|
|
|
Yacht owner, naval architect, shipyard founder and designer join forces for The Maltese Falcon.
by Justin Ratcliffe and Jill Bobrow
photography by Giuliano Sargentini and Emilio Bianchi
|
12/01/2006
|
| Perini Navi 289 |  |
We pored over the plans together, and I immediately decided to
go with it. So off we went on a voyage of discovery together. Fabio always
listened to my ideas. I lowered the profile of the boat for aesthetic reasons,
and we worked to keep the weight to a minimum. Together we invented a fisherman
staysail. We also kept refining the sail plan, so that we would be able to go to
windward more easily. We had a rolling backstay track at the top of the mast to
permit the sheet and the sail to be led outboard. We changed various other
details, such as the position of the controls. I had complete faith in him. In
fact, the yacht was nearly two-thirds completed when it dawned on me that I
never even signed a contract. I called Giancarlo, his managing director, and we
finally drew up a contract. That is the kind of man Fabio is, and that is the
kind of relationship we have. I sailed Andromeda la Dea around the world
for nearly a decade, and she was the fastest Perini Navi until The Maltese
Falcon was built.
 Tom Perkins. Photograph by Justin Ratcliffe. (Click image to enlarge)
I have always had a passion for sailing. Simultaneous with
Andromeda la Dea, I owned a 1915-built Herreshoff schooner called
Mariette, which I raced at many classic regattas. In 1995, during the
Nioulargue regatta in Saint-Tropez, there was a tragic accident, and a man
racing a small boat was killed. I was completely devastated. I received a call
from Fabio wanting to see me to offer support. I told him it was not necessary
to come, and that there was nothing he could do. He caught me completely by
surprise by announcing he had driven from Viareggio and was in
Saint-Tropez. He said, "If I asked you, you would have said don’t make that
seven-hour drive, don’t come." That is the kind of friendship we have.
Top: The main salon showing the custom-made ceramic
Bugatti that lowers into the table. Middle: Freivokh avoided straight lines, as witnessed by
the curved bulkheads. Bottom: The games/conversation area on the main deck. Photography by Giuliano Sargentini and Emilio Bianchi. (Click images to enlarge)
Fabio and I have maintained a perfect understanding throughout the build of The Maltese Falcon. The hull of the boat was
originally conceived for another customer, but the deal fell though. It
languished for a while at the Perini yard in Turkey. I went to investigate and
discovered that the hull was quite beautiful, with the same freeboard-to-length
ratio as Mariette. It was originally conceived to break the transatlantic
record. I didn’t want the superstructure or the original rig. I didn’t want
winches everywhere or a bowsprit. However, I knew I was on to something
incredible. I wanted to work with Perini Navi, but I also wanted to do things my
way. Fabio was completely open to my ideas.
I flew to Amsterdam to meet with naval architect Gerry Dijkstra and his partners, as I think they are the best for very large, fast
sailing yachts. We talked about what I wanted, and Gerry pulled out this old
1960s German government data on a DynaRig. We ruminated over keeping the
existing hull or building a new one. Eventually, when I was committed to this
crazy project, we made a model, we toyed with a bulbous bow, we tank tested it
and combined that test with a wind tunnel. The bulb slowed down the tacking. We
doubled the sail area and added 100 tons of lead to compensate, then had to get
rid of weight elsewhere, then increased the draft by 1.8 meters to accommodate
lateral resistance, then we moved the rudder aft 2.5 meters and changed the
shape of the skeg.
 The owner’s suite on the lower deck. Photograph by Giuliano Sargentini and Emilio Bianchi. (Click image to enlarge)
I was involved in all technical aspects of the boat. I even
decided to be the vendor myself for the carbon-fiber spars. I hired Damon
Roberts and Mark Jones from Insensys and made a deal to subcontract the spars to
them. I ordered the carbon fiber in Japan, shipped it to England and made it
into woven cloth, then shipped it to Turkey. No doubt the U.S. State Department
was wondering why such large quantities of military-grade carbon fiber were
being shipped to such a country. I asked Perini to build a shed in Turkey for
spar fabrication and not to charge me rent. When I was finished, they would have
a facility to build masts. The deal had to be good for all parties. In fact, the
whole boat was a major team effort.
Top: The guest cabins can be opened up to create two VIP suites. Photograph by Giuliano Sargentini and Emilio Bianchi. Bottom: A
detail of the carbon, aluminum and glass finish in the bathroom. Photograph by Simon Mcbride. (Click images to enlarge)
The yard in Turkey was fantastic. The shipyard’s owner, Baki
Gökbayrak, is a terrific businessman, well connected and excellent at everything
he does. We all agreed to finish the entire boat in Turkey. I am very impressed
with the Turks. They tell you they will do something, and they will do it. All
was done well—the filling, the painting, the polishing—they have the highest
grade of technological equipment. I would put the Turkish quality up against
anything built in Holland or Germany. The whole project took 1,200,000
man-hours. I rented three houses in Turkey for all my support crew; it was
called the Perkins neighborhood. My captain, Chris Gartner, has been with me for
16 years. I couldn’t have done it without him.
With builder and naval architect in place, I focused on the
interior design. I read a lot of magazines, including yours (ShowBoats
International), to know who all the designers were. I appreciated how
diverse Ken Freivokh was. Some designers have a signature style. I wanted my own
style. Ken did a superb job designing my classic motor yacht Atlantide,
so I knew we worked well together. I drove down to his place in the south of
England in my McLaren. Ken is as much of a car nut as I am. Ken and his partner
Liz Windsor have dedicated the last five years of their lives to the
Falcon. Ken is responsible for exterior styling, the atrium’s circular
staircase, the skylight glass floor, as well as all the interior and deck
spaces.
|
|
|
|
|
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Email This
Printer Friendly Version
Reprints & Permissions
Most Popular Searches