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WHY ARE RACING SAILS BLACK?

North sails expert per andersson explores fashion and function in the striking look of black sails on the water, and explains why sails may come in different shades of black..

Fashion, Function, and Material Composition

Black has not always been the fast look for sails, but lately more and more black sails are showing up on the water. Why? The simple answer is that many sails are now made with carbon fibers—the strongest load-carrying material in sails—and carbon is black. If some sails seem even blacker to you than they did a few years ago, you may be noticing North’s 3Di sails, a product that has gained significant market share since it first was introduced. Many sailmakers use carbon in their sails, but typically the carbon is laminated between layers of polyester or Mylar film, so it does not look completely black.

North’s 3DL sails fell into this category for many years, with variable densities of the carbon, depending on where it was needed to resist the heaviest loads. 3Di sails are darker because starting in 2013 with the introduction of 3Di RAW , we’ve rid our highest-performing sails of the cover layer and its associated parasitic weight.

We should point out that not all 3Di sails are black, because North has 3Di products that include aramid fibers, which are yellow, and Dyneema fibers, which are white. We also use black, white or gray taffeta or non-woven surface materials for durability on our 3Di ENDURANCE and 3Di OCEAN performance cruising products, for which the owner can choose the color of preference.

Early on, to make a more consistent and solid look on our RAW product, we began to pigment the aramid fibers because they simply looked better black, mixed with carbon and Dyneema fibers. “Dyneema fibers are not available with black pigment but with only a small amount of Dyneema in our 3Di sail structure, a small amount of pigment in the adhesive produces a solid black surface.”

Many sailmakers have followed the trend toward black sails. Most add a “light skin” or taffeta on top of the film to achieve the black look! Others simply add a non-woven layer of colored polyester material to make the sails black.

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Sailing for a living requires sails that work. These inspirational sailors put hours on their sails in remote locations and put their trust in Precision Sails.

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Designed for your boat, your sailing area, and the type of sailing you do. Over 15,000 Sailboat Rig Specs on file.

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Mainsails, Headsails, Asymmetrical Spinnakers, Symmetrical Spinnakers, Gennakers, Code Zeros – we have it all!

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With the widest selection of sailcloth available in the industry there is always a cloth suited for you. Let us help narrow down your options.

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Educating & Consulting to Ensure You Get What You Need

Sails are the main propulsion force for sailboats. Unfortunately, most sailors don’t replace their sails often enough. This can lead to the assumption that purchasing new sails can be overwhelming and confusing. Precision Sails takes a new approach to the sailing industry by helping you choose what sails and sailcloth is best for you, your sailboat, the type of sailing you want to do, and the area in which you are sailing. We offer industry-leading transparency into what sailcloth is available worldwide and the importance of sail design to your sail’s performance and lifespan.

Our website is filled with educational resources related to cloth, design, and technical sailing knowledge. Our team of sail consultants is always available to walk you through the options and help you choose the sail that is right for you.

Perfect Sails Start With a Perfect Design

In order for a sail to fit and perform it needs to be designed properly. While other lofts are contracting sail designs to third-party design services, Precision Sails is building its in-house design team in Victoria BC, Canada, to work directly with sailors to ensure your new sail fits perfectly and performs the way that you want it to. Using the most modern 3D sail design software our design team will customize a sail that not only fits your rig as she sits in the water today but ensure that your sail fits and performs for years to come.

100% Fit and Performance Guarantee

Buying a new sail is a big investment. Precision Sails offers its 100% Guarantee so all our sailors have the confidence that Precision Sails has your back. Accidents are rare, but they can happen. If your sail does not fit or perform to your satisfaction your sail will be redesigned and rebuilt. As experts in our craft and with the confidence we have from supporting thousands of sailors worldwide, our team is proud to boast the widest covering sail warranty in the industry.

Leading the Industry in Sailcloth Options

Sailcloth manufacturers offer many different types of sailcloth in multiple different quality levels. There is always sailcloth available that will meet your sailing needs as well as your budget. Precision Sails offers all sailors full transparency into what sailcloth is offered and from which manufacture. Our team is here to help select which cloth is best suited for your sailing needs.

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Precision Sails is proud to partner with these amazing sailors documenting their adventures. These sailors inspire new sailors and weekend warriors alike to learn how to sail, sail more often, and sail further than ever before. If you are looking for some inspiration to cut the lines and sail away make sure to help us support these creators by watching their episodes.

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Types of Sails

Precision Sail Loft specializes in producing headsails, mainsails, spinnakers, gennakers, and code zeros. So no matter the type of sail you’re looking for, we can help. Our sails are trusted by cruisers and racers alike from around the globe. Review the sail options and craftsmanship available to customize your dream sail.

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Every sail we craft is produced to the highest standards with the best hardware, craftsmanship, and skill-set in the industry. Pair that with Precision Sails’ approach to communication and your sailboat will be ready to set sail before you know it.

What are Sailors Saying About Precision Sails

Precision Sails thrives on communication. At each step from design to delivery, we encourage you to collaborate one-on-one with our expert sail consultants in finding the perfect sail to suit your needs. Don’t just hear it from us. Check out some reviews posted on third-party review sites by our sailors!

“ I have had two sails made by Precision Sails in the last 12 months. Both have exceeded my expectations. The fit to the boat and the performance of the sails are exceptional. The sail designer worked with me to make sure the resulting sail fit my objectives. Precision Sails has excellent documentation and videos to assure that your measurements are accurate. The sails are first rate and the price was very competitive. I am a very happy repeat customer. -Terry Noreault (Facebook)

“ I just received my asymmetrical spinnaker, with sock and turtle bag, along with a new 135 Genoa. The entire process was simple and both sales and the design team were in regular contact if there were any questions. The customer portal was easy to use and lets you keep track of where in the process your sails are. Great sails, great service -Graham Edwards (Facebook)

“ Very responsive, excellent quality, very fair prices. When they were not happy with the graphic on the first sail Ron called to let me know and they sent me a second sail at no charge. Highly recommended! -Gerry Beltgens (facebook)

“ We love the design, quality, construction, and performance of our new 95% furling jib from Precision Sails. The sail works well with our staysail and performs better than expected on all points of sail including poled out dead down wind. The new 95% jib does not get as overpowered as our old 135% Genoa and it is easier to tack with the staysail deployed. The design team made the process of getting accurate dimensions easy, took the time to understand our requirements, and was a pleasure to deal with. I will definitely do business with Precision again! -Charles Clark (Google)

“ Quality throughout the whole process… starting with quotation, options and cloth alternatives. Quick delivery time and the product is very good quality. I am very pleased to carry my Precision sails on my boat. I recommend them 100%! -Marcos D.

“ I just received the 2nd custom-made sail I’ve ordered through Precision Sails. The process for providing measurement information and custom images is very clearly laid out in the forms on their website, in addition to several instructional YouTube videos. The results turned out beautifully, just as I had pictured it for both sails! -Michael Shafer (Google)

“ Just received my new mainsail from Precision Sail Loft and am over the moon about it. Darryl walked me through all my options and gave great advice. The measurement form is foolproof. They keep you updated with the status of your order every step of the way. I can recommend them highly enough. -Henry Gomez (Google)

“ I was introduced to Precision Sails through Sailing Yacht Ruby Rose on You Tube. I decided to try the online experience myself. I provided the measurements and had good conversations with the sales team and with the sail designer. The new Genoa arrived in great condition and was a perfect fit! Couldn’t be happier!! -Brad Hamrlik (Google)

“ The whole team at Precision Sails was fantastic from start to finish. We’ve had a laminate main and genoa made so far and have a spinnaker on the way. They listened carefully to our needs and recommended a great sail cloth. We couldn’t have gotten more bang for our buck! -Noah Regelous (Google)

“ Our new sails performed flawlessly. Several of our crew were seasoned Annapolis sailors, who commented on the quality of the sails and of how they seemed to improve Godspeed’s performance. We were also impressed with your consult-measure-design process. Your sales persons were knowledgeable and helpful. As was the designer, who I spoke with several time. We had obtained quotes at the Annapolis Boat Show from North Sails and Quantum Sails — both were more expensive than your quote for equivalent quality and options.” -Randy Gillies

“ We received our spinnaker and launched it yesterday and I just wanted to let you know how pleased we are with it. The service we received from your company was exceptional and the quality of your product is second to none. We will certainly be return customers in the next few months to replace our main and jib sails and will recommend your company to all our sailing buddies. Once again-thank you.” -Daniel Jackson (Google)

Sailor Resources

The Precision Sails’ team has a wealth of knowledge on all things sailing. Tap into our range of useful resources and browse all topics ranging from the best cloth types to sail maintenance tips. Check out our Ask Precision Sails series where we answer questions provided by sailors like you!

How to Measure for a New Mainsail

If you can read a tape measure you can measure your boat for a new Mainsail.

