Maltese Falcon ... hit or miss?

[brian eiland]

Golden Gate arrival

:!: If you love big boats and spectacles, you're going to love the this news from Tom Perkins of Belvedere:

"I want to let you know that Maltese Falcon will be arriving in San Francisco in late September, and will be on the Bay most of October. I will email you with the most likely time of day for our arrival under the bridge, when our ETA is clear. Atlantide will also be there."
(Atlantide is Perkins' 122-ft motoryacht that was built in 1930 and completely restored by Perkins in '99.)

Trust us, no sailor is going to want to miss that event.

Falcon, of course, is the 289-ft Maltese Falcon, which by most forms of measurement is the largest sailboat in the world. While Jim Clark's Athena and Barry Diller's Eos are both slightly longer, they are longer thanks to bowsprits, and have significantly shorter waterlines. In any event, thanks to Falcon's unique Dyna-Rig — she has three free-standing masts — she's been the most celebrated sailing yacht in memory.

Couple of YouTube recordings of her arrival under Golden Gate Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OENpqkU6Ihs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZIJnl1vm5c
The kid (@ about 55 seconds) aptly calls the sails "wings", falcon wings. Perkins would like that.

 

[Ilan Voyager]

Every day of the regatta the vast 88m (288ft) three masted Maltese Falcon built by Perini Navi left everybody in awe including experienced yachtsmen. The remotely controlled free-standing carbon fibre rotating rigs, complete with 18 yards are a technological masterpiece, setting 15 in-mast fuling square sails operated by 75 electric winches aloft. The detailed design, testing, planning and engineering for such a vast and untried project is difficult to comprehend and the execution is an outstanding testament to all invloved.

For the final day of The Superyacht Cup it was possible to see the awsome offwind power of Maltese Falcon in action. Rather than the typical offwind problems of large sailing superyachts where exrtra crew are required to handle gennakers to give any reliable offwind performance, on Maltese Falcon the helmsman just bears away and the square sails instantly offer maximum projected area.

On the final reach to the finish Maltese Falcon was sailing close to 20 knots pushing a large bow wave in front of her.

A part the fact that I think that the about 150 millions dollars spent in this boat could be better employed than to satisfy one ego, that the design of the hull looks antiquated and the "melted wax" styling of the superstructures rather ugly and that all the complicated engineering of the dynarig is in practice totally useless on a cargo ship or even a "normal" yacht, I'm scratching my head; all that money spent for pushing a large bow wave (that's not a proof of efficiency: all the job is to get the smallest bow wave) and for getting a poor 20 knots for a 88m boat...speed which is marginally better than a XIX century clipper...The results are not so brilliant. I would expect a solid 25 to 30 knots, speed attainable by a 88m ship.

Maybe my background of working boats doesn't permit me to appreciate this boat.

 

[brian eiland]

Super Toy, the new Super Falcon Sub

Tom Perkins’ quest for a super toy led him to Graham Hawkes’ laboratory. His personal account on the collaboration that resulted in a vessel with unprecedented agility and style.

Google is fantastic at finding things, and when started to look for a sports submersible, the name Graham Hawkes, the scientist/owner of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, popped up immediately. His idea for an underwater aeroplane that would “fly” swiftly to depths of hundreds of feet was totally unique and exciting compared with the underwater “balloons” that comprise virtually all of the alternatives.

Conventional submersibles are essentially underwater elevators that rise and sink by changing their buoyancy and they tend to creep along the bottom at very low speeds, unable to operate against even modest currents. I wanted a fighter jet, not a blimp! The idea of a swift winged sub that is always positively buoyant, and hence intrinsically safe, that could be used like a sports car for rapid dives and exploration with a minimum of preparation and effort, was sound.

Just one problem: while Graham had the patents for the idea of winged underwater flight, only prototypes had been built. If I wanted one, I would have to participate in its development. As baseball player Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” This would be a little like developing the DynaRig or the Maltese Falcon. It seems that I am addicted to such high-risk projects.

I met with Graham at his California laboratory, and with a handshake, I made the deal to proceed. I think one of the reasons I decided to go ahead was that, independently, and never having heard of me, Graham had named his new design the Super Falcon. It would be a perfect addition to our complement of toys aboard the yacht.

 

[brian eiland]

Oops, forgot their website

Deepflight.com
http://www.deepflight.com/index.htm

 

[Ilan Voyager]

Gosh!!!! patents on dynamic depth control!

Gosh!!!! Patents on dynamic depth control! After the Thai rice, the Mexican traditional frijoles (beans) and the use of boric acid to control roaches, they gave a patent on a system almost as old as submarines. It's very naive.

It's already used at least on all the military submarines who keep generally a small positive buoyancy (for evident reasons of security) and control the depth dynamically by the front and aft governs (= small wings). The word dynamical means you have to move to create the lift (positive or negative) so the system has not been used on the scientific bathyspheres who have to stay still for observation of a point and also because it uses of lot of energy.

When I was fifteen (a long time ago...) I made ,using German plans, a U-boat controlled by wire which was able to go underwater (about 2 feet) by dynamic means...I didn't any search but I'm sure that this kind of model submarines must exist now with radio control, and controlled with a mini gyroscope.

It's nothing new.

 

[brian eiland]

Maltese Falcon hit by credit crunch

The asking price of one the of world’s most stunning superyachts, the 88m (289ft) Maltese Falcon, appears to be suffering from the current market situation as its sale value has fallen nearly 40 per cent since it was first put on the market 15 months ago. The yacht can now be purchased for a mere €70m compared to its original €115m price tag.

