The Maltese Falcon was launched by Perini Navi in 2006. We covered her launch and before that had featured her build for magazines that we write for.
We have interviewed both her original and current owner
We have written features about the splendid contemporary art collection carried aboard
We have had onboard interviews with Burak Akgul of Perini Navi builders, Ken Freivokh her designers and Burgess her central agents for charter.
We have been guests of Burgess at a splendid and rather exclusive lunch on board the yacht at anchor off Monaco but we have never ever sailed in her until today.
Today we were very privileged to be just two of the 7 invited journalists to not only sail in her but to race in a regatta.
The yacht was specifically chartered by a very keen and highly accomplished sailor who has many business interests in his home country.
The Chinese property developer confessed in a special interview with us that it has been his long term dream to charter this iconic yacht and when the opportunity came to do so over the period of the Perini Navi Cup he had little hesitation in signing on the bottom line.
So today the last day of the Perini Navi Cup we two and a certain Chinese entrepreneur both realised our dreams and spent a splendid day in ideal sailing conditions racing this fabulous machine up and down the coast of Sardinia