In the months leading up to this, extensive Test drives on the North Sea, extensive Crew trainingcertification according to Lloyd's Register and the final outfitting, such as the crow's nest, which rises 52 metres on the foremast. An all-star team of designers and engineers was involved in the realisation of this mega project. It all began with Ken Freivokh, who had already created an 88 metre long Dynarig three-master in 2006 with "Maltese Falcon" and was commissioned by the current "Black Pearl" owner with the conceptual design in 2010. Gerard P. Villate supported Freivokh in designing the interior, while naval architect Carlo Nuvolari and designer Dan Lenard from Nuvolari Lenard completed the team of experts at the start of the construction phase. Dykstra Naval Architects planned and calculated the three 70 metre long Dynarig masts, including the sail wardrobe. The crew sets 2,900 square metres of sail at the touch of a button in seven minutes. In calm conditions, two diesel engines, each with 1,080 kilowatts of power, start up and propel the three-decker to a speed of 17.50 knots. The 15 metre wide steel hull accommodates twelve guests in six cabins. Captain Chris Gartner, who was previously in command of "Maltese Falcon", is now steering "Black Pearl" from Rotterdam towards Gibraltar - under full sail in the right conditions and at speeds of up to 30 knots, as in the trial runs.
