Club Med 2
Encyclopedia
The Club Med 2 is a five-masted computer-controlled sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
owned and operated by Club Med
Club Med
Club Méditerranée , commonly known as Club Med, is a French corporation of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in exotic locations. It is considered the original all-inclusive resort.-Foundation:...
and operated as a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
. She combines the power of seven computer-operated sails with more traditional diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
power, having four diesel generators that power two electric motors.
The Club Med 2 was launched in 1992 in Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Its sister ship the Club Med 1 was sold to Windstar Cruises and renamed msy Wind Surf in 1998.
The ship, one of the largest sailing cruise ships in the world, carrying up to 386 passengers with a crew of 214, sails the waters of the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
in the summertime, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
in the winter, finding its way into anchorages larger cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s cannot reach.
The ship provides ballroom dancing, bridge and music, and sails at night making a stop each morning. A water sports deck can be deployed from the stern. The Club Med 2s European destinations include ports in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. Transatlantic voyages are offered in the spring (eastbound) and fall (westbound).
History
The ship was based on Windstar CruisesWindstar Cruises
Windstar Cruises is a cruise ship line notable for its modern computer-controlled sailing ships.The line was established as Windstar Sail Cruises in 1984, and its first ship, the msy Wind Star, launched in 1986, followed by the Wind Song and Wind Spirit...
' smaller 5,350-ton, 148-passenger Wind Star, Wind Spirit
Msy Wind Spirit
The msy Wind Spirit is a motor sailing yacht, sailing as a cruise ship for Windstar Cruises. She is one of an unusual class of only three vessels , designed as a modern cruise ship but carrying an elaborate system of computer-controlled sails on four masts.Capacity: 148Crew: 88Tonnage: 5,350Length:...
and Wind Song
Msy Wind Song
The msy Wind Song was a 4-masted motor sailing yacht used as a cruise ship by Windstar Cruises from 1987 until 2002, when the ship suffered an engine room fire....
motor sailing yachts. All were built by Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, France.