Boat International - June 2018

Wind speeds hit 30 knots on the passage, which kicked up mean

3.5 metre seas.

Captain Chris Gartner was up on the flybridge for much of the

trip, helming from one of two big wheels. “It was awesome,” he says.

“We had moments when everybody was just cheering and basically

having the time of their lives. I was steering the boat like it was

a dinghy or a 40ft sailboat – we were going 20 knots, under full sail.

It was a hell of an experience.” He remembers one watch with

the owner’s rep, Derek Munro; the two men turned to each other

grinning, sharing the unspoken thought: “We can’t believe this

boat.” Nor, indeed, could Portuguese VTS when they spotted Black

Pearl crossing shipping lanes.

“Black Pearl, Black Pearl. Can you confirm that you are a sailboat,”

the Portuguese authority called over VHF.

“Yes, VTS, we are a sailing yacht,” the captain shot back.

After a pause: “Black Pearl, Black Pearl. Can you please confirm

you have no engines on.”

“VTS, this is Black Pearl. Yes, I can confirm we have no

engines on.”

Another, longer pause: “Black Pearl, Black Pearl. Are you doing

20 knots?”

After confirming, there was a (presumably stunned) silence.

But 20 knots, Munro says, is just the beginning. “I think on the right

day, in the right conditions, we’ll get more than that. We’ll be surfing

down a wave with a great breeze and hit 28 knots. The hull speed is

30 knots, which would be phenomenal.”

If this were simply a story about the incredible performance of

the Oceanco-built, 106.7 metre Black Pearl, it would be enough. But

there’s so much more here, because this isn’t only the world’s largest

sailing yacht, it’s the world’s most advanced superyacht full stop.

During the passage to the Med, the yacht’s controllable pitch

propellers remained unfeathered, stealing a few knots of speed, but

in turn feeding power back into the ship via a pair of shaft

generators. The power generated was suicient to run the entire

Left: Captain Chris Gartner was almost speechless during Black Pearl’s

shakedown cruise from the Netherlands to the Med. “When we were sailing

along at 18-20 knots and the boat was regenerating with all the main engines and

generators switched of, that was a big moment for all of us. We couldn’t believe it”

Richard Tatlow

chief engineer

It’s an extremely proud moment

of my career, to be at the forefront

[of design and engineering]. There

aren’t any yachts out there that

I know of that have this technology

and this insight into being as

environmentally friendly as

possible. I would hope that on

the back of that we can share

technology and share the results

with the rest of the maritime

industry and hopefully even

commercial ships could benefit

from the systems we have on

board, but on a larger scale.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SAAVAS BALTZIS; ANDREY CHEPAKIN

THE SHAKEDOWN WAS AN EYE-OPENER: STRAIGHT OUT OF

ROTTERDAM INTO THE GREY MENACE OF THE NORTH SEA AND ON

DOWN THROUGH A BROILING BISCAY TO GIBRALTAR.

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