Dutch citizens enjoying a nice summer day at the beach got an extra treat this week as Black Pearl conducted sea trials just offshore.
Also known as Oceanco Y712, and as Project Solar, Black Pearl is the largest sailing superyacht in the world. LOA comes in at 348 feet (106 meters), with an equally impressive beam of about 49 feet (15 meters). Consider, too, that she displaces about 3,000 gross tons, significant volume. Her distinctive, sculpted design comes from a powerhouse combination of Dykstra Naval Architects, Ken Freivokh Design, Nuvolari-Lenard, and the owner himself. Note especially the styling of her bow (above) and transom (below).
Further distinctive, Black Pearl has a DynaRig. If you’ve seen the 289-foot (88-meter) Maltese Falcon in person or in pictures, then you’ve seen a similar setup. It’s a version of a square rigger, created in the 1960s. It’s quite aerodynamically efficient. In brief, when the crew deploys the sails, there are no gaps where they end and the yards begin. Therefore, from a short distance away, Black Pearl will seem as if she has three significant-size sails, one on each mast.
Other noteworthy facts about Black Pearl and her operations: She employs solar power, plus other environmentally minded systems. Full details, though, are not yet available.
In the meantime, we can share that Nuvolari-Lenard is additionally responsible for interior design. A 12-person owner’s party can stay aboard.
They’ll have to wait just a little while longer before they can start cruising. It’s easy to imagine the owner being eager, for several reasons. As you can imagine, projects of this magnitude require a lot of pre-planning, plus design and engineering work well before the first steel plates got cut. (Black Pearl has a steel hull.) For a little more perspective, we in the media first learned of the megayacht about five years ago.
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