Once upon a time, sailing across the Atlantic was a sailor’s badge of honor, so much so that many inked anchor tattoos to commemorate the feat. Today, with jets crisscrossing oceans in hours, that voyage has lost its mythos.
Modern crossings mostly belong to cruise ships, cargo vessels, and private yachts. Ocean liners designed for speed and stamina in rough seas are nearly extinct, with the Queen Mary II standing as a lone standard-bearer. Today’s cruise ships prioritize leisure over velocity, while yachts offer a more intimate, customizable (and significantly slower) adventure.
Want to cross by yacht? You’ll need time, money, and either experience or a willingness to work. Chartering a superyacht could set you back hundreds of thousands if not millions, depending on the route and onboard luxuries. But you’ll be pampered all the way across, with a full crew, gourmet food, and possibly even a helipad. Fast motor yachts can make the crossing in as little as nine days, while wind-powered sailing yachts stretch the journey to three or four weeks, assuming the weather cooperates.
The Atlantic isn’t always forgiving. Weather, wind, and wave patterns all shape the optimal route. Motor yachts cruise at 8–15 knots, and even a beast like the Bolide 80, clocking in at 70 knots, would still take nearly two days to zip from New York to Lisbon nonstop. Most journeys hover around 10–14 days.
Sailing yachts, bound by the wind, take longer two to four weeks for northern routes, even longer via southern paths. Some vessels tack to Bermuda first to catch the trade winds, while others cut across from Newfoundland to the UK, braving icebergs and fog for a shorter crossing.
Season matters. June to November brings hurricane season to the North Atlantic, steering many boats away. The best time to sail westward? November to January. For eastward routes, aim for April or May.
For the budget-conscious adventurer, there’s another option: join as crew. You’ll work, learn, and sail—paying less and gaining skills (and possibly that anchor tattoo).
In the golden age of ocean liners, one vessel reigned supreme: the SS United States. Launched in 1952, this sleek, aluminum-clad behemoth set the bar for maritime speed. At its core were four Westinghouse steam turbines producing a jaw-dropping 240,000 horsepower, propelling it to a record-breaking 38 knots (44 mph). No passenger ship has bested it since.
Its maiden voyage across the Atlantic? Just 3 days, 10 hours, and 40 minutes, a full ten hours faster than the Queen Mary. That record earned it the Blue Riband, and it became the pride of postwar American engineering.
But progress is relentless. Just six years after its launch, the jet age took off. Boeing’s 707 could cross the Atlantic at 600 mph. Luxury ships couldn’t compete. By 1969, the SS United States was retired as an engineering marvel without a mission.
Now, more than half a century later, the SS United States is preparing for its final journey—not as a ship, but as a reef. The decaying vessel, long docked in Philadelphia, will be sunk off the coast of Alabama to become a marine sanctuary and divers’ paradise.
Its 1,000-foot hull, aluminum skin, and still-legendary powertrain will soon belong to the sea. In a deal valued at over $10 million, what remains of the ship’s legacy will be split between the deep and a dedicated museum on shore.
