Giraglia Rolex Cup - Alfa Romeo Sails into a New Record in Genoa

Genoa, Italy - Neville Crichton and his crew on the yacht Alfa Romeo have beaten the course record in the Giraglia Race, prevously held by none other than Neville Chrichton and crew on the old Alfa Romeo. The 100 foot yacht sailed from St. Tropez, past Giraglia rock on Corsica, and into into Genoa Italy in just 18 hours, smashing Crichton's previous record set in 2003 by 4 hours. The new yacht has 10 more feet, a canting keel, and power winches.

Crichton said this about the race: "We had a good breeze on the beat up to the turning mark [near the Porquerolles Islands off the French coast]. We had 22 knots at that point and carried a spinnaker or Code Zero all the way to the Giraglia Rock, where there was about 13 knots' wind. We picked up a new breeze and reached towards Genoa. The wind dropped and we parked up for almost three hours before we got the new shore breeze to get us across the finish."

ALFA ROMEO finishes in Genoa after smashing the course record Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo

Michael Coxon, tactician, was delighted to have taken the record in a race that has often frustrating for the Alfa Romeo crew. "We've always joked that high pressure follows this boat around. We campaigned the 90 footer very successfully for years, and everyone knows the 100-footer is faster but we've not broken as many records. This time we finally got the conditions that suit this boat. They weren't fresh conditions, but strong enough, and the wind was kind both in terms of strength and direction. We parked up for only a little over two hours, which is not bad for this race. We've been parked up for hours in the past."

It has still been painfully slow progress for the other 169 boats in the Giraglia Race in the typically light winds in the bay of Genoa (thus the name for the oversized jib). The second yacht to finish the course was Igor Simcic's Open 60 Esimit Europa, a former Giraglia Race course record holder. The other yachts are now making into port in Genoa under cloudy skies.

Other excitement in the Giraglia Race happened yesterday, just a few hours after the race had set off from St Tropez in France. Luca Minoli's Sly 47 See You Later capsized when the keel separated from the hull. The yacht's crew abandoned ship, and were safely rescued, while the boat was towed back to shore.

Passing the Giraglia Rock Photo by: ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi

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- BH