Tom Perkins - The Greatest Sailboat Ever - Maltese Falcon

Tom Perkins, the venture capitalist behind such companies as Google, Genentech, Amazon, and AOL, doesn't do things halfway. When he collected vintage cars, for instance, he had the world's largest collection of Bugatti automobiles. And when he decided to pursue a lifelong dream and build a sailing yacht, he went the whole nine yards: He decided it would be the world's largest yacht--big enough to fit Noah's Ark on its deck. He wanted it to sail at a record 26 knots, under unprecedented physical forces. And, he thought, having built this marine wonder, why not use it to try to smash the 155--year--old world sailing record from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn?
Thus the Maltese Falcon--the largest private sailing vessel ever constructed--was born.
Perkins is a sailor as well as a dreamer, and he loves the romantic idea of sailing--and the magnificent ships of yore with names like Cutty Sark and Sea Witch that conjured up images of speed and danger. So Perkins set out to build "the perfect yacht"--as long as a football field, 42 feet wide, and with three masts so tall they will just fit under the great suspension bridges of the world. The Maltese Falcon, as he's dubbed his ship (since its home berth will be Malta), will use technology no clipper skipper ever imagined--a rig with no sheets, no stays, no halyards--just free--standing, rotating carbon fiber masts with 18 sails surging freely in the wind. At $87 million, it will be a technological marvel--as complex as the man himself. The famed Perini Navi yard in Turkey put the Falcon in the water in 2006, ready for sea trials.
There is some competition to the title of the grandest yacht of all--the Athena (being built by Netscape founder Jim Clark) and the Mirabella V (being built by Avis Car Rental magnate Joe Vittoria). Athena will be the largest sloop, and Mirabella V the largest schooner. But the Maltese Falcon will be a marvel of mechanics, engineering, and techonology, married with the romance of the age of sail, dressed out in the finest accommodations money can buy and the human mind can imagine. More than just the story of the boat, The Falcon is a broader profile of the combination of ambition, recklessness, bravado, and achievements of a 21st century entrepreneur and his time.

http://www.amazon.com/Mines-Bigger-Pe...
http://www.kpcb.com/

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[rx8malta]

this is one of the nicest boats ever. who say this is ugly does not know what a nice boat/ship is. i am from malta the tiny island where this ship is registered. alot of yatchs come and go and the largest yatches in the world. i seen this in real life and by far this is one of the nicest ones i ever saw this and pelerus top 2. not largest but prettiest

[Paul Marcum]

HA! The Dow was at 13600 when this was shown, now it's at 9000!!!

[Chris Peters]

ha ha die motherf_ckers

[Charlotte Cayless]

Tom Perkins had 500 Silver & Gold coins made to give to the yachtbuilders as souvenirs. I got the last available coin on the yacht and it is FOR SALE, message me......

[RyanORourkelol]

I would love to have that ship because I like sailing, not because of an ego or any want to show it off. Fuck the news.

[Isaac Mocarski]

Just saw this today in St Barth's

[nikolas1925]

Btw the biggest yacht is EOS 92.92 metres this one is 85 metres and it's the 2th biggest yacht in the world...But if you can spend 200 million $ you can built "Project Atlas" a 110 metres sail yacht...

[nikolas1925]

Sold to Greek Hedge Fund Tycoon Elena Ambrosiadou in 2009

[ZerqTM]

(like google and microsoft btw... )

[ZerqTM]

so he is a tax evading sone of a bitch...

[sail027li]

Dramatic, striking, & certainly not ugly, but definitely NOT among the most beautiful of yachts either!

[mon3104]

MALTA!!