Classical Sailing Yacht Arktos Going Up for Auction

A particular type of yacht tends to tug at heartstrings. You know it when you see it: lines that seem so steeped in history, they could tell stories. Come June 23, a sailing yacht fitting this description goes up for auction. She’s the yacht Arktos, and she has quite the tales to tell.

Interestingly, despite her appearance, the gaff-rigged topsail schooner is just 21 years old. The family that currently owns her is the same family who commissioned her. Specifically, the patriarch, with a business background in shipping, wanted an all-wood family yacht. He chose Basimakopouloi Shipyard in his native Greece, knowing its old-world-craftsmanship capabilities. Therefore, the yacht Arktos features larch frames, iroko planks, and teak decks. Additionally, she shows off hemp rigging. A carved-wood bear figurehead—“arktos” means “bear” in Greek—nestles beneath her bowsprit, too.

The original owner’s son and his siblings, now grown, spent countless days starting in their early school years onboard. They took over the yacht several years ago, continuing to enjoy cruising while further offering her for charter with a crew of seven. (She carries RINA Unrestricted Navigation classification.) Certainly, many a day went by with them taking in the breeze from the curved settee on the aft deck. Modern technology, meanwhile, allows the foredeck to become an alfresco movie theater at nighttime. “Arktos is not just a yacht—she is a living legacy,” the son says.

Even the interiors of this 180-gross-ton yacht are a rich legacy of traditional sailing design. You’ll find glossed oak, for example, along with walnut, ebony, and lemon woods. Altogether, they create a warm, cozy ambience in which to raise a new generation of sailing enthusiasts, or simply spending quality time with friends. The social spaces include a formal dining area with sunlight streaming in through forward windows. The staterooms, meanwhile, are split among two VIPs and two twins, one with a pullman berth, plus the master.

Presently in Athens, the yacht Arktos was originally asking €4.7 million (about $5.4 million). She’s listed with Panagos Lemos of Capital Yachting and Pantelis Stathis of IYC. The starting bid for the auction, via G3 Auctions, is €2.5 million (about $2.8 million). “For over two decades, she has been the heart of my family’s dreams and adventures,” the owner says, “a vessel that carries stories on every polished plank and in every gentle sway of her sails. Now, the time has come for a new family to take the helm.”

G3 Auctions g3auctions.com