Purchasing a new Mainsail for your sailboat is one of those investments that every sailor will be faced with eventually. Sails don’t last for ever, even if you treat them like gold. Once you have decided to invest in new sails you may get that feeling of being over whelmed by the choices and the details involved. When deciding on a loft to work with make sure you choose a loft that will offer a good consultation on the cloth and sail feature choices as well as a design consultation if you want one.

Jibs vs. Genoas

Get to know the difference!

Jibs and Genoas are triangular sails which are affixed to a stay in front of the mast. Typically they run from the head of the foremast to the bowsprit. Jibs and genoa’s are used in tandem with a mainsail to stabilize the vessel and are usually measured by their Luff Perpendicular percentage, that is, how much area within the fore-triangle they use.

Taking Headsail Measurements with the Mast Down

Measuring your Headsail with your mast down is still possible.

Step by Step How To Instructions and Videos on how to collect your boats measurements for a your new headsail. Watch Jeremy Roszmann, sail designer, walk us through how to collecte great measurements to build a headsail with.

How To Measure for a New Spinnaker

Learn how to measure your boat and rig for a new spinnaker with our simple form.

Measuring your rig for a new spinnaker is easy. We need to know the location of your halyard, what your maximum hoist is, where the location you sheet to is located and what style. We also need to know if you have a bowsprit, plan to use a spinnaker sock, or other kind of furling system. Last but not least, you get to pick your colors!

Mainsails: Loose Foot VS Fixed Foot

If you currently have a fixed footed mainsail read about the new modern design of a loose footed mainsail.

Sail design has come a long way in the past several decades. A loose footed mainsail is becoming the norm for most sailors. It allows for creating a better shaped sail. This increasings sail performance, efficency, and power. Having a loose-footed sail means having a much more versatile sail as far as trimming is concerned.

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Why Racing Sailing Yachts Opt for Black Sails: An Insider’s Guide

Racing sailing yachts are often seen with black sails, which can be a striking and intimidating sight for onlookers. But why do these boats use black sails, and what advantages do they offer?

One reason for the use of black sails is to reduce glare and improve visibility for the crew. White sails can reflect sunlight and create a glare that makes it difficult to see the course ahead, especially in bright conditions. Black sails absorb light and reduce glare, making it easier for sailors to spot obstacles and make quick decisions.

Another advantage of black sails is their ability to absorb heat and transfer it to the sailcloth, which can help to create more lift and speed. This is particularly useful in light wind conditions, where the extra boost can make a significant difference. Additionally, black sails can be made from materials that are more durable and resistant to UV damage, which can extend their lifespan and reduce maintenance costs.

Advantages of Black Sails

Black sails have become a popular choice for racing sailing yachts due to the following advantages:

Black sails give a sleek and modern look to the yacht, which is visually appealing and can attract sponsors and fans. The sails also look good in photographs and videos, which is important for marketing purposes.

Higher Speeds

Black sails absorb more sunlight than white sails, which makes them warmer and increases their efficiency. This can result in higher speeds, especially in light winds. The difference in speed may not be significant, but it can make a difference in a race where every second counts.

UV Protection

Black sails are less likely to fade or get damaged by UV rays than white sails. This is because black sails absorb more light and heat than white sails, which can cause them to break down faster. Black sails made of carbon fibers are especially resistant to UV damage and can last longer than other materials.

Durability and Strength

Black sails are made of strong and durable materials, such as carbon fibers, which can withstand high winds and rough seas. They are also less likely to get dirty or stained than white sails, which can be a problem in long races.

Black sails are usually lighter than white sails, which can make a difference in racing. The weight savings can be used to add other equipment or to improve the yacht’s performance.

Black sails absorb more heat than white sails, which can be a disadvantage in hot weather. The heat can make the yacht’s cabin uncomfortable and can affect the crew’s performance. However, this can be mitigated by using lighter materials or by adding ventilation.

In conclusion, black sails have several advantages over white sails, including a sleek look, higher speeds, UV protection, durability and strength, and weight savings. However, they may not be suitable for all conditions, especially in hot weather.

Disadvantages of Black Sails

Black sails may look sleek and stylish, but they do come with some disadvantages that sailors should consider before choosing them for their racing yachts.

One of the main disadvantages of black sails is their cost. They are often more expensive than traditional white sails, as they require special materials and manufacturing processes. This can be a significant investment for sailors, and may not be worth it for those on a tight budget.

Maintenance

Black sails also require more maintenance than white sails. They tend to show dirt and stains more easily, which means they need to be cleaned more frequently. Additionally, black sails can be prone to fading over time, which means they may need to be replaced more frequently than white sails.

Delamination

Another potential issue with black sails is delamination. This occurs when the layers of the sail start to separate, which can weaken the sail and make it less effective. Black sails are more prone to delamination than white sails, which means sailors need to be vigilant about checking for signs of damage.

Black sails are also more susceptible to damage from UV rays. The dark color absorbs more sunlight, which can cause the material to break down more quickly. Sailors need to be careful to store their black sails properly and to protect them from the sun when not in use.

Finally, black sails can be less visible than white sails, especially in low light conditions. This can make it more difficult for other boats and ships to see the racing yacht, which could be dangerous. Sailors need to take extra precautions to ensure their boat is visible to other vessels on the water.

Overall, while black sails may look impressive, they do come with some drawbacks that sailors need to consider before choosing them for their racing yachts.

Material Composition of Black Sails

Black sails are a common sight in racing sailing yachts. They are often made of a combination of materials that provide the necessary strength and durability for the high-performance demands of racing. Here are some of the materials that are commonly used in the composition of black sails:

• Carbon fibers : Carbon fibers are known for their strength and lightness. They are often used in the construction of high-performance sails, including black sails.
• Polyester : Polyester is a common material used in sail construction. It is known for its durability and resistance to UV rays.
• Kevlar : Kevlar is a type of aramid fiber that is known for its strength and resistance to abrasion. It is often used in the construction of racing sails, including black sails.
• Dyneema fibers : Dyneema fibers are also known for their strength and lightness. They are often used in the construction of high-performance sails.
• Taffeta : Taffeta is a type of non-woven surface material that is often used in sail construction. It provides a smooth surface that reduces drag and improves performance.

In addition to these materials, black sails often have an adhesive layer that helps to bond the various layers of material together. This adhesive layer is essential for providing the necessary strength and durability for racing sails.

Overall, the material composition of black sails is carefully chosen to provide the necessary strength, durability, and performance for racing sailing yachts.

Types of Black Sails

There are several types of black sails used in racing sailing yachts. Each type is designed to provide specific benefits to the yacht and its crew. In this section, we will discuss some of the most popular types of black sails.

3Di sails are a type of black sail that is known for its durability, lightweight, and high-performance racing capabilities. These sails are made using helix load shearing technology, which allows them to withstand heavy loads and maintain their shape even in strong winds.

There are two main types of 3Di sails: 3Di Ocean and 3Di Endurance. 3Di Ocean sails are designed for offshore racing and cruising, while 3Di Endurance sails are designed for long-distance racing. Both types of sails are made using the same technology and materials, but they are optimized for different sailing conditions.

One of the key benefits of 3Di sails is their ability to maintain their shape over time. Unlike traditional sails, which can stretch and deform over time, 3Di sails are designed to maintain their shape even after extended use. This means that they provide consistent performance throughout their lifespan.

In addition to their performance benefits, 3Di sails are also environmentally friendly. They are made using recyclable materials and are designed to last longer than traditional sails, which reduces the environmental impact of sail production.

Overall, 3Di sails are a popular choice for racing sailing yachts due to their durability, lightweight, and high-performance capabilities. Whether racing offshore or long-distance, these sails are designed to provide consistent performance and withstand the rigors of racing.

Other Sail Colors

While black sails are commonly used in racing sailing yachts, other sail colors can also be used depending on the purpose and preference of the sailor. Here are some of the other sail colors that are used in sailing:

White Sails

White sails are the most common type of sails used in sailing. They are versatile and can be used in different weather conditions. They are also easy to maintain and repair. White sails are often used in cruising and recreational sailing.

Red sails are not commonly used in sailing, but they can be used for racing or for aesthetic purposes. They are not as versatile as white sails and are best used in specific weather conditions.

Tanbark Sails

Tanbark sails are made from a type of dyed canvas that gives them a reddish-brown color. They are often used in traditional and classic sailing yachts for aesthetic purposes. Tanbark sails are not as durable as modern sails and require more maintenance.

Grey sails are not commonly used in sailing, but they can be used for racing or for aesthetic purposes. They are not as versatile as white sails and are best used in specific weather conditions.

Sail colors can also be influenced by fashion and image. Pirate ships, for example, are often depicted with black sails to create a menacing image. In modern sailing, the choice of sail color can also be influenced by fashion and personal preference.

In conclusion, while black sails are commonly used in racing sailing yachts, there are other sail colors that can be used depending on the purpose and preference of the sailor. White sails are the most common type of sails used in sailing, while red sails, tanbark sails, and grey sails are used for specific purposes. The choice of sail color can also be influenced by fashion and image.

