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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), similar to Royal Huisman's Athena and Lürssen's Eos.
It was built after the Dynaship or Dyna-Rigg concept, a 1960 invention of the German engineer Wilhelm Prölss which was intended to operate commercial freight sailing ships with as few crew as possible. The ship has fifteen square sails (five per mast), stored inside the mast; they can fully unfurl into tracks along the yards in six minutes. The three carbon fiber masts, which are free-standing and able to rotate, were manufactured and assembled by a company financed by Perkins at the Perini Navi Istanbul Yildiz Gemi (star ship) yard in Tuzla, 50 miles south of Istanbul, Turkey, under the supervision of the English company Insensys and Gerard Dijkstra & Partners. Other design was provided by Ken Freivokh Design. The Falcon was the third yacht built by Perini for Perkins.
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.
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 € 325,000 to 335,000 per week plus expenses.
Lusso Magazine ran a cover feature on the Maltese Falcon in their January 2008 edition where they reported that yacht brokers Edmiston and Company were the first to set up a charter – for "a piffling €350,000 per week. This price includes a crew of 16, but you still have to pay for food and wine".
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.






