Alfa Romeo in Overdrive Offshore

• NEWS
• 26 Nov, 2002 11:39:00 AM

Alfa Romeo in Overdrive Offshore

Skippered by owner Neville Crichton, Alfa Romeo (previously Shockwave) came within 13 minutes and 56 seconds of the race record in taking line honours early today in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's 92 nautical mile overnight race to Flinders Islet, off Port Kembla.

The 90-foot ocean racing super maxi Alfa Romeo has an excellent chance of taking out the double of line and IRC handicap honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2002 if her racing effort overnight is any guide.
 
Skippered by owner Neville Crichton, Alfa Romeo (previously Shockwave) came within 13 minutes and 56 seconds of the race record in taking line honours early today in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's 92 nautical mile overnight race to Flinders Islet, off Port Kembla.

The state-of-the-art,  all carbon fibre yacht crossed the finish line back in Sydney Harbour at 05:01:49 this morning,  just outside Bumblebee 5's record of 8 hours 47 minutes 52 seconds, set in 1999.

The race started in a moderate north-easterly seabreeze which swung to the south-east during the night,  giving the fleet a close fetch,  then a beat to the island,  followed by spinnaker run back in an 8-10 knot breeze, with Alfa Romeo averaging 10 knots for the course.

A fleet of 25 boats,  18 of them nominated for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race set sail from Sydney Harbour at 2000 hours last night on what is the final overnight race before the Hobart Race.

Confirmed corrected time results issued by the CYCA this afternoon show that Alfa Romeo has won both the IRC and PHS divisions on corrected times.  She is not competing under IMS in this race or the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

In the IRC division, Alfa Romeo won from the newly launched Farr 52 One Design,  Ichi Ban, skippered by Matt Allen, while third place went to Bob Steele's Nelson/Marek 46,  Quest.

In the IMS division, Quest won from  Syd Fischer's Farr 50, Ragamuffin,  and Ichi Ban.    Alfa Romeo does not compete under the IMS rating rule.

Best of the smaller boats was Peter Mooney's Sydney 38, Obsession, which placed sixth overall in the IMS division and eighth in the IRC division,  while Geoff Hill's MKL 49, Strewth,  placed second to Alfa Romeo in the PHS division, with Ichi Ban third.

The race started in a moderate north-easterly seabreeze which swung to the south-east during the night,  giving the fleet a close fetch,  then a beat to the island,  followed by spinnaker run back in an 8-10 knot breeze, with Alfa Romeo averaging 10 knots for the course.

A fleet of 25 boats,  18 of them nominated for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race set sail from Sydney Harbour at 2000 hours last night on what is the final overnight race before the Hobart Race.

Confirmed corrected time results issued by the CYCA this afternoon show that Alfa Romeo has won both the IRC and PHS divisions on corrected times.  She is not competing under IMS in this race or the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

In the IRC division, Alfa Romeo won from the newly launched Farr 52 One Design,  Ichi Ban, skippered by Matt Allen, while third place went to Bob Steele's Nelson/Marek 46,  Quest.

In the IMS division, Quest won from  Syd Fischer's Farr 50, Ragamuffin,  and Ichi Ban.    Alfa Romeo does not compete under the IMS rating rule.

Best of the smaller boats was Peter Mooney's Sydney 38, Obsession, which placed sixth overall in the IMS division and eighth in the IRC division,  while Geoff Hill's MKL 49, Strewth,  placed second to Alfa Romeo in the PHS division, with Ichi Ban third.