Yacht Racing and Black Sails

Yacht racing is a highly competitive sport that requires the best performance from the boats and the sailors. Many factors can affect the performance of a yacht, including the design, materials , and modifications. One of the most visible modifications that yacht racers use is black sails.

Black sails are not a new concept in yacht racing. They have been used for many years by some of the most successful yacht racers in the world. The reason for this is simple: black sails offer better performance than traditional white sails.

Black sails are made from a different material than white sails. They are made from a high-tech material that is lighter, stronger, and more durable than traditional sailcloth. This material is also more resistant to UV rays, which can cause white sails to degrade over time.

In addition to the material, black sails are also designed differently than white sails. They are cut differently, with a flatter shape that allows them to generate more lift. This increased lift translates into better performance, especially in light wind conditions.

Yacht racers also use black sails because they are more visible on the water. This is especially important in crowded racing conditions, where it can be difficult to see other boats. Black sails stand out against the water and make it easier for sailors to avoid collisions.

Finally, black sails are also easier to maintain than white sails. They do not show dirt or stains as easily, and they do not need to be washed as often. This makes them a popular choice for yacht racers who want to spend more time on the water and less time maintaining their sails.

In conclusion, black sails are a popular choice for yacht racers who want to improve their performance on the water. They offer better lift, increased visibility, and easier maintenance than traditional white sails. While they may not be the right choice for every sailor, they are certainly worth considering for those who want to compete at the highest level of yacht racing.

In conclusion, the use of black sails in racing sailing yachts is not just a fashion statement but has a practical purpose. The black color absorbs more heat than any other color, which helps to warm up the air inside the sail, making it more efficient. The use of black sails is most effective in colder climates where the air is denser and less efficient at powering the sail.

Additionally, black sails are more durable and resistant to UV rays, which can cause damage to the sail over time. This makes black sails a practical choice for racing yachts that are exposed to the sun and wind for extended periods.

However, it is important to note that the use of black sails is not always the best choice. In warmer climates, the heat absorbed by the black sail can cause the air inside to expand, reducing the sail’s efficiency. In these conditions, lighter-colored sails may be more effective.

Overall, the use of black sails in racing sailing yachts is a strategic decision based on the specific conditions of the race and the preferences of the sailors. It is just one of many factors that contribute to the overall performance of the boat and should be carefully considered before making a decision.

About the author

I worked as an officer in the deck department on various types of vessels, including oil and chemical tankers, LPG carriers, and even reefer and TSHD in the early years. Currently employed as Marine Surveyor carrying cargo, draft, bunker, and warranty survey.

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Why Do Yachts Have Black Sails? [The Reason Explained]

One of the joys of owning a yacht is that you get to customize that baby like nobody’s business. That’s why no two yachts ever look the same, even if they’re exactly the same make and model. From the upholstery, to the console, the decking, and of course the body paint, you can do pretty much anything you want with a yacht. Oh, except for the sails.

If you’ve been hanging around yachts enough, you might have noticed that all of them have black sails. What gives? Is this some unspoken yacht owner pact? Or is it all just a grand coincidence? Why do yachts have black sails? Here’s what you need to know.

Why Do Yachts Have Black Sails?

Unbeknownst to most people, yacht sails actually have a long history of design changes and modifications. Way back when, sails were made from cotton and came in a variety of colors, but often just a basic beige.

As time went on and manufacturers discovered better ways to make sails more efficient, they tossed out the cotton in favor of Kevlar. This material had Kevlar lines woven right into them which gave the sails better strength against strong winds. This also gave the sails a yellow tinge.

Fast forward a few years, and carbon fiber became the standard for yacht sails. They provided excellent resilience, UV resistance, and just the right flexibility to accommodate changes in wind strength and speed. And while they can come in different colors, most manufacturers offer them in plain black since they’re easier to manufacture that way.

Well, that covers pretty much the basics. But if you really want to get into it, then here are some of the most common reasons why yachts have black sails:

It’s What’s Available

Manufacturers for yacht sails compete closely with one another. So whatever sails one of them offers will be the same sails that others do. And since carbon fiber sails are pretty much the standard these days, that’s what all of them have in stock.

Keep in mind that they don’t really choose to make them black. It’s just that the material is naturally black because of the carbon. These fibers are weaved into the material which is basically layers of polyester that are naturally transparent.

Can they make them in other colors? Probably. But since black has become the standard, it seems they’re not really keen on mixing up the look. What’s more, making an effort to change the colors might mean having to add other materials into the mix, changing the way the sail performs all together.

It’s the Standard

The black color has become strongly associated with performance sails. It’s kind of like the marker of a quality sail. Yacht owners and even regular boat enthusiasts know that a black sail is the standard of top performance because it’s made from premium materials.

That said, changing the color might distance the product from that image. And since manufacturers don’t want to dissociate from being ‘top quality’ brands, there’s really no reason to try to change things up by offering other sail colors that might not be recognized as top tier.

It’s Sleek and Aesthetically Pleasing

Let’s be honest -- a black sail definitely adds a sporty look to a yacht. These high performance sails are intended to make your yacht operate optimally even in the face of strong winds and waves. And to match this competitive performance, they offer a distinct, athletic look.

No doubt, going for a spin in a yacht with black sails can make your vessel look like a true-blue, competition worthy boat. In fact, most boats that use these black carbon fiber sails actually compete in various water sports and racing events, which has associated the black color with supreme performance.

It’s a Mark of Quality

If you’re familiar with black sails for yachts, then you know from just a glance that these dark sails are the mark of quality. Actually anyone who wants to get a quality sail for their yacht will likely go for the black ones first since they’re developed for optimal performance in various wind conditions.

In essence, a black sail is like a seal of quality and durability. So if you want to showcase your yacht and demonstrate your superiority without having to say a word, all you really need is a black sail.

Are There Other Colors for Yacht Sails?

Absolutely -- sails still come in a variety of colors. In fact, you can get them in virtually any color you want. The trade-off though is that you probably won’t find carbon fiber sails in any other color but a dark gray or black. But that’s okay especially if you’re not really interested in using your boat competitively.

Unless you’re into competitive sailing or racing, you probably won’t need a carbon fiber sail. There are lots of other sails on the market that use various other materials, like Dacron sails which are still in use today. These were popular before Kevlar, but still find their place on the market because of their so-so performance and affordable prices.

Keep in mind though that when you buy a sail just to change up the color, you also sacrifice the durability and performance of the sail. As of writing, there is no other type of material that matches the level of performance, resilience, and quality of carbon fiber sails . So naturally, sails that come in other colors (and thus use different materials) will likely produce substandard performance.

Once You Go Black

So, why do yachts have black sails? It’s really a matter of material. Carbon fiber sails are all the rage these days for boat owners who want to get the best performance out of their yacht. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a sail in a different color. There are lots of sails available on the market -- many of them offered in a variety of hues. Just remember that if they’re not carbon-fiber, they may not be as reliable as performance grade sails.

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BLACK SAILS yacht NOT for charter*

39m  /  127'11 | wally | 2009 / 2010.

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Cabin Configuration

• 1 Convertible
• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Multi-award winning
• RINA (Registro Italiano Navale) classification
• Interior design from Wally
• Sleeps 10 overnight

The multi-award winning 39m/127'11" sail yacht 'Black Sails' (ex. Cannonball) was built by Wally in Italy at their Fano shipyard. Her interior is styled by Italian designer design house Wally and she was completed in 2009. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Javier Soto Acebal and she was last refitted in 2010.

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Black Sails has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 10 guests in 4 suites comprising one VIP cabin. She is also capable of carrying up to 5 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Black Sails is built with a composite hull and composite superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by 1 x diesel MAN (D 0836 LE401 EDS) 450hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 12 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 14 knots. Her water tanks store around 2,000 Litres of fresh water. She was built to RINA (Registro Italiano Navale) classification society rules.

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Black Sails Awards & Nominations

• The World Superyacht Awards 2011 Best Refitted Yacht Winner
• International Superyacht Society Awards 2011 Best Refit Winner

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‘black sails’ creator breaks down emotional series finale ending.

"It's largely the ending we were hoping for when we started at the very beginning of the series," creator Jon Steinberg tells THR. "So to be able to bring it back to a place that felt complete and right and like we told a whole, full story, that's rare."

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

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[This story contains spoilers from Sunday’s series finale of Starz’s Black Sails .]

In the end, Black Sails proved to be truly about a story.

Not a story of pirates saving their paradise, or finding buried treasure, or even fighting a massive battle against those who threatened their lifestyle. Instead, it was a story about two legendary men, their opposing world views and the bond they shared that became poisoned over time. Black Sails was a story about Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and “Long” John Silver (Luke Arnold).

After four seasons of an unlikely partnership-turned-friendship, the two men were at odds once again in the series finale of the Starz drama over what to do with Madi’s ( Zethu Dlomo ) rescue and the buried treasure. And after a huge fight scene where, against all odds, the pirates actually won the battle against Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts) and by proxy England itself, the true climax came when Flint and Silver had a war of words on the island. The two used their eloquent ways of manipulation to finally bring their issue to a head, and Silver won only because he had a trump card hidden up his sleeve.

