How Some .0001-Percenters Race

The shot above is not the kind of sailing shot you see very often for two reasons. First, the boat is so big. Two hundred eighty-nine feet, to be exact. Second, because she doesn’t have a traditional jib.

If you’re a longtime Latitude reader, you may recognize her as Maltese Falcon, the huge yacht with the unique DynaRig that Belvedere’s Tom Perkins had built by Perini Navi of Italy and Turkey. Perkins told Latitude that the project was started in 1999, and after some fits and starts, Falcon was launched in 2006. We’re not sure how many, if any, other yachts were built with the DynaRig, but it worked well on Falcon, as she’s hit up to 20 knots.

One of the most festive sailing days ever on San Francisco was in October 2008, when Perkins and crew sailed her beneath the Gate among a huge throng of boats.

Maltese Falcon was purchased by Elena Ambrosiadou in 2009. Once the highest paid female executive in Britain, she started and runs what’s been a fabulously successful hedge fund in Cyprus. It’s rumored that Perkins had been asking $165 million for the boat, and Elena got her for $125 million. Perkins subsequently chartered Falcon at least once, but in recent years has been concentrating on his fabulous penthouse in San Francisco.

Falcon is one of 16 Perini Navis that have been participating in the Perini Navi Cup at Porto Cervo, Sardinia. If you have to ask how much the entry fee is, you can’t afford it.