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The Maltese Falcon is a clipper sailing luxury 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] [2]} plus expenses.

The Maltese Falcon moored in Monte-Carlo

The 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. In a radio interview for the BBC World Service's Global Business programme broadcast in December 2007, Perkins revealed that he personally wrote some of yacht's unique control software.

The Falcon has two 1800 horse-power Deutz engines running at 1800 rpm with a top speed of 20 knots with minimal wave-making and virtually no vibration or noise and with a smooth and non-turbulent wake.

The yacht has a permanent crew of 18 to maintain the technical aspects including the rig and to operate the onboard "hotel", which can accommodate twelve guests plus four guest staff. The boat also includes an onboard gourmet chef and stewards and stewardesses.

In a 60 Minutes profile on November 4, 2007, Perkins suggested the yacht cost more than $150 million but less than $300 million, but refused to be more specific.

• The Maltese Falcon (homepage)
• Complete specifications and photos of The Maltese Falcon (SYT)
• Maltese Falcon - One of the 3 largest Sailing Yachts
• Wired Article on the Maltese Falcon including photos
• Charter Maltese Falcon
• Maltese Falcon. Perini Navi. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
• Perini Navi (7 July 2006). "The Maltese Falcon leaves Turkey and is now bound for La Spezia". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
• "Maltese Falcon has landed", Yachting World, 13 June 2006. Retrieved on 2006-07-10. (English) 
• Doyle, Tyler. "The Dynamics of the DynaRig". Silver Threads. Doyle Sailmakers. Retrieved on 2006-07-10. 
• Gosselin, Lisa (February 2006). "Tom Perkins Thinks Big". Yachting Magazine. Time4Media. Retrieved on 2006-07-10. 
• 286' Clipper Yacht "Maltese Falcon". Ken Freivokh Design. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
• The Maltese Falcon in front of my window in LeCros on July 25, 2007

1. ^ Pierce, Sue. "Chartering the World's Largest Private Sailboat", Helium Report, 2006-11-23. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 
2. ^ "Sailing Yacht 'Maltese Falcon' - Luxury Perini Navi yacht charter", CharterWorld. Retrieved on 2007-11-13. 

• Luxury yachts