Before the hour began, Silver had located Flint’s long-lost lover Thomas (Rupert Penry-Jones ), believed to be dead, working his life sentence at a cushy plantation prison. He sent Flint to live out the rest of his life with Thomas on the plantation, saved Madi and vowed to wait for her to forgive him for as long it would take. But the legend of Long John Silver continued to grow, and the groundwork for Treasure Island was officially laid.

Below, Black Sails creator Jon Steinberg talks with The Hollywood Reporter about the emotional series finale ending, if he’s considering tackling Treasure Island in a spinoff series and more.

Related Stories

Starz's 'black sails' to end with season 4.

What was running through your mind as you were crafting the series finale?

We’d had a running sense for a while of what we wanted it to feel like and the kinds of things we wanted to do, both before we got to the ending and within the ending. It was a constant game of keeping our eye on that target but then also trying to let the story evolve to where it wanted to, make sure we weren’t being too rigid about that. And when that ending really started to come into focus, it’s really hard to say goodbye to the story, and it’s hard to separate from that. But at the same time, I think it was really gratifying that the ending held up. It’s largely the ending we were hoping for when we started at the very beginning of the series, so to be able to bring it back to a place that felt complete and right and like we told a whole, full story, that’s rare.

Did anything change about the ending that you wanted over the course of four seasons?

Things always change in terms of the details and there were definitely some things that came up along the way that we couldn’t have anticipated. But the thing we wanted the audience to feel at the end and what we wanted the story to be about is the idea that this was really a story about Flint and Silver and their very unlikely relationship. They got so close and then there’s this tragic ending to it. All of the notes we wanted to play lined up as we got to the end. But I think the Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy) and Anne (Clara Paget) relationship was something that became emotionally impactful in a way that we didn’t see coming. That was a lesson in if you’re not letting stories evolve naturally, then you’re missing all the good stuff.

The ending tied up all the characters’ stories while still leaving the door open for more with Nassau, Jack’s (Toby Schmitz) new crew, Flint and Thomas, and even Billy Bones (Tom Hopper). Would you ever consider doing a Treasure Island spinoff sequel series?

I guess never say never always feels like the right answer. At the moment, I feel like we’re pretty happy with where it ended. The ending that we like is the sense that some of the people we care about survived this and they have a life after it, which I don’t necessarily think that the life they have after it is a part of this story. But the process of making the show was pretty special and we’ll miss the cast and crew and the process of making it more and more the further away we get from it. So who knows.

Starz to Move Original Programming to Sunday Nights (Exclusive)

How beholden were you to the fates of all the characters in Treasure Island ?

It depends on which one, it depends on the details. We tried to have a fair amount of discipline about certain elements of that book and treat them as canon and things we just had to find a way to make sense of. There are some other elements that I think are relayed through unreliable narrators in the book or seemed, to us, to be part of a narrative that was clearly embellished from some history that came before it. Part of the process of trying to land this story into that book was about sorting out the two and figuring out what really is canon. What’s Long John Silver’s story? It’s not necessarily something to be taken at face value. But it was a challenge. That book doesn’t contemplate 40 hours of story that come before it.

Throughout the entire series, the dialogue between characters was always a work of art in and of itself, especially between Flint and Silver. It’s so rare to see a close relationship like theirs in pop culture, between a gay man and a straight man. How important was it to you to showcase that bond?

It’s a difficult thing to do. We had to embrace the fact that there would have to be things that were left unsaid and were going to have to exist in subtext and performance and context in order for it to be honest. That felt right. There is, at least to me when I watch it, a significant amount happening between the two of them that is all under the surface. But at the same time, you want it to play at face value. These are two guys who are the least likely allies on page one of the series and certainly the least likely best of friends, who have reached this point. The tragedy doesn’t work if you don’t care about the two of them. The tragedy also doesn’t work if you don’t understand what came between them. There’s a fair amount of a puzzle happening there and in some respect we always saw the series as a dialogue between the two of them. They couldn’t be more different and yet somehow found some common ground that made them against all odds the only two people who understood each other. We relied on the audience a lot to fill in those blanks and go on the ride with us.

Silver’s backstory was never actually revealed. Why did you want to leave that a mystery?

It’s so impactful. From the very beginning, it was an intuition on our part that it was important that he came from nowhere. It was important that he somehow was someone that was hard to know and that existed in opposition to Flint, for whom where he came from is everything. As we got deeper into it, it became clear that there was no specific story that was going to be as impactful to our understanding of him or his relationship with Flint as the idea that he didn’t believe in stories as it relates to a person’s life. He was very good at using that and weaponizing that and making a tool of it, but he didn’t feel beholden by it. That is why he and Flint were never going to understand the world in the same way. And that’s why on some level, he’s stronger than Flint and someone that Flint couldn’t defeat in the same way as he would with others. It just stuck and it felt right.

Starz Series 'Black Sails' and 'The Girlfriend Experience' Headed to Vimeo

And that moment in the finale when Silver comes across the cook hiding from the fight below deck was totally full circle from the series premiere.

In a story that’s been running for a long time, it’s nice to feel that the circle is completing itself and when characters can in some way come back to the place they started as an entirely different person. This was a good, healthy organic end to the story and everyone was reaching that point roughly at the same time, and the idea of forcing them to go past that point felt like it was unlikely to yield anything that would stand up to what we had done before.

Did you always know you were going to reunite Flint with Thomas at the end, or did that idea come about later in the writing process?

We had a sense in season two when he died off screen, that any character who dies off screen, you’re taking the word of the messenger as to whether or not it actually happened. As someone who watches these stories and reads these stories, it feels unlikely that it actually happened. We knew we weren’t finished with him. And then at some point in season three we realized it would be reasonably late in the series when he came back, so in season four it felt right. And it wasn’t a choice he would make, it was a choice made for him.

Where did the decision come from to end the series after four seasons?

There was a lot of talk internally and with Starz before season four started about where do we feel like we are, how much story do we feel like we have left. It was during season four when we felt like all the endings we hoped we would get to were starting to approach very quickly. We spent a little time at the end of season four thinking about if we were done and it felt like we were. We felt good about it and nothing was left on the table. The conversation with Starz was pretty easy because we just felt like we had arrived at the end. We didn’t want to produce an episode of this show that felt like it was one too many and they supported that.

What did you think of the way the Black Sails series finale ended? Share your thoughts in the comments sections below.

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Black Sails

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Cast & Crew

Robert Levine

Jonathan E. Steinberg

Toby Stephens

Captain Flint

Eleanor Guthrie

Luke Arnold

John Silver

Jessica Parker Kennedy

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Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Adaptation Sets Sail on ‘Black Sails’ Ships

Mark peikert.

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Eiichiro Oda’s “ One Piece ” has been running in manga and anime form for nearly three decades (and a full thousand episodes for the latter). That its live-action adaptation for Netflix consumed four years of co-creator and showrunner Steven Maeda ’s life feels like a drop in the bucket comparatively.

That’s very true, but for those who are unfamiliar with one of the biggest pieces of IP on the planet (and many Americans are), Monkey D. Luffy’s literal superpower is that he’s very, in the words of Phoebe on “Friends,” “bendy.” That is, he ate Devil Fruit and gained the power of rubber, which comes in surprisingly handy as one sails the treacherous seas with one’s ragtag crew of misfits while battling far more villainous pirates also in search of the treasure called One Piece, which will endow its owner with the title King of the Pirates.

But Maeda was correct about Luffy’s other skill: Luffy is also the kind of cheerfully optimistic leader that one would hate if he wasn’t charismatic enough to pull it off. And casting that role required an actor charismatic enough to pull it off, too. Enter Iñaki Godoy.

“He just embodied the character so fully, and it was a matter of saying, ‘We have to get this guy, otherwise we’re going to be in trouble,’” Maeda said. “We watched so many casting tapes, and it’s a very very hard affect to get right. In his undying optimism, he can come off as annoying, kind of a con artist trying to sell you something, and that’s all wrong for Luffy. It has to come from a place of genuine emotion and genuine believability.”

Over its eight episodes, that genuine emotion remains a touchstone for all of the “One Piece” characters, largely thanks to including Luffy and his crew’s backstories. “We talked about versions that cost less,” Maeda admitted. “The backstories are wonderful but incredibly time intensive and expensive — you’re building sets for three to five scenes across an episode or two. That’s a lot of construction and spending a lot of money to get those backstories in.”

Maeda stressed that the budget was “a very healthy one,” which was only aided by the strategic decision to film in South Africa. The depth of the area’s crew roster and the relative price point in construction were significant factors, but there was added impetus thanks to the four-season Starz series “Black Sails.” Or, more precisely, what “Black Sails” left behind.

