Le Ponant

The Ship That Founded a Line

Le Ponant is the original vessel in the Ponant fleet – the three-masted sailing yacht launched in 1991 from which the Compagnie du Ponant took its name and its ethos. She is 88 metres long, displaces 1,489 gross tons, and carries 32 guests in 16 cabins, attended by a crew of 30. By any measure she is a small vessel, and that smallness is the point: she goes where no expedition ship can follow, calls at anchorages too shallow for any larger yacht, and provides an intimacy of experience that larger vessels cannot reproduce.

Beneath three masts carrying 1,500 square metres of sail, Le Ponant moves through the water under wind power whenever conditions allow. When the sails are set and the engine shut down, guests experience sailing in its original form – hull speed governed by the wind, course shaped by the elements, passage made the way sailors have made it for centuries.

In 2022, the yacht underwent a comprehensive refit that addressed both technical and environmental systems: a selective catalytic reduction filter reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90 percent, dockside power connections, and advanced water treatment were among the upgrades. The refit preserved the character of the yacht while significantly improving her environmental footprint.

On Board

With 32 guests and 30 crew, Le Ponant operates at a ratio that is closer to a private vessel than any commercial yacht. The single restaurant, Le Diamant, serves buffet breakfast and informal lunch, with gastronomic dinner in the evening – a format that suits the intimate scale of life on board. The public spaces are compact and easy: a lounge, a deck bar, a sun deck at the stern. There is no spa, no pool, no scheduled entertainment; the sea and the itinerary provide the programme.

Guests dress for dinner but not excessively; the mood is more of a well-run private yacht than a formal ship. The crew is French, the atmosphere Franco-Mediterranean in feel.

Destinations

Le Ponant sails the Mediterranean in summer – Greek Islands, Adriatic, Corsica, Sardinia – and the Caribbean, Cape Verde, and West African coast in winter. Her 4-metre draft enables calls at harbours and anchorages closed to all but the smallest vessels. In a typical season, she will anchor off a beach, enter a small harbour town, and pass through a strait that appears barely wide enough on the chart: these are the advantages of 88 metres over 142.