Square rigged, Maltese Falcon, and the tall ship, Amerigo Vespucci. Are to be gusts of honour and will together cut the ribbon of the 52nd edition of the
Genoa Boat Show
The two large three masted sailing ships will meet for the first time during the most important of Italian boat shows.
Both are over 80 metres in length, with Maltese Falcon measuring 88m and
Amerigo Vespucci at 82m.
The Turkish built Maltese Falcon, was launched by Perini Navi in 2006, has a beam of 12.6m, displaces 1,240 tons and has a sail plan of 2,400 square metres that comprises 15 sails.
Her rigging technology employs Dyna Rig, a system that mounts three rotating, self-supporting carbon fibre masts. Each of these supports five panels of square sails
When built this yacht and her rigging represented a quantum leap in the history of sailing technology. Thanks to innovative hydraulic systems her 2,400 square meters of sails can be manoeuvred by a single person in just six minutes.
Maltese Falcon can sail at over 20 knots.
Amerigo Vespucci was launched by the Castellamare di Stabia shipyard in
1931. She measures 101m overall including her bowsprit, has 16m beam and displaces 3,700 tons. She too has three masts and a sail plan that counts 24 sails in a total of 2,800 square meters. Her main mast is 54 M high and she requires a crew of 270. She is the oldest vessel in the Italian Navy.
Amerigo Vespucci recently concluded her 78th training course. During this course, cadets from Leghorn’s Naval Academy spend a total of 68 days,
On board, learning to sail a vessel of this size and type. They cover 6,000 nautical miles, motoring for 1,000 hours and sailing for 400 hours and making stops at many of the principal ports of Europe.