Maeda said he and the cast all got chills once the ships were dressed and prepped; after spending so many years in the world of “One Piece” (including a crash course before filming for most of the cast), to walk onto Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew’s ship, the Going Merry. And if that’s how it felt for Maeda, it only fueled his desire to deliver an adaptation that bucked the current belief that live-action anime adaptations are “cursed.”

“I knew there would be a lot of expectations, especially from the fans who are very protective and rightfully so,” Maeda said. “They don’t want their favorite manga to not be representative of the emotions they felt the first time they read it. I just wanted to faithfully keep all the fun and goofy moments while never giving emotion short shrift. That was the No. 1 goal: You want to be able to have both of those things co-exist.”

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‘Black Sails’ Series Finale: Who Got a Happy Ending and Who Didn’t

Spoiler Alert

Black sails.

• Starz Turns 30: 15 Standout Series From Its Run So Far
• Toby Stephens Reacts to ‘Black Sails’ Coming to Netflix Rumors

Black Sails , Starz’ pirate drama mash-up of historical record and Treasure Island , has swashbuckled off after four seasons following its series finale on Sunday.

The surprisingly philosophical action-adventure’s creators Robert Levine and Jon Steinberg talked about the fates of brigands Long John Silver (Luke Arnold), Capt. Flint (Toby Stephens), Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz) and Anne Bonny (Clara Paget), along with the rest of the flotsam and jetsam who washed up on Nassau during the brief  “Golden Age of piracy in the early 18th century.

Do I sense a spin-off with Rackham, Bonny and the legendary female pirate Mary–aka Mark– Read heading off to new adventures? Jon Steinberg:  At the moment, it’s solely in our minds. But for this story, it felt right to suggest the end wasn’t the end for everyone.  These people exist in a historical context that existed before and would exist after them. Mary was added so that you would sense that these people would have more adventures ahead of them.

You also let the Treasure Island characters Silver, Billy Bones ( Tom Hopper ) and Israel Hands ( David Wilmot ) survive. Robert Levine: It was always our goal to get people as close as possible to where Treasure Island would be the next logical chapter in the story for them to read.

The series ended with several characters, including Silver and Flint, sacrificing their revolutionary dreams to be with their true loves. Are you saying that love tops every other purpose—whether fighting for freedom or revenge? Steinberg:  Since Season 2, at a basic level, the story has been about the tension between a domestic life and comfort and the desire for meaning and glory and change on a massive scale. A number of the endings are about that choice made by these characters. Or the choice made for them.

In 'Black Sails' Final Voyage, 'No One is Untouchable'

Like Silver made for Flint. Why did you decide to reunite Flint and his presumed long dead lover Thomas Hamilton (Rupert Penry-Jones) on a Savannah prison farm?  What do you expect fan reaction to be? Levine: I think fans want Flint to find some measure of peace in this world. The fate of Thomas was always a bullet left in the gun from the time we left his actual death offscreen. The question was when and what would be the most effective way to deploy that plausibly and meaningfully.

Was there really a place in the colonies that rich Brits sent their wayward, i.e. gay, children? Levine: The founder of the Savannah colony was a reformer who wanted the colony to reshape how the world treated those deemed as dangerous or different. That was a basket we could put Thomas in, and then we had the thread to use for Silver to end Flint’s war without necessarily ending Flint. It also helped Flint find his way back to McGraw [the compassionate man he was before his vengeful turn into Flint.] It’s bittersweet; there’s tragedy in it but renewal as well.

There was an intense friendship—in a way, love—between Silver and Flint, too, no? Steinberg: It was a complicated relationship with a lot going on under the surface. Starz gave us the freedom to allow some of these relationships to  exist without specific labels and to embrace that people don’t always say what they’re feeling and exist in the space that people don’t even know about themselves.

Flint and Silver’s Maroon [escaped slave] partner Madi (Zethu Diomo) longed for an all-out war to free all slaves and kick England out of Nassau. It didn’t happen on Black Sails , but did it happen in real life? Steinberg: There were actually uprisings. Madi and her mother, the Maroon Queen (Moshidi Motoshegwa), were based on a Maroon leader in Jamaica who led an uprising and fought the British to something like a standstill. Then they struck a bargain not unlike the one on the show. At some point, it made sense for this huge historical figure to sign an awful truce, which kept any former slave living in their camp at the time free, but anyone arriving later would be turned into the law. A lot of our story was based on those events.

Did Gov. Woodes Rogers’ (Luke Roberts) ignominious loss and subsequent banishment from Nassau match the historical record? Levine: Yes. History handed us a nice little package. The story of Woodes Rogers has an almost Greek tragedy sense of a man who set out to clean up Nassau and convinces himself that he had noble motives. But, in fact, there were deeper motives at work, which revealed a man that he would have loved to deny. His fate, for him, was worse than had he died as a warrior.

Luke Roberts as Woodes Rogers

This was a rare pirate story with real female empowerment. Eleanor (Hannah New), Madi, her mother, Anne Bonny. The former slave and prostitute Max may not have gotten the girl, but she basically got to run Nassau. Steinberg: This story is about what humans do when they are removed from a very strict social system. Women with ambition, for instance, who within that system would have been constrained and restricted, started to blossom. In Nassau, that just felt natural.

You always walk a tightrope where you want to watch a story in which women are empowered, but I also don’t want it to be wish fulfillment, where we deny the truth of the world these women lived in. That determined Eleanor’s arc from being a woman who didn’t believe in gender norms, but by wanting to bring in civilization had to be literally and figuratively re-corseted. We didn’t want to whitewash it to feel good about it.

You created a fairly egalitarian pirate world, with people of different races and cultures living that life together.  Was the pirate world one of the more egalitarian societies of the time? Levine: We did a lot of reading, and you could find takes on the history of Nassau and New Providence Island that presented it as a nascent experiment in an egalitarian pseudo-democracy. It helped us to think of the show as a frontier story, almost like we were in the Wild West. Everyone who’s there is there because they’ve been chewed up and spit out by established societies. We wanted to show that some things were different, but at the same time, there’s basics of human nature that you just cannot escape.

I loved that Rackham stayed alive to spread the story of Long John Silver and the other pirates. In reality, he, too, was hanged pretty young, though. Levine: We don’t suggest that he wouldn’t meet his historic death eventually. Treasure Island was notorious for playing fast and loose with historical events. We felt like we  were empowered to play with dates as needed.

What’s next for you? Steinberg: One of the pilots Robert is writing is another big canvas period drama.

Levine: It’s a period that, like Black Sails , people have a passing familiarity with, but it’s crusted over with crude stories and preconceptions. Once again, the impulse is to strip all that away and present the story anew.

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Black Sails (2014)

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Black Sails - watch online: streaming, buy or rent

Currently you are able to watch "Black Sails" streaming on Starz Apple TV Channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz, Spectrum On Demand, Starz Amazon Channel or for free with ads on The Roku Channel. It is also possible to buy "Black Sails" as download on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Vudu, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies.

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S4 e10 - xxxviii, s4 e9 - xxxvii, s4 e8 - xxxvi, where does black sails rank today the justwatch daily streaming charts are calculated by user activity within the last 24 hours. this includes clicking on a streaming offer, adding a title to a watchlist, and marking a title as 'seen'. this includes data from ~1.3 million movie & tv show fans per day..

Streaming charts last updated: 5:18:21 PM, 03/15/2024

Black Sails is 268 on the JustWatch Daily Streaming Charts today. The TV show has moved up the charts by 56 places since yesterday. In the United States, it is currently more popular than Alone but less popular than Farmer Wants A Wife.

The pirate adventures of Captain Flint and his men twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

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Black Sails  

10 episodes.

With the Walrus crew stranded and the precious Urca gold in Spanish hands, Flint and Silver join forces. Meanwhile, Eleanor's grip on Nassau is slipping and Charles Vane must decide which he values more: Eleanor's life or his men's respect. ... more

Starring Mark Ryan, Toby Stephens, Hannah New

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'Black Sails' Showrunners on the Series Finale, Why They Didn't Do 'Treasure Island', and More

The showrunners also talk about deciding the fates of the characters, what's next, and more.

For four seasons, the Starz drama series Black Sails has been one of the biggest, most epic, most impressive productions on television. Its excellent storytelling, expert production design and terrifically talented cast of actors gave us heroes to root for and love, and terrifying villains that we could hope those heroes ultimately escaped. It’s sad to say goodbye to a series that has exemplified such excellence throughout its run, but we can still imagine where those who survived sailed off to next and mourn those that we lost.

To reflect on the four-season run that they can be undeniably proud of, showrunners Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine got on the phone with Collider to talk about the responsibility of making a show they’d love to watch, what they’ll take from the experience of making Black Sails , figuring out the fates of the characters, the final moments between Captain Flint ( Toby Stephens ) and John Silver ( Luke Arnold ), whether they ever thought about exploring Treasure Island , what’s next for Jack Rackham ( Toby Schmitz ) and Anne Bonny ( Clara Paget ), and what they took from the set.

