Mirabella V
M5 is a sloop-rigged super yacht launched in 2003 as Mirabella V. At an estimated cost of over US$50 million, she is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.
Ownership
M5 was built as part of a fleet of super-yachts initially owned by former Chairman and CEO of the Avis car rental company, Joseph Vittoria, and used for luxury private charters. All the Mirabellas, including M5, were subsequently sold and are now owned and operated by others, the Vittoria family has no connection with them any longer. M5 is no longer available for charter under her new ownership.
Vittoria grew up on Long Island and worked as a "launch boy" at a yacht club in Sea Cliff, New York, where he developed a love for sailing. Two of his sisters married sailors who helped him learn and continue his enjoyment of sailing. Vittoria lived in Greenwich, Connecticut from 1980 to 1991 and still has a home and membership in the Belle Haven Club, there, although he and his wife, Luciana, later moved to Palm Beach, Florida. Vittoria made his fortune helping organise the buyout and resale of Avis in the 1980s.