Ship shape

When it enters the water for the first time early next year the Maltese Falcon will become just about the most advanced privately owned yacht in existence. The 87.5m vessel, which is in the final stages of construction at the Istanbul shipyard of Italian superyacht specialist Perini Navi, will also be one the largest and fastest personal sailing boats in the world.

The boat is a clipper, the kind of vessel that ruled the sea in the golden age of sail. Renowned for their speed — Maltese Falcon is expected to be capable of 18–25 knots — clippers use a slender hull and a square rig, where the main horizontal spars (or yardarms) are perpendicular to the keel. By contrast, other big sailing vessels, such as schooners or sloops, typically use fore and aft rigs which consist of sails that are set along the line of the keel.

Gerry Dijsktra, the acclaimed Dutch naval architect who has been responsible for the overall design of the yacht, explained the decision to go for a clipper.