Be aware that there are MAJOR spoilers discussed from throughout the series.

Collider: Do you feel that Black Sails has been truly appreciated for just how good it is and the quality of excellence that it displays, or do you think it’s one of those shows that’s been sadly underappreciated and it will be discovered by more people when they watch it, after it’s all over?

JON STEINBERG: I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m allowed to answer that question because we’re in it too deep. I will say this, for both of us, as an understanding of what our jobs are and aren’t, I feel like we approach this where our responsibility is to make something we’d love to watch, and try to do it in a way where it will hold to as much investment or scrutiny as you feel it deserves. I think we did that, and I think we’re pretty proud of where it landed. Whatever it turns into when you put it into the world is in the hands of the gods. All you can do is keep doing the work. It would definitely be nice, if it was a thing that continues to live and that people continue to find. Hopefully, it will age well.

After four seasons and getting to wrap up this show the way that you wanted, what will you take with you from the experience of making Black Sails ? Are there things that you learned from making this show that will make the next show easier, or is that even possible to do?

STEINBERG: Well, it can’t be any harder! I think that’s a safe bet.

ROBERT LEVINE: Never get on the boat! 

STEINBERG: No kids, no animals and no ships. That’s the new rule for us. We are both different writers and different producers, after six years of making this show, and having been given the freedom to do things that a lot of people have very long, successful careers and don’t have the opportunity to try. We’re really appreciative of having been given that. I think the next show will be easier, for a number of reasons, both because of this experience and because we were determined to make this as difficult as possible. But, I think these things are always difficult. If it’s not difficult, than you’re not doing the job.

Especially with this last season, when did you what the end point would be for each of these characters? Did you know how all of them would fare by the finale, when you started the season, or did you find some of their paths, along the way?

LEVINE: It’s always a little bit of both. You’re always trying to forge ahead and fumble around in the dark. You know where you’re going and aim in that direction, but you have to be ready for the story to speak to you and surprise you and suggest something different. The Flint and Silver ending, in its outlines, has always been there. We always knew that that was the climax of the story throughout, for both of them. It’s the most important relationship, for both of them. When it finally reached this moment of going from two people who seem to have nothing in common to being wary of each other to being opportunistic allies and then friends to two people who know each other better than anyone else in the world, and then finally reaching that point of not being able to go forward, was going to shape the end of their story. The specifics of when and how gradually became more clear, but we knew that that’s where the show and the season were specifically headed. 

Do you think that Silver would have eventually come to the same conclusion about what he was going to do with Flint, or was his decision influenced by constantly having people in his ear about it?

STEINBERG: I don’t think it’s a choice he would have made, 10 episodes ago. It feels like it’s a choice that was made only because of the two massively formative relationships that have developed and become that way, in Season 4. A lot of the people who were in his ear were largely manifestations of the voices that he was already hearing in his own head, giving him that internal conflict, whether it’s Billy or Hands or Madi, or whomever. It just felt right, as a way to finish telling his story, that his story ends with him conceiving of this act of mercy. It felt like a way to spin the way you find these characters in Treasure Island , in a way that felt interesting and a little unexpected.

How did you come to decide that this is what Flint’s fate would be, and that we would be left questioning whether or not that’s really the truth?

STEINBERG: When you read the book, you’re told that Flint died in a very specific way, and it’s a way that doesn’t immediately suggest story. He died alone, some indeterminate period of time after the exciting stuff happened, and he died in a very lonely, sad place. When we talked about planting flags in the ground of things that we considered to be canon, and you have to account for them, that was one of them. It felt like it was important, and it felt like a challenge to figure out how we could acknowledge that and also make it work for us, and recontextualize it and make it a bit of a mystery. There’s a lot of people telling a lot of stories in Treasure Island , and a lot of people telling stories in this show. If this show is about anything, it’s about the fact that narrative can be a very powerful thing, when used properly. So, it felt right that the ending was steeped in that idea.  

It definitely felt like these characters were presented with the choice of either creating their own narrative or living up to the narrative that people have created for them.

STEINBERG: Exactly!

LEVINE: Yeah. 

It seems as though Flint’s love for Silver was stronger than his good sense towards him. He seems to have known, deep down, that Silver was going to betray him, and yet he stood by his side anyway. Did Flint ultimately care more about Silver and their partnership than Silver cared about him?      

LEVINE: Wow, that’s tough. It’s hard to say.

STEINBERG: I think that relationship is meaningful to both of them. It is singular, for both of them. We’ve never seen Silver invest in someone, in this way. So for him, it’s very new. It’s the first one of these relationships that we are aware of. We’ve seen Flint invest in people before, but not in this way, where he has allowed himself to be both Flint and McGraw, openly, and found some measure of comfort in that state. So for him, it’s new, also. I would argue that it’s not a contest, as to which of them felt it more deeply, but I think it was definitely meaningful. Personally, there wasn’t ulterior motives in their affinity for each other. It is genuine and it is complicated, in the way that it’s always complicated when you love someone. You don’t always make the best decisions when that thing is threatened. It’s very hard to conduct a post-mortem when relationships like that are involved, in terms of figuring out what promoted you to do what. That felt true and right, and I think we resisted the urge to simplify it, when given opportunities to, because it felt like it suddenly became less interesting.

In that final moment that Silver and Flint have on screen together, how close is John Silver to the Long John Silver of Treasure Island ? Are they now one in the same, by that point, or does he still have a ways to go?

STEINBERG: To me, what is interesting is that, in that moment, he is completely determined to never be that guy. He is determined not to be a character in a story that someone else is telling. He is determined not to be the villain that he has felt like, for this whole season. And in that moment, Flint tells him, “You will be, one day. This life you have chosen for yourself won’t be enough, and you’ll have to come back to this character to find meaning in it.” And he’s right. Now Treasure Island , just in its existence, is the fulfillment of Flint’s curse. At some point, John Silver is going to not be satisfied in being John Silver anymore, whether that’s five years later or 15 years later, or who knows how long, and he’s going to feel the need to be Long John Silver again. That money in the ground is just a totem for it, but ultimately, the curse is more about that than it is about ghost stories, or anything else.

When you spend so much time with these characters, I would imagine that you love them as much as the audience does. Had you thought about the possibility of exploring Treasure Island , as a story, or do you want to close the book on pirates?

LEVINE: Being somewhat candid, we did think about it. Whether it was in wondering if this was where the show wanted to end or if there was more story, it did come up. But, I think we’re happy with this ending. It’s close to the story that we set out to tell, and it gets you close enough to Treasure Island where the book can be meaningful as an addendum, if you were to read it again. Now you could read it as the fulfillment of a prophecy on Flint’s part, for Silver, and not just an adventure story about a young Jim Hawkins. There’s another interpretation where this is Silver trying to maintain the narrative that he’s built, at the end of our show, of Flint’s ending and where the treasure belongs. The fact that Billy is disturbing it again is messing with that narrative, and that needs to be answered. It has all kinds of interesting interpretations and, in some ways, it’s fun to let the book do that, as opposed to us needing to adapt it and give you a specific version of it. 

Why did you decide to essentially end things with Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny sailing off together? Was it to leave people with some sense of hope, where the pirates are concerned?

STEINBERG: It was a number of things. In the broadest sense, it felt right that this show was always about contextualizing these people. Pirates didn’t live in Neverland. They existed in a world that lived before them and that would exist after them, and that they were connected to. It felt right that, at the end of this story, there is the suggestion that it isn’t over. These things don’t just end that cleanly. There’s always been some desire, at the end of this show, to make some comment about what piracy was and what we understood it to be, before you started watching the show or putting a lot of thought into it. We liked this idea that, in that final moment of the show, that has been, from the beginning, about upsetting your expectations about what pirates are, it is the first time that you’re shown a symbol that you would have understood, at the beginning, as being what pirates are about. In some respect, that is the sense of their immortality. This symbol, for whatever it means in the eye of the beholder, is a thing that survived them all by centuries, literally. Jack felt like the right person to be allowed to see that, and it also felt right that, in that moment of seeing it, it wouldn’t be good enough for him. And on some level, we just loved them. You try to be true to the characters and to the story, and to be unflinching, in terms of what it wants and what it implicates, but we need to have fun, too. So, there’s a touch of that, as well.

What made you decide to introduce Mark, or Mary, Read at the very end? She’s one of the most famous female pirates, along with Anne Bonny, but we only get to meet her at the end of the series. How did that come about?

STEINBERG: That’s part of the idea that the show is ending, but they’re not. For some of them, the most interesting things that have ever happened to them have happened already, but for some of them, there is the sense that life goes on. They are the ones that are left to be witnesses to the things we saw. If Mary Read isn’t at the end, you don’t get that feeling or that sense of, “Oh, there’s more. I know there’s more because I know the three of them are relevant to each other and have a whole story amongst them.” I think that feeling of there being all of this weight ahead of you, after the ending, gives you the feeling that it’s not entirely over.

What was the biggest challenge of Season 4, and what do you feel was its biggest accomplishment?

