Aye Matee, Ye New Pirate Ship

The captain of this ship? His name is Tom Perkins, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Where did his fortune come from? The early investments in Genentech, Netscape, and Google. He's made a huge fortune and certainly has something to show for it, because not anybody can build a mega-yacht yanking $130 million from the bank. This yacht is the first of its kind. When most people think of large yachts, they don't have sails, but this one does. It is called the Maltese Falcon, and spans 289 feet in length. This thing is an engineering marvel because it is the biggest, riskiest, fastest, and the most technologically advanced, single-hulled sailing mega-yacht in the entire world. There are no ropes for the operation of its 26,000 sq. ft. of sail. This yacht has 3 towering 192-foot masts, with walls constructed of carbon fiber to reduce weight and endure stress that many metals cannot. The masts also have tiny fiber optic sensors embedded in them relaying the amount stress each mast is receiving as a necessary precaution. Those masts aren't light and could be catastrophic if rising problem is not detected. The yacht has a good number of microprocessors, that are linked to 131,000 feet of hidden cable and wire. There are a total of 75 motors all synchronized by computer. Perkins stated in Wired Magazine that he didn't want electronics governing every process, so it wouldn't be sailing by computer. "No way Bill Gates is controlling my boat." (Wired Magazine - 2007) Check out the additional pictures of this marvel of modern day yachting and then drool (=