The Queen’s New Tall Ship

Until we learned that the construction cost of the recently-grounded Costa Concordia cruise ship was roughly $580 million USD, we thought plans for a new tall ship for the Queen of England were lavish. But by comparison, the 515-ft square-rigger’s proposed cost of $93 to $124 million USD seems like a relative bargain.

Yeah, we know, this is a little off our usual beat, but hey, it’s a sailboat — and a very special one indeed. The reason such a plan is even being discussed in such dire economic times, is that Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne — her Diamond Jubilee — this year.

With the ship’s construction funded by private donations, she will serve as a platform for special ceremonies, goodwill tours, trade exhibitions and a hands-on learning vehicle for sail training cadets. The ship will replace the current Royal Yacht Britannia (a 412-ft motoryacht), which traveled more than a million sea miles since her launch in the early 1950s. She was decommissioned in ’97, however, and has served as a dock-bound tourist attraction in Edinburgh, Scotland ever since. 

We see no reason why the Queen shouldn’t have a royal yacht of this caliber, especially since it will be privately funded, and we can’t wait to see her. One unfortunate footnote, however, is that the ship will not be able to visit San Francisco Bay, as her 250-ft masts won’t quite fit beneath the Golden Gate’s 220-ft-high span.