LEVINE: We’re gluttons for punishment and we always love a challenge, going into a season. We didn’t want to repeat stuff we’d done before. We wanted to figure out ways to go even bigger and expand the world, and do set pieces that were far and beyond what we’d done before. We really pushed the production, the scale and the scope of things. In this case, that was almost from minute one. There was this idea of taking Flint from a position of having one improbable victory and having England on the run, knowing that the story can’t just start with him sitting pretty, so we had to pick up with him, with the wind in his sails, and then have it, just as quickly, taken from him. And then, we went underwater. Crafting the sequences of the Spanish finally delivering on that promise, and then even in the finale with the need to resolve all of those conflicts in a way that was really exciting and also felt like something we hadn’t done before, was all very challenging and required not just ideas from the writers, but directors that were capable and actors who were pushed to the very brink of exhaustion. We were always testing what we’d done before. 

In four seasons, what did you enjoy most about working with this cast and watching them bring these characters to life?

STEINBERG: They’re pretty great. When you’re casting a series, there is a bit of box of chocolates to it. You do the best you can to find people that can do the work, that are interesting, and that you want to spend years of your life with, but it’s far from a slam dunk that you’ll bat a thousand, when you start doing that. But, we did and it was luck. I don’t think there was any way we could have known we were putting this group together. The thing for me that I feel least entitled to and most appreciative of, besides the fact that they’re all immensely talented, is how much they love the show, as measured by how excited they were about other people’s stories and scenes, and how selfless they were about subordinating their inconveniences, which were significant. They were living very far away from home, for a long time. There were moments when I think all of them looked at something and wondered what the hell we were thinking, but trusted us that it was part of something they would ultimately feel proud of and excited by. After that happens once or twice, either people tune out because they’re tired of being put through that roller coaster, or they just buy in and want to be a part of something like this. And without exclusions, this cast did that, from day one. That makes you thankful and it makes you feel sad ‘cause you’ll probably never get that again.  

People always talk to the actors about what they wanted to bring home from the set, once a show is done, but was there anything that you wanted to keep and take home from the set, to commemorate the blood, sweat and tears that you put into this show?

STEINBERG: Yeah. I know that Toby said, “I just want to leave it behind and have the memories,” but I’m way too swag oriented, so I took Eleanor’s chair. That felt right. We had a bunch of stuff that got shipped back. One of the treasure chests might be in my garage.

LEVINE: I go even deeper into the arcane. Our production designer does these amazing graphical, hand-drawn, length of a room drawings of these sets before he builds them, so I have his drawing of Philadelphia framed and in front of my desk. That feels very authoritative and beautiful. And then, Toby Schmitz would draw these New Yorker-style editorial cartoons, featuring characters from the show. I have at least two of those somewhere, and I think Jon does, too. It was such a brilliant experience. Like Jon said, it’s hard to imagine it being replicated with that much enthusiasm, throughout the cast and the production, from Starz to Platinum Dunes to everyone. We all just wanted to make a great show, and we believed in it.                  

Laravel Sail

Introduction, installing sail into existing applications, configuring a shell alias, starting and stopping sail, executing php commands, executing composer commands, executing artisan commands, executing node / npm commands, meilisearch, file storage, laravel dusk, previewing emails, container cli, php versions, node versions, sharing your site, xdebug cli usage, xdebug browser usage, customization.

Laravel Sail is a light-weight command-line interface for interacting with Laravel's default Docker development environment. Sail provides a great starting point for building a Laravel application using PHP, MySQL, and Redis without requiring prior Docker experience.

At its heart, Sail is the docker-compose.yml file and the sail script that is stored at the root of your project. The sail script provides a CLI with convenient methods for interacting with the Docker containers defined by the docker-compose.yml file.

Laravel Sail is supported on macOS, Linux, and Windows (via WSL2 ).

Installation and Setup

Laravel Sail is automatically installed with all new Laravel applications so you may start using it immediately. To learn how to create a new Laravel application, please consult Laravel's installation documentation for your operating system. During installation, you will be asked to choose which Sail supported services your application will be interacting with.

If you are interested in using Sail with an existing Laravel application, you may simply install Sail using the Composer package manager. Of course, these steps assume that your existing local development environment allows you to install Composer dependencies:

After Sail has been installed, you may run the sail:install Artisan command. This command will publish Sail's docker-compose.yml file to the root of your application and modify your .env file with the required environment variables in order to connect to the Docker services:

Finally, you may start Sail. To continue learning how to use Sail, please continue reading the remainder of this documentation:

[!WARNING] If you are using Docker Desktop for Linux, you should use the default Docker context by executing the following command: docker context use default .

Adding Additional Services

If you would like to add an additional service to your existing Sail installation, you may run the sail:add Artisan command:

Using Devcontainers

If you would like to develop within a Devcontainer , you may provide the --devcontainer option to the sail:install command. The --devcontainer option will instruct the sail:install command to publish a default .devcontainer/devcontainer.json file to the root of your application:

By default, Sail commands are invoked using the vendor/bin/sail script that is included with all new Laravel applications:

However, instead of repeatedly typing vendor/bin/sail to execute Sail commands, you may wish to configure a shell alias that allows you to execute Sail's commands more easily:

To make sure this is always available, you may add this to your shell configuration file in your home directory, such as ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc , and then restart your shell.

Once the shell alias has been configured, you may execute Sail commands by simply typing sail . The remainder of this documentation's examples will assume that you have configured this alias:

Laravel Sail's docker-compose.yml file defines a variety of Docker containers that work together to help you build Laravel applications. Each of these containers is an entry within the services configuration of your docker-compose.yml file. The laravel.test container is the primary application container that will be serving your application.

Before starting Sail, you should ensure that no other web servers or databases are running on your local computer. To start all of the Docker containers defined in your application's docker-compose.yml file, you should execute the up command:

To start all of the Docker containers in the background, you may start Sail in "detached" mode:

Once the application's containers have been started, you may access the project in your web browser at: http://localhost .

To stop all of the containers, you may simply press Control + C to stop the container's execution. Or, if the containers are running in the background, you may use the stop command:

Executing Commands

When using Laravel Sail, your application is executing within a Docker container and is isolated from your local computer. However, Sail provides a convenient way to run various commands against your application such as arbitrary PHP commands, Artisan commands, Composer commands, and Node / NPM commands.

When reading the Laravel documentation, you will often see references to Composer, Artisan, and Node / NPM commands that do not reference Sail. Those examples assume that these tools are installed on your local computer. If you are using Sail for your local Laravel development environment, you should execute those commands using Sail:

PHP commands may be executed using the php command. Of course, these commands will execute using the PHP version that is configured for your application. To learn more about the PHP versions available to Laravel Sail, consult the PHP version documentation :

Composer commands may be executed using the composer command. Laravel Sail's application container includes a Composer installation:

Installing Composer Dependencies for Existing Applications

If you are developing an application with a team, you may not be the one that initially creates the Laravel application. Therefore, none of the application's Composer dependencies, including Sail, will be installed after you clone the application's repository to your local computer.

You may install the application's dependencies by navigating to the application's directory and executing the following command. This command uses a small Docker container containing PHP and Composer to install the application's dependencies:

When using the laravelsail/phpXX-composer image, you should use the same version of PHP that you plan to use for your application ( 80 , 81 , 82 , or 83 ).

Laravel Artisan commands may be executed using the artisan command:

Node commands may be executed using the node command while NPM commands may be executed using the npm command:

If you wish, you may use Yarn instead of NPM:

Interacting With Databases

As you may have noticed, your application's docker-compose.yml file contains an entry for a MySQL container. This container uses a Docker volume so that the data stored in your database is persisted even when stopping and restarting your containers.

In addition, the first time the MySQL container starts, it will create two databases for you. The first database is named using the value of your DB_DATABASE environment variable and is for your local development. The second is a dedicated testing database named testing and will ensure that your tests do not interfere with your development data.

Once you have started your containers, you may connect to the MySQL instance within your application by setting your DB_HOST environment variable within your application's .env file to mysql .

To connect to your application's MySQL database from your local machine, you may use a graphical database management application such as TablePlus . By default, the MySQL database is accessible at localhost port 3306 and the access credentials correspond to the values of your DB_USERNAME and DB_PASSWORD environment variables. Or, you may connect as the root user, which also utilizes the value of your DB_PASSWORD environment variable as its password.

Your application's docker-compose.yml file also contains an entry for a Redis container. This container uses a Docker volume so that the data stored in your Redis data is persisted even when stopping and restarting your containers. Once you have started your containers, you may connect to the Redis instance within your application by setting your REDIS_HOST environment variable within your application's .env file to redis .

To connect to your application's Redis database from your local machine, you may use a graphical database management application such as TablePlus . By default, the Redis database is accessible at localhost port 6379.

If you chose to install the Meilisearch service when installing Sail, your application's docker-compose.yml file will contain an entry for this powerful search-engine that is compatible with Laravel Scout . Once you have started your containers, you may connect to the Meilisearch instance within your application by setting your MEILISEARCH_HOST environment variable to http://meilisearch:7700 .

