Boats, marine and boating trends

11/06/2007 -- Maxi yacht Alfa Romeo was the first to cross the finishing line in the coastal regatta of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, ahead of its fast rival Wild Oats. Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats are both 30-metre boats with over 1,000 sq m of sail and masts over 40 metres tall.

At the end of the first regatta, Alfa Romeo confirmed that it is the “defender” of the maxi yachts in a competition in which 190 boats are participating.

Maxi yacht Alfa Romeo

The rivalry with Wild Oats was fierce even before the start was given. Alfa Romeo crossed the starting line at full speed, preceding Wild Oats by a length and it built on this advantage tack after tack, covering the rival boat at every turn and gybe. This coastal regatta was as fiercely fought as a match race.

The boat’s owner and skipper Neville Crichton navigated from a controlling position compared to Wild Oats, which tried several times to shake Alfa Romeo off.

The first of the 3 coastal regattas that precede the long 243 nautical mile regatta (St. Tropez – Giraglia – Genoa), underlined that Alfa Romeo is still the fastest and most competitive boat, but there are still numerous regattas to go and anything could happen.

Today’s duel between the world’s fastest maxi yachts, Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats, was the first of the 2007 sailing season. The last meeting between the two boats, which have travelled to Europe from Australia to compete in the most prestigious international regattas, favoured Alfa Romeo, which won the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at Porto Cervo.

Source: Alfa Romeo