Luke_Wilbur Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The Maltese Falcon is a 130 million dollar luxury sailing yacht owned by American hectomillionaire Tom Perkins. It is one of the largest privately-owned sailing yachts in the world at 88 metres (289.1 feet), after yachts such as Royal Huisman's Athena and Lurssen's Eos . Ken Freivokh Design were the appointed designers (after an invention from the German engineer Wilhelm Prölss). The yacht was constructed in Tuzla, Turkey by the Italian firm Perini Navi. The Falcon was the third yacht built by this firm for Perkins. As of 2006 the Falcon is registered in Valletta, Malta. It completed its trial sail in the Sea of Marmara to the Bosphorus strait on 12 June 2006, and made its maiden voyage from Turkey to Italy via Malta in July 2006. As of 2006 S/Y Perkins rents the Falcon out for between EUR€ 325,000 to 335,000 per week[1] plus expenses. The Maltese Falcon moored in Monte-CarloThe ship has fifteen square sails (five per mast) stored inside the masts which unfurl in six minutes. The three carbon fiber masts were manufactured and assembled by a company financed by Perkins at the Yildiz Gemi yard in Tuzla, 50 miles south of Istanbul, Turkey, under the supervision of the English company Insensys, and are free-standing and rotating. The yacht is easily controlled and has been seen to sail off her anchor and away from berths within harbors. The yacht's sophisticated computer detects parameters such as wind speed automatically and displays key data, however Perkins does not permit the computer to actually sail the yacht. An operator must always activate the controls, yet it is possible for a single person to pilot the yacht. Maltese Falcon gets on 'YouTube'The Maltese Falcon has been spotted on www.youtube.com , if you put Maltese Falcon into the search engine you come up with quite a few hits, but the crew favourite is this one which has some good shots of us sailing during the 2006 Antigua Superyacht Cup. Enjoy!! George http://www.symaltesefalcon.com/log.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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