From your local machine, you may access Meilisearch's web based administration panel by navigating to http://localhost:7700 in your web browser.

If you chose to install the Typesense service when installing Sail, your application's docker-compose.yml file will contain an entry for this lightning fast, open-source search-engine that is natively integrated with Laravel Scout . Once you have started your containers, you may connect to the Typesense instance within your application by setting the following environment variables:

From your local machine, you may access Typesense's API via http://localhost:8108 .

If you plan to use Amazon S3 to store files while running your application in its production environment, you may wish to install the MinIO service when installing Sail. MinIO provides an S3 compatible API that you may use to develop locally using Laravel's s3 file storage driver without creating "test" storage buckets in your production S3 environment. If you choose to install MinIO while installing Sail, a MinIO configuration section will be added to your application's docker-compose.yml file.

By default, your application's filesystems configuration file already contains a disk configuration for the s3 disk. In addition to using this disk to interact with Amazon S3, you may use it to interact with any S3 compatible file storage service such as MinIO by simply modifying the associated environment variables that control its configuration. For example, when using MinIO, your filesystem environment variable configuration should be defined as follows:

In order for Laravel's Flysystem integration to generate proper URLs when using MinIO, you should define the AWS_URL environment variable so that it matches your application's local URL and includes the bucket name in the URL path:

You may create buckets via the MinIO console, which is available at http://localhost:8900 . The default username for the MinIO console is sail while the default password is password .

[!WARNING] Generating temporary storage URLs via the temporaryUrl method is not supported when using MinIO.

Running Tests

Laravel provides amazing testing support out of the box, and you may use Sail's test command to run your applications feature and unit tests . Any CLI options that are accepted by Pest / PHPUnit may also be passed to the test command:

The Sail test command is equivalent to running the test Artisan command:

By default, Sail will create a dedicated testing database so that your tests do not interfere with the current state of your database. In a default Laravel installation, Sail will also configure your phpunit.xml file to use this database when executing your tests:

Laravel Dusk provides an expressive, easy-to-use browser automation and testing API. Thanks to Sail, you may run these tests without ever installing Selenium or other tools on your local computer. To get started, uncomment the Selenium service in your application's docker-compose.yml file:

Next, ensure that the laravel.test service in your application's docker-compose.yml file has a depends_on entry for selenium :

Finally, you may run your Dusk test suite by starting Sail and running the dusk command:

Selenium on Apple Silicon

If your local machine contains an Apple Silicon chip, your selenium service must use the seleniarm/standalone-chromium image:

Laravel Sail's default docker-compose.yml file contains a service entry for Mailpit . Mailpit intercepts emails sent by your application during local development and provides a convenient web interface so that you can preview your email messages in your browser. When using Sail, Mailpit's default host is mailpit and is available via port 1025:

When Sail is running, you may access the Mailpit web interface at: http://localhost:8025

Sometimes you may wish to start a Bash session within your application's container. You may use the shell command to connect to your application's container, allowing you to inspect its files and installed services as well execute arbitrary shell commands within the container:

To start a new Laravel Tinker session, you may execute the tinker command:

Sail currently supports serving your application via PHP 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, or PHP 8.0. The default PHP version used by Sail is currently PHP 8.3. To change the PHP version that is used to serve your application, you should update the build definition of the laravel.test container in your application's docker-compose.yml file:

In addition, you may wish to update your image name to reflect the version of PHP being used by your application. This option is also defined in your application's docker-compose.yml file:

After updating your application's docker-compose.yml file, you should rebuild your container images:

Sail installs Node 20 by default. To change the Node version that is installed when building your images, you may update the build.args definition of the laravel.test service in your application's docker-compose.yml file:

Sometimes you may need to share your site publicly in order to preview your site for a colleague or to test webhook integrations with your application. To share your site, you may use the share command. After executing this command, you will be issued a random laravel-sail.site URL that you may use to access your application:

When sharing your site via the share command, you should configure your application's trusted proxies using the trustProxies middleware method in your application's bootstrap/app.php file. Otherwise, URL generation helpers such as url and route will be unable to determine the correct HTTP host that should be used during URL generation:

If you would like to choose the subdomain for your shared site, you may provide the subdomain option when executing the share command:

[!NOTE] The share command is powered by Expose , an open source tunneling service by BeyondCode .

Debugging With Xdebug

Laravel Sail's Docker configuration includes support for Xdebug , a popular and powerful debugger for PHP. In order to enable Xdebug, you will need to add a few variables to your application's .env file to configure Xdebug . To enable Xdebug you must set the appropriate mode(s) before starting Sail:

Linux Host IP Configuration

Internally, the XDEBUG_CONFIG environment variable is defined as client_host=host.docker.internal so that Xdebug will be properly configured for Mac and Windows (WSL2). If your local machine is running Linux, you should ensure that you are running Docker Engine 17.06.0+ and Compose 1.16.0+. Otherwise, you will need to manually define this environment variable as shown below.

First, you should determine the correct host IP address to add to the environment variable by running the following command. Typically, the <container-name> should be the name of the container that serves your application and often ends with _laravel.test_1 :

Once you have obtained the correct host IP address, you should define the SAIL_XDEBUG_CONFIG variable within your application's .env file:

A sail debug command may be used to start a debugging session when running an Artisan command:

To debug your application while interacting with the application via a web browser, follow the instructions provided by Xdebug for initiating an Xdebug session from the web browser.

If you're using PhpStorm, please review JetBrain's documentation regarding zero-configuration debugging .

[!WARNING] Laravel Sail relies on artisan serve to serve your application. The artisan serve command only accepts the XDEBUG_CONFIG and XDEBUG_MODE variables as of Laravel version 8.53.0. Older versions of Laravel (8.52.0 and below) do not support these variables and will not accept debug connections.

Since Sail is just Docker, you are free to customize nearly everything about it. To publish Sail's own Dockerfiles, you may execute the sail:publish command:

After running this command, the Dockerfiles and other configuration files used by Laravel Sail will be placed within a docker directory in your application's root directory. After customizing your Sail installation, you may wish to change the image name for the application container in your application's docker-compose.yml file. After doing so, rebuild your application's containers using the build command. Assigning a unique name to the application image is particularly important if you are using Sail to develop multiple Laravel applications on a single machine:

NASA’s Solar Sail Is So Close to Harnessing Sunlight for Propulsion

Up next: a new dawn in interstellar exploration.

• Solar sails, ultra-thin polymer “sails” that leverage the Sun’s photons as a means of propulsion, have been sent into orbit for more than a decade, but now NASA is prepping it’s own version.
• On January 30, the solar sail aced its final test and successfully deployed one quadrant along a 100-foot-long boom.
• NASA says the technology is now TRL (technology readiness level) 6, meaning it’s ready for space missions.

On January 30, 2024, Redwire officially deployed one quadrant of its solar sail at its Colorado-based facility, proving that the technology is now ready for space missions. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center led the solar sail team, with the Alabama-based NeXolve and Redwire designing the sail’s deployment mechanism once in space . The polymer material coated in aluminum successfully deployed along a 100-foot-long boom, and when all four quadrants deploy in space, it’ll fill up 17,780 square feet and will power light-payload space missions.

“This was a major last step on the ground before it’s ready to be proposed for space missions ,” NASA technologist Les Johnson said in a press statement . “What’s next is for scientists to propose the use of solar sails in their missions. We’ve met our goal and demonstrated that we’re ready to be flown.”

Solar sails are not a new idea—in fact, they’ve been bandied about in science fiction circles for decades . However, science fiction became science reality when the Japanese space agency JAXA launched the first spacecraft, named IKAROS , to demonstrate solar sail technology in 2010. In the U.S., the non-profit organization The Planetary Society launched its own solar sail, the Lightsail 1, aboard a ULA Atlas V in 2015. They followed that up with the successful deployment of LightSail 2 four years later. Now, NASA is officially in the game.

The way these sails work is both simple and ingenious. When photons hit the reflective surface of the sail, they bounce off and impart a teensy amount of momentum into the sail itself. One photon doesn’t add much, but add them all up and it becomes substantial and (this is the best part) unlimited. Even deep into the Solar System , where the Sun’s light is less intense, lasers could be placed in Earth orbit that continually bombard the sails with much-needed photons.

“Once you get away from Earth’s gravity and into space, what is important is efficiency and enough thrust to travel from one position to another,” Johnson said in a press statement. “A solar sail achieves that by reflecting sunlight—the greater the size of the sail, the greater thrust it can provide.”

Now all the sails need is a mission. One area where these sails could be particularly effective is in heliophysics. The amount of fuel needed to get a spacecraft to the poles of the Sun is simply too great, but this isn’t a problem when a spacecraft is propelled by the very thing it’s trying to study.

Long prophesied by sci-fi writers, the age of the solar sail is upon us.

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough. 

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