Alfa Romeo III (also known as Shockwave) is a 21-metre (69 ft) "mini-maxi" built to compete with other boats of the same size in shorter distance races under IRC rules.[1]
| Other names | Shockwave |
|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Reichel/Pugh |
| Builder | McConaghy Sydney, Australia |
| Launched | 2008 |
| Owner(s) | Neville Crichton George Sakellaris |
| Racing career | |
| Skippers | Torben Grael |
| Notable victories | 2014 Bermuda Race (l.h.) |
| Specifications | |
| Type | Monohull |
| Length | 21.80 m (71.5 ft) (LH) |
| Beam | 5.41 m (17.7 ft) |
| Draft | 5.12 m (16.8 ft) |
As Alfa Romeo I and Alfa Romeo II, she was also designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by McConaghy Boats; Her 31.5-metre (103 ft) mast was also built by Southern Spars. She has a conventional fixed bulb keel and was launched in mid-2008. Her interior design is styled after the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, in red, silver/gray, black and white, with a companionway ladder which resembles the car's grill.[2] Rated as an IRC Mini Maxi, she displaces about 14,700 kilograms (32,400 lb). The IRC Mini Maxi division accommodates yachts between 60 and 79 feet (18 and 24 m) LOA. In September 2008, she was twice first to finish in Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup competition, with Torben Grael skippering.[1][3]
Though her LOA is about 9 metres (30 ft) shorter than Alfa Romeo II, her beam is comparable, to enhance stiffness, or resistance to heeling, and she carries a long bowsprit from which she sets an asymmetrical spinnaker. With this "mini-Maxi" Crichton sought closer competition on the race course. He noted that with only perhaps ten of the supermaxi yachts (potential competitors of Alfa Romeo II) in existence, getting them all on the same race course at the same time had been difficult. The more affordable mini-Maxi engages more competition in stronger[4] fleets.[1] She has since been bought by George Sakellaris.
Shockwave took line honors by completing the 635 nm 2014 Bermuda Race in a time of time was 63h 04m 11s. The win adds to Shockwave's list of victories, including a division win in the 2012 Bermuda Race, the 2013 Montego Bay, and the 2014 RORC Caribbean 600 Race.[5]
Sponsorship
editAlfa Romeo III was sponsored by Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. of Turin, Italy. They own the Alfa Romeo name and other intellectual properties such as logos, emblems (used on Alfa Romeo III), and manner of depicting the name as shown on the mainsail of Alfa Romeo II in the infobox.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Unattributed. "Neville Crichton 'Changes Gears' With Mini Maxi Alfa Romeo III". Alfa Romeo Maxi Yacht. Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
- ^ Alfa Romeo III interior Archived 2009-10-05 at the Wayback Machine photos.
- ^ Unattributed (10 September 2008). "Promising Start For New Alfa Romeo 3". Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
- ^ "Stronger" in the sense of a greater number of individual entries of similar types
- ^ "Shockwave Wins Line Honors as Most of Fleet Drifts On - Newport Bermuda Race". Bermudarace.com. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
External links
edit- Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team site
- Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team news releases
- Alfa Romeo II build details
- 2009 Transpac race crew list
- Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup Victory in Sardinia
- Giraglia Rolex Cup promotional information
- Alfa Romeo II demonstrating speed at Malta Rolex Middle Sea Race 2006
- Deck layout and detail photos of Alfa Romeo II