| Perini Navi | 88M | "Maltese Falcon" | 2006/23 |

What happened to this thread? Where is Jed White with updates and pictures? The Yacht's website has not been updated in some time as well.

For all those interested
We are in Italy (La Spezia) for quick yard period before heading to Antigua next week
Web site has been down due to technical difficulties and lack of time.

Sorry but site will be updated asap
Cheers Jed

Some Answers to Questions about the Maltese Falcon

On another forum we have had several contributions by Tom Perkins. I'm surprised he has not contributed here in addition.

Here is a recent one:

"I have read with interest the opinions and questions posted about my Maltese Falcon "Clipper Yacht" over recent weeks. I'll attempt to answer these as best I can now that some time has elapsed.

We call her a clipper because she attempts to achieve the multiple advantages of those fast square riggers from the past. If you look at photographs of the last of the big sailing windjammers, you will see that the fore and aft sails are really just vistigial---all the power is coming from the square sails themselves. The Dijkstra design simply carries this trend to its logical end, and eliminates all these redunant sails. The DynsRig concept leads to a yacht with the ability to point so high, that jibs, etc. are just in the way.

The superstructure is just sufficiently high to permit a view ahead, over the bow, from the wheel house. Any lower, and the view would be blocked by the bow, and thus I believe, be unsafe.

The signal mast forward is required for the radars, which cannot be mounted on the rotating masts. The height is required to raise the radar beam above the superstructure sufficiently to protect crew from the radiation. Also, this mast, in my opinion, fills in a space where one might otherwise expect to see jibs, and so it is there partly for aesthetic reasons.

The sails are set automatically by a single person from a central console. Of course, there is routine maintenance required by an agile crew of sailors aloft, but rarely do they have to be in the rig during sailing. The upper sails are set or furled as required to control heeling. In a twenty knot true wind with everything set, and hard on the wind, the heeling angle is about 22 degrees. This isn't much for a small boat, but it feels too much for most guests, so we furl the sails necessary to keep heeling to around 15 degrees, and there is only a modest drop in speed.

To date the we have set and furled all the sails over one thousand times. We have had only two or three problems requiring a man to go aloft to sort. We have experienced no damage to sails or rig. This is a staggering number. With all due respect to Mirabella V, I expect that during her entire lifetime, which I trust will be very long, her sails will not be set this many times. The DynaRig is very practical for a big boat, for the ease of use factor, if for no other reason.

The Falcon may be a motor sailor, but not by my definition, since she sails faster than she motors---if that doesn't qualify her as a sailboat, then what does?

I have raced classics for much of my life. I believe the Falcon is a new classic, and to my eye, she is very beautiful." Tom Perkins

...more here..Maltese Falcon ... hit or miss?

Thanks Jed, absent with good reason.

I would add that having witnessed DynaRig in action it is indeed an amazingly simple-to-operate yet powerful rig design and implementation. I think that MF has proved the point about this style of rig, and there will others who will use this in the future. Clearly, with all new things, it takes a while for people to get used to the look of it, and for some this may be a stumbling block that they cannot overcome. But if you wish to set sail quickly DynaRig is unbeatable in this size of yacht. And Tom is of course right, Mirabella will never achieve that number of sail set and stow cycles.

Discovery Channel took some great video of us sailing at over 18.5 knts, and they will air their show in December, after which we will be able to air our version of it also. I think you guys will like it.

Joe

Maybe you should believe it, at least if our crew member happens to be the owner himself...

Originally Posted by yachtluver
...24knots with just 3 sails out!!!!!! That is amazing..i almost do not believe that..but i will take the crew's word on that...


Maybe you should believe it, at least if our crew member happens to be the owner himself...
__________________

wow I must have missed a few posts,I got to back up and read about this..................

If you read the post from the crew's diary that yachtluver provided a link too, you will see what AMG is getting at. Check the name of the crew member that made the entry

M F on CNN

b t w.
saw an announcement from CNN intern. that the next "main sail" will show a feature ab. the M F. In Europe next Sunday and Monday.

TS

It's True

Yes its true, we hit 24.8 kts (GPS) in max 67Kts wind crossing the gulf of Lyon in a Mistral. 3 sails up and going like a train!!!!
Winds have been light for the crossing but 2 days ago we completed our first 10,000 miles (since 1st July) and the trip has been relatively quiet.
We are now 300 miles from Antigua but will probably cruise a bit before heading in on the 2nd
See you all there
regards Jed

Simply astonishing! Good job Jed!!

Jed,
Saw MF on a show on VH1 the other day, what a beaut! And hitting 24 knots, that is cool. You said that was in 67 knot winds, how bad were the seas? Let us know if you ever head down here to South Florida (we can do a feature on the captain/crew for the paper I work for).

Great Article in YachtingWorld

Jan issue of YachtingWorld has a great article on Maltese Falcon by David Glenn

Falcon Site update

For all you "Falcon" fans out there

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND BEST WISHES FROM THE CREW

We have a new IT engineer and the site's getting the update you've all been waiting for
Check out the photos from the crew, we hope you like them!! there's even a special one of MV

Also check out www.amoryross.com and click Portfolio, then Antigua SuperYacht Cup..there's some awesome photos.

Antigua on the 16th Jan

Cheers Jed

Tacking Maneuver

Can you describe the 'tack' maneuver in more detail?

Which way are you rotating the mast? all together?

I believe I have seen a reference to the masts being able to rotate 360 degrees and another indicating only 180 degrees??

Tacking the 'Big Bird'

The masts all rotate 180 degrees, +/- 90 degrees from amidships, they could go continuously round and round except for the need to have electrical cables to power and control the sails and lights.
The fore is an exception as it can be 'overrotated' approximately 10 degrees each side to allow us to pick up the port tender and launch on stb side and vice versa.

The sequence for tacking is that we come 'off'the wind a bit to get boat speed up, then start start the tack, turning the bow through the wind.
We hold the fore mast, effectively backing the sail, then as soon as the bow is head to wind we rotate the main and mizzen masts through the wind until they are full and drawing, then we complete the tack by rotating the fore mast to its new postion, and off we go. It can be a bit slow and we always lose boat speed but have never been 'in irons' and rarely use any 'help' from the engines. sometimes we have one running 'just in case' but we pride ourselves on not using it unless absolutely neccessary.

I hope this explains it a bit more

Here is a rather pretty photo of Falcon I found in an Antigua newsgroup forum
http://www.geographia.com/antiguanews/messages/153/5462.html?1166634116