Alfa Romeo ready for the Rolex Capri Sailing Week

Rolex Capri Sailing Week is the second event on Alfa Romeo's racing schedule for this season, following on her victorious début at the Trofeo Pirelli, and one of the new items on the 2008 Calendar, with the presence on board of a number of the crew of America's Cup Defender Alinghi.

The alliance between the teams of Alfa Romeo, renowned as the fastest maxi yacht in the world, and Alinghi, Defender of the prestigious silver cup, already got off to the best of starts in Santa Margherita, where Alfa Romeo added 4 new Line Honours to her tally, meaning that she has now been first across the finish line a total of 121 times.

Neville Crichton, owner and skipper of Alfa Romeo said: "Both myself and my crew were captivated by Capri's beauty. I know that we were eagerly awaited and I'm very interested to see how racing will go in these splendid waters, and I just hope that the weather conditions will allow us to perform at our very best”.

Crichton's hyper-tech maxi is ready to make the most of her strengths including a 44 metre mast which can withstand the push of her 1327 square metres of sail (or the combined weight of 10 Alfa Romeo 159s). Alfa Romeo's immense power is harnessed and controlled by her second forward rudder, hydraulic winches and a canting keel which can tilt 45° to either side and shift from one side of the craft to the other in 7 seconds flat, moving an 9-ton keel-bulb.

After Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Alfa Romeo will race in the Tre Golfi Regatta which will start at midnight on 24 May, before going on to the Giraglia Rolex Cup (St Tropez-Genoa, 8-14 June); the Boat International Super Yacht Cup (Porto Cervo, 23-26 June), another new event in this season's calendar and in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (Porto Cervo, 2-6 September).

“ALFA ROMEO 2” – SPECIFICATIONS
Club : Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
Sail No: NZL 80
Designer : Reichel/Pugh – USA
Builder: McConaghy Boats, Sydney, Australia
Electrics, electronics, control systems and programing for the keel, winches and sail trim functions: Olectric Systems
Materials - Hull: carbon fibre; Keel: steel; Rudder and mast: carbon fibre; Sails: 3DLCarbon/Mylar
Keel: Hydraulic ram, hydraulic manifolds; Central Coast Hydraulics and Engineering
Mast: Southern Spars, Auckland, New Zealand
Sails: North Sails, Sydney, Australia
L.O.A.: 30.48 metres (100 ft)
Beam: 5.2 metres (17.03)
Draft: 5.2 metres (17.03)
Mast: 44m
Sail area - Mainsail: 314 square metres; Spinnaker: 805 square metres; Genoa: 208 square metres
Weight: 25.5 tonnes

ALFA ROMEO 2 WINS: 121 LINE HONOURS!
2008
“Regate Pirelli” Santa Margherita (May, 1-4th 2008)
Win 3 Line Honours in in-shore races, 1 Line Honours in long race (66 miles) and coming top of the IRC Group A class field


2007
“Barcolana” Trieste (October, 14th 2007)
Win at Barcolana race and new record: 55 minutes 30 seconds. 117° Line Honours.
“YCCS 40th Anniversary Regatta” Porto Cervo (September, 10th 2007)
1 Line Honours
“Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup” Porto Cervo (September, 2-8th 2007)
5 Line Honours
“Skandia Cowes Week” Cowes (August 7th 2007)
1 Line Honours in the circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight
“Superyacht Cup – New Zealand Millennium Cup” Palma de Majorca (June 19 th 2007)
Alfa Romeo is the fastest maxi yacht at the NZ Millennium Cup
“Giraglia Rolex Cup” Saint Tropez (June, 10-14 th 2007)
Win at Giraglia Rolex Cup (Saint Tropez, Giraglia, Genova – 245 miles)
2 Line Honours in along-the-cost races
“Hublot Palmavela” Palma de Maillorca - Spain (April, 18-22nd 2007)
5 Line Honours