The Black Pearl was the first arrival in the new year, docking sometime on Tuesday evening. It’s much more attractive than some of the other large sailing vessels, and has some nifty technology.
According to Wikipedia, the Black Pearl is owned by Russian Millionaire Oleg Burlakov, and is 106.3 meters (350 feet) long and 15 meters (49.2 feet) wide. It has three 70-meter ( 230 feet) high masts and is capable of 30 knots (56km/h) in favorable sailing conditions. During sea trials it reported 20 knots. The diesel engines can propel it to 17.5 knots (32km/h) and while sailing, the variable pitch propellers generate electricity.
The DynaRig masts support a 2,900 square meter sail plan (31,215 square feet) and are similar to the masts on the Maltese Falcon. They used the same design team for the masts on the Black Pearl. The mast style owes its origin to Wilhelm Prölss’ research in the 1960s. The DynaRig consists of freestanding rotating masts with rigid yards and acts as a square rig. Each of Black Pearl‘s masts supports six yards, which, unlike a conventional square rigger, have built-in camber of 12%. The fifteen square sails are set between the yards in such a way that when deployed there are no gaps in the sail plan of each mast, enabling them to act as a single airfoil. The furling sails are stored in the mast and can be deployed along tracks on the yards in six minutes. The sails are trimmed by rotating the masts. As there is no rigging, the masts and yards can be rotated without restriction for all points of sail, making Black Pearl a capable upwind clipper.
The large yacht accommodates 12 guests in a master cabin, two VIP cabins and two double guest cabins, has a jacuzzi, convertible cinema, sundeck, and tender garage. The boat is run by 18 crew in 12 cabins. Apparently the annual cost of running the black Pearl is 15 to 20 million US, so around 10% of the purchase price…yikes! You Tube Black Pearl Intro.