Page 275 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023 DISCOVERING TURKEY

As a sailor myself (usually on boats under 50
feet), I loved that the Star Clipper relies on
wind 80 percent of the time for propulsion.
When the crew was raising the sails, I felt as if
I’d time-traveled back to the late 19th Century,
when these square-rigged cargo ships ruled
the seas.
Alas, the barquentines pretty much disap-
peared when steam and then diesel-powered
engines took over shipping.
But not in the mind of Michael Krafft, a
Swedish sailor, lawyer and entrepreneur who
was raised outside Stockholm near a shipyard.
He grew up listening to tales from old “sea
dogs” and dreaming of tall ships. After sailing
across the Atlantic on his yacht "Gloria," he
built the first barquentine in more than 80
years when his company commissioned the
Star Clipper in 1993 as a passenger ship.
It was followed by the Star Flyer and then
the Royal Clipper, fulfilling his dream to
recreate the legendary clippers that crossed
the oceans and offer people the chance to ex-

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