Observed in number of sightings: 18
Observed in number of days: 18
New nicks of the dorsal fin: 0
A part of a group with the mean size of: 7 individuals

This season the dolphin Clipper is a commonly observed individually. From January through March he and his mother were seen feeding around the marine fish farm found in the study area. Due to the nutritious waters during this period, there is a high number of wild fish in the area, which caught Clipper and his mother Rebecca’s attention. He has also been seen in other parts of the study area where he was mostly playing with other calves, the mother was patiently keeping close making sure that he was safe.

The last time Clipper was seen during this period was March 31st. He was then engaging in acrobatic events together with the other calves and curiously swimming close to the BDRI research vessel. — The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute

Guests sailing the waters of northern Sardinia on Star Clippers next summer may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the company’s “own” dolphin, a young male aptly named Clipper.

Mikael Krafft, owner and president of Star Clippers, has sponsored the dolphin through the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute’s (BDRI) adoption scheme.

Clipper is thought to have been born in August 2008 and was first spotted swimming in the region with his mother the following month. He is distinguishable by two small nicks in his dorsal fin. In dolphin years, Clipper is still a calf and swims and hunts with his mother (unromantically named N31) and other females, Markita and Alitana, and males, Rinco and Tacca. There are abundant bottlenose dolphins around Sardinia’s Golfo Aranci as there’s a marine fish farm there that provides easy feeding.

The Sardinia-based BDRI is a marine center for research, education and training in bottlenose dolphin ecology and behavior, working closely to protect the wild bottlenose dolphins that frequent Sardinia’s Emerald Coast.

So next time you’re on Star Flyer’s Tyrrhenian itinerary, be on the lookout for Clipper!

Did you know that Star Clippers has a mascot in the headquarters in Monaco? His name is Napoleon and he is a 7-year-old wirehaired dachshund.

Napoleon lives like an emperor on board the beautiful wooden yacht Doriana with his owner, Star Clippers’ Mikael Krafft. On his visits to the office he is generally happy and cheerful however he shows real problems with authority.

Here is Napoleon in the President’s chair hard at work.

Star Flyer is now on her way over to Barbados and will afterward set course toward Panama via Venezuela, Curacao, Aruba, Colombia. She will reach the Pacific side of Costa Rica mid November.

Before she left the Cote d’Azur, she sailed from Monaco to Corsica and then arrived in St. Tropez on October 2 where Les Voiles de St. Tropez took place. This is a spectacular unique event where all the most beautiful classical and modern sailing yachts from all over the world meet. Star Flyer sailed in the morning around all these magnificent boats and anchored in the late afternoon just in front of the little village of St. Tropez together with all the yachts.

Guests sailing on Star Flyer was invited over for a drink on board the Doriana, a beautiful wooden schooner from 1930. Doriana is the yacht of Mikael Krafft, the owner of Star Clippers, who hosted the guests himself.

Star Clippers President and Owner Mikael Krafft.

Check back Monday for Part 2 of this post and more information and photos on Doriana.

“101 Holidays” recently conducted an interview with Mikael Krafft, owner and president of Star Clippers. The UK Web site provides a unique selection of some of the world’s greatest travel experiences.

It’s not your typical interview about running Star Clippers, but more about Mikael and his personal likes. We thought you would enjoy getting to know the man behind the company.

101: Where are you planning to go on holiday this year, and why?
MK: I am planning to set sail from Rhodes to explore Southern Turkey in order to prepare and fine-tune a new itinerary for one of the Star Clippers sailing vessels next summer.

101: What is your favourite bolthole in the UK, and why?
MK: My favourite UK getaway has to be sailing in the Solent; visiting all the nice little villages and wonderful pubs in the area.

101: If you could spend a long weekend in any city abroad, which would you pick, and why?
MK: Bonifacio in south west Corsica. It is stunningly beautiful with nice small hotels, restaurants, secluded beaches, fantastic water and fascinating sea grottos. It also has a great golf course with stunning panoramic views, where you can see the entire archipelago of Bonifacio in the horizon.

101: Please tell us three items that are always found in your luggage.
MK: Luggage essentials are swimming gear, sun screen and dive mask.

101: What one thing would most improve people’s overall holiday experience?
MK: I believe that there should be more offers of itineraries away from mass tourism.

101: What has been your worst holiday experience?
MK: Spending a vacation packed together with thousands of other holidaymakers.

101: Tell us your favourite hotel: in the UK; in mainland Europe; in the rest of the world.
MK: In the UK: I would go for Rocco Forte’s Brown’s Hotel in London. In Europe, I enjoyed my recent stay at the Hotel Papadopoli in Venice, and in the world, the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski in Hamburg.

101: What is the most exciting project your company is working on right now?
MK: The preparation of a new itinerary for our vessel Star Flyer. During the winter season 2010/2011 we plan to explore the unspoilt waters and breathtaking natural environment of Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast.

Welcome to Star Clippers’ new blog. The Star Clippers Blog Web site will serve as the portal for news and information, images and video, gossip and discussion about Star Clippers and its fleet of three tall ships. We’re happy to have you browse through our pages and read all of the latest news about Star Clippers.

While a large number of posts will come from the ships’ staff, we encourage guests to send in posts as well. If you sailed on a Star Clippers ship and took some photos you’d like to share, please send them to us with your name, who is in the photo, what ship you sailed on and where you are if in port. You can send these to info@starclippersblog.com. Don’t worry about sizing, we’ll take care of that.

We also invite you to send in questions or post comments on the different entries. To post a comment, you’ll need to register, but your information will not be shared with anyone. Our goal is to make this the most interactive blog possible and to create an online community of folks who are fans of Star Clippers.

We’re very excited about this new adventure, and we hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as we enjoy producing it. Again, welcome!