In a season marked by unstable and uncertain weather, Alfa Romeo’s maxi yacht found the right wind to smash the previous Giraglia Rolex Cup speed record by no less than 4 hours, 10 minutes and 33 seconds. The boat led by owner and skipper Neville Crichton left Saint Tropez at 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday the 11th and after rounding Fourmigue in the Porquerolles islands reached the Giraglia Rock in Corsica shortly after midnight (00:18 a.m.). Alfa Romeo then steered her bow towards Genoa, where she arrived at 08:03:15 hours, having completed the 243-mile course in a record time of 18 hours, 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

In 2003, the year of Alfa Romeo’s previous record, the craft sailed at an average of 11 knots, whereas this year the racing speed of the 30 metre maxi yacht, which weighs around 20 tons, was 13.5 knots, an improvement of 18.5%.

On arriving at the base of the Yacht Club Italiano, organiser of the race, Neville Crichton commented “I truly enjoyed myself, it was a really delightful race. There was wind and it allowed us to run the boat at over 20 knots for several miles, hitting top speeds of 25 knots (approximately 45 Km/h). Onboard there was lots of work for everyone, the crew made countless sail changes. After reaching the Giraglia Rock during the night, we started to become convinced that our record could be improved. Then our pace began to slow, from 19 knots to 4 knots and then even to a halt. We worried for around 30 minutes while we sat stationary near Genoa, but afterwards we realised that it was a good day for us and our boat. A light breeze sprang up, caressing Alfa Romeo and accompanying her to the finish line, which we crossed at a speed of 10 knots."

Maxi yacht Alfa Romeo remained in the harbour of the Yacht Club Italiano for 50 minutes, the time needed to disembark a large group of yachtsmen, have a coffee, sample a sweet and clean the boat before departing again with a smaller crew toward the base in Antibes. The craft must be overhauled again and made ready to compete in 10 days’ time in the Boat International Superyacht Regatta of Porto Cervo, limited to craft of 25 metres and over. The owner and skipper Neville Crichton will in any case attend the prize ceremony on Saturday at the Yacht Club Italiano.

Alfa Romeo’s 23-member crew, which included several yachtsmen from the Alinghi team, defender of the America’s Cup, greatly appreciated being able to arrive on time for breakfast, considering that the provisions on board had been deliberately limited in the confidence of a rapid arrival.

Alfa Romeo won Line Honours (first across the finish line) for the 132nd time and can add to her long series of successes the Record Cup, awarded to any yacht that improves the speed record, the Rolex Trophy and the René Levainville Trophy, awarded to the first to finish in real time, and the Beppe Croce Trophy for being the first to round the Giraglia Rock.

With this latest feat Alfa Romeo has won the long Giraglia race in real time for the fifth time (out of the 5 times she has entered), a new record, never before achieved by any craft in the history of the most prestigious ocean race on the Mediterranean circuit.