Kiwi super maxi Alfa Romeo defeated her Australian
arch-nemesis, Wild Oats, in the final race of the
Superyacht Cup, but it wasn’t enough to enable Neville
Crichton to beat Bob Oatley in the three race series,
with Wild Oats taking the regatta 2-1.
In race one on Sunday (17 June 2007)
Wild Oats IX and Alfa Romeo were, as the fast yachts,
the last to start in the handicap event some 55 minutes
after Maltese Falcon and soon made rapid progress
through the fleet by tacking up the middle of the Bay.
Wild Oats was second round the windward mark with a
comfortable nine minute lead over Alfa Romeo and
sprinted through the fleet to take line honours overall
and a win in Division 2. Alfa Romeo closed to less than
a minute at the finish to take second place in Division
2 with the 36.5m (120ft) Wally Y3K third place.
On Monday (18 June 2007) in the second race, Alfa Romeo
quickly took the lead over Wild Oats, until the wind
faded to almost nothing. Neville Crichton decided to go
in search of new winds while Wild Oats held her nerve
and her course.
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After two regattas racing against each, the Trans Tasman
score in the battle between Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats now
stands at one all, with Alfa Romeo taking the Giraglia
Rolex Cup. |
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Kiwi super maxi Alfa Romeo defeated her Australian
arch-nemesis, Wild Oats, in the final race of the
Superyacht Cup, but it wasn’t enough to enable Neville
Crichton to beat Bob Oatley in the series. |
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Alfa Romeo ground to a windless halt and
Wild Oats found enough wind to ease into the lead and
win the race, but not before a scare right at the finish
when the wind suddenly rose to almost 20 knots, ripping
apart their light wind sails. In the final race, the New Zealand Millennium Cup on
Tuesday (19 June 2007), Alfa Romeo sprinted around the
course, at times reaching speeds in excess of 18 knots,
in just one hour and 38 minutes, two and half minutes
faster than near sistership Wild Oats IX meaning that
over the three days the results stand at two to one in
favour of Wild Oats.
After two regattas racing against each, the Trans Tasman
score in the battle between Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats now
stands at one all, with Alfa Romeo taking the Giraglia
Rolex Cup.
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