If you spot an 88-meter silhouette glinting on the horizon off Monaco or St. Barts, chances are you’re looking at the Maltese Falcon. It doesn’t look like other superyachts. It doesn’t move like them, either.
For AED 2.5 million (approx. $680,000 USD) a week—before you even touch fuel, food, or berthing fees—chartering this vessel is less about renting a boat and more about buying key-holder access to a legendary piece of floating design.
Here is what stepping aboard actually feels like.
1. No Ropes, No Drama: The Magic of the Rig
Traditional sailing yachts require physical hustle—deckhands sweating over winches, lines clattering, and sails flapping violently in a gust. The Maltese Falcon tossed all of that out the window when she was launched by Italian shipyard Perini Navi.
Her three 57-meter carbon-fiber masts don’t have a single wire supporting them. Instead, they rotate on motorized bearings. All 15 sails are stored inside the masts themselves.
When the captain wants to set sail, he doesn’t call all hands on deck. He taps a computer terminal. Within six minutes, 2,400 square meters of black canvas unfurl seamlessly. The yacht leans into the water and slices silently through the swell at speeds exceeding 18 knots, completely powered by the wind.
2. Living Inside a Glass-and-Leather Penthouse
Stepping inside from the aft deck feels like entering a modern architectural showroom. At the center of the yacht sits a massive spiral staircase wrapping around the main mast. The floor beneath it is thick glass, flooding light down through three decks all the way into the lower hull.
- The Master Suite: Spans the full beam of the lower deck, featuring custom leather finishes, a walk-in dressing room, an adjoining gym, and marble bathrooms.
- The Crew Ratio: With room for just 12 guests, the yacht carries a 19-person crew. That means dedicated chefs, mixologists, deckhands, and a full-time spa therapist catering to your group around the clock.
3. The Sail Cinema and Ocean Playground
The real magic happens after sunset. The crew transforms the top deck into a movie theater unlike anything else in the world. Using a high-powered projector, they beam movies straight onto the forward lower sail. You lie back on sun loungers under the stars while listening to audio piped across the deck, hundreds of miles out at sea.
By day, the yacht turns into a floating activity resort:
- A stern swim platform that lowers straight to sea level.
- A massive inflatable slide attaching to the top deck.
- An entire garage loaded with Jet Skis, Seabobs, paddleboards, and diving gear.
The Verdict
In a world where mega-yachts can sometimes blend into identical white-hulled blocks, the Maltese Falcon remains an undisputed head-turner. It combines raw, eco-conscious sailing speed with 7-star hotel luxury—if you have the AED 2.5 million to spare.