Coolest Sail Photo of the Last 20 Years

In the summer of 2008, the Maltese Falcon visited the Bay Area for the first and only time.  The 289 foot super yacht was here to support the Leukemia Cup in September.  During her infamous stay in the bay, she was hit and run by another boat and in the shot above, was witness to a terrible fire on Angel Island.  This shot was taken from the Golden Gate Bridge on a HD camera.  The owner of this amazing vessel, billionaire Tom Perkins, was paying homage to the Clipper Ships of yore when he built his dreamboat.  In this instance, the sails drop down from each yardarm and all three masts rotate to tack or gybe.  All at the click of a button.  Pretty cool indeed.  And all from a small control panel in the cockpit.

What i love about this photo is juxtaposition of this conspicuously consumed yacht and this wild fire in the hills that burned 3/4 of the island.  It brings goose bumps to my skin.

I will expound further on the boat that hit the Falcon in a later post.  The skipper ended up getting the Bonehead Move of the Decade!