Motor yachtGreece flag

Black Pearl

Last known position: Athens, on October 18, 2026 at 18:35 UTC.

37.93250°N, 23.64730°E

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Length24 m

Beam6.0 m

Draught—

FlagGreece

Scale: 20 mIndicative profile

This is Black Pearl

Black Pearl is a sailing yacht launched in 2016, which is 106.7 meters (350.1 ft) in length. It has three DynaRig masts supporting a sail area of 2,900 square meters (31,215 sq ft).

Background

In the 21st century, the largest sailing yachts greatly increased in size. In the 1990s, even 40 m (131 ft) long was considered a large boat. Yachts like Athena and Mirabella V were a big increase, and followed by Maltese Falcon. In the 2010s, a host of similar and larger yachts came to fruition, including Sailing Yacht A, Aquijo, and Black Pearl. While these vessels are large for sailing yachts, this size is more common among motor yachts. There are quite a number of large sailing vessels for other purposes, especially those for passenger cruises.

Build history

Inspired by the 88 m (289 ft) Maltese Falcon, the intention behind the project was to push the boundaries of the DynaRig system and demonstrate the potential for larger DynaRig-equipped vessels. The creation of the yacht, then known as "Project Solar", began on 7 July 2010 when Ken Freivokh was contracted to handle styling and design on the project. Given their involvement with Maltese Falcon, Freivokh introduced Dykstra Naval Architects to the project, and the team were able to advance the DynaRig system and to improve performance through changes both to mast shape and installation. The 96 m (315 ft) preliminary concept that resulted was codenamed "Nautilus".

DynaRig System

The DynaRig 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.