Maltese Falcon was built by Perini Navi and completed in 2006 for US venture capitalist Tom Perkins. She carries 15 sails totalling 240Dm2, which allows her to cross the Atlantic in about 10 days. The yacht was in San Francisco in late May, sailing under the Golden Gate bridge as it celebrated its 72nd anniversary.

It is understood that Perkins has now moved on to other projects, hence her being available to a new owner. The yacht can accommodate 12 guests in five state rooms and a crew of up to 16. Coincidentty Maltese Falcon now flies the Maltese flag, having switched earlier this year from the Cayman Islands flag. The yacht has a berth in Grand Harbour Marina in Valletta and will be busy through the summer with a full programme of charters.

...Superyacht Business

 

[dskira]

Why for sale so shortly after her launching.
It seams to be a game of "Did you see mine, she is bigger that yours"
That said, I never saw the MF, just pictures and something make me wounder: why in almost all the picures, when you look at the see, no white cap, but MF is heeling with the top of the bulwark almost in the water.
I know that pictures are very deceiving, and it can be force 6 but in the picture it looks like 2.
So what I say is subjective and not a real assessment.
Just an observation.
As for the good look, well I don't know, for me she is not pretty, but get rid of the superstructures and she can be a swan

 

[Boatpride]

One Careful Owner....

I think it's a miss. Maltese Falcon is now on the market for 99 million Euros - that's around $70 millionhttp://blog.jameslist.com/2009/maltese-falcon-for-sale-on-james/

 

[brian eiland]

Maybe Sold

Tom Perkins, prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist and ultra-millionaire, is close to finalizing the sale of his super yacht, the Maltese Falcon. The reported price tag: 60 million pounds ($101,531,400), according to the British newspaper The Times.

After nearly a year on the market, the price was trimmed from about $150 million, which is believed to be about what Perkins had paid for the boat.
-- SF Chronicle, read on:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=44839

 

[Guillermo]

A pity I have not 60 spare million pounds at this time!

Cheers.

 

[RHP]

So Mas has given up building his own boat ?

 

[brian eiland]

"Maltese Falcon" wins Perini Navi Cup 2009

Perini Navi's 88-meter triple masted "Maltese Falcon" won the Perini Navi Cup 2009 after strong winds aborted the last day. The vessel also attained a top speed of 21 knots during the course of the Cup.

 

[brian eiland]

Lady buys Maltese Falcon

I think it's a miss. Maltese Falcon is now on the market for 99 million Euros - that's around $70 millionhttp://blog.jameslist.com/2009/maltese-falcon-for-sale-on-james/

You may have been closer to the mark than you realized with that....'Miss'

Elena Ambrosiadou, Maltese Falcon's new owner.

In March the world's biggest, riskiest, fastest, most technologically advanced, single-hulled sailing mega yacht in the world, the Maltese Falcon, was listed for sale.

Silicon Valley magnate Tom Perkins had only had it built two years before.

Rumours abounded, everything from the story that it had been taken off the market to the tale that it had been sold to a mystery buyer. By September it was pretty clear that it had been sold, but still no word of the buyer. Finally the story came out, that the new owner was none other than one of the UK's most successful female entrepreneurs.

But Hedge-fund manager Elena Ambrosiadou says she won't have time to sail the boat. “I work 16 hours a day, seven days a week. I doubt if I’ll be spending much time on her,” she told the Times. Otherwise, the yacht can be chartered for £375,000 a week. “This is an enterprise,” she said.

Ambrosiadou, who grew up in Thessaloniki, in Greece, founded Ikos (which means “home” in her native language) in 1992, “when the hedge-fund industry was still in its maverick adolescence”, she told reporters. The fund, which began as a foreign exchange trading account with little more than £60,000, was conceived as a money-spinning sideline to her business career. A chemical engineer by training, she achieved early success at BP, becoming its youngest-ever senior international executive at 27. Her fortune is now estimated at £200million

Ambrosiadou, now 51, who divides her time between Cyprus, Greece and London, explained how, when she will not have time to use the yacht, she came to buy it: “I chartered her with some friends last year and then last April I crossed the Atlantic with Tom, which took eight days. I fell in love with her — everyone falls in love with her sleek lines and signature masts.” It is rumoured that she purchased the yacht for a mere £60million.

http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=62871&rid=11

 

[Guillermo]

But Hedge-fund manager Elena Ambrosiadou says she won't have time to sail the boat. “I work 16 hours a day, seven days a week. I doubt if I’ll be spending much time on her...”.
.................
“I chartered her with some friends last year and then last April I crossed the Atlantic with Tom, which took eight days...."

That's a kind of a contradiction, isn't it?
Anyway, do you know if the lady is available for a quick marriage? I'll offer myself. Just the right age for me.....

Cheers.

 

[dskira]

That's a kind of a contradiction, isn't it?
Anyway, do you know if the lady is available for a quick marriage? I'll offer myself. Just the right age for me.....

Cheers.

And Guillermo, you will have plenty of space in Maltese Falcon for your drafting boards, designing superb motor sailer while zooming across the oceans in splendor. Do not forget to have with you a Spanish chef.
I just came back to see my grown up kids in Barcelona, Oh boy, what a feast, the food was so good, I miss it!!!! the best in the world (for my taste anyway)

Daniel