles embracing Monte Carlo, Cannes, San Tropez and Cap d’Antibes.

Soon, a new opportunity to experience an expanded era of golden age travel will blossom, taking guests to sea aboard the largest sailing ship in the world, the Orient Express Silenseas. This 220-meter, solid sail ship is steeped in all that is Orient Express, elevating the art of travel to a new zenith.

About The Yacht

With each itinerary, 130 guests will experience the posh surroundings Orient Express rail car journeys are known for, enhanced by fingertip access to every modern convenience. Fifty-four well-appointed suites served by 170 crew will enjoy interior layouts and decor by Maxime D’Angeac, naval architecture from Sterling Design International, and build from Chantiers de l’Atlantique. A presidential suite spanning 1415 square meters, also boasts a private terrace measuring 530 square meters.

Silenseas will be fitted with three rigid sails on 100-foot masts, each boasting 1,500 square meter sail areas and able to tilt to a 70-degree angle. The Solid Sail technology, developed by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, optimizes performance on a balanced, balestron rig.

Laurent Castaing, Managing Director, Chantiers de l’Atlantique commented, “With a signed letter of intent to order two ships, Chantiers de l’Atlantique is proud to herald a new era in the shipbuilding industry with Silenseas. This concept, born in our design offices in 2018, is the quintessence of our savoir-faire in the fields of naval architecture, the construction of sophisticated hulls, as well as the design of luxurious spaces. In addition, the installation of three SolidSail rigs, a revolutionary 1,500-square-meter unit wind propulsion system, for which we have developed and tested a first prototype, will contribute significantly to the propulsion of the ship. Combined with a hybrid propulsion system running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), Silenseas will thus become the ship of reference in terms of environmentally-friendly operation and design. “

Onboard Amenities

When only the best will do, Orient Express rises to the top of the list in cruising posh with this unquestionable nod to luxury. Chantiers de l’Atlantique is constructing a futuristic sailing yacht dovetailing the finest French talents. The entire project will be financed up to 70-80% by commercial banks, with the remainder provided by a consortium of equity partners in which Accor will have a minority stake.

Guests will be invited to cabaret and amphitheatre shows. An audio and video studio will facilitate private recordings by guests or groups to memorialize time on board.

Spa treatments, meditation sessions, two pools including a lap pool, two restaurants, a speakeasy bar, and extraordinary explorations through onshore stopovers to cultural points of interest add to the journey.

Solid Sail Technology

Acknowledged experts in ocean racing, the Orient Express Silenseas will will be fitted with a distinctive technological design known as ‘SolidSail‘ consisting of three rigid 1,500 square meters of sails on a balestron rig. Three tilting masts, pointing over 100 meters high, secure up to 100% of the propulsion when weather conditions prove suitable.

Combined with wind power, a state-of-the-art engine running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be refitted to supply green hydrogen as the technology for ocean passenger ships gains approval, moving toward environmentally friendlier methods of sea travel. The Solid Sail websitestates that the rig is designed to reduce fuel consumption by 1,000 tons per year, per rig.

Made of several rectangular fiberglass panels edged in a carbon fram, the sails fold and unfold accordian style. The bast strong RIGGS 360 degree swivel alignes the sails with the wind making no trajectory changes. Hoisting and lowering are said to take no longer than 10 minutes.