''Alfa Romeo III'' (also known as ''Shockwave'') is a "mini-maxi" built to compete with other boats of the same size in shorter distance races under

IRC Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat an ...

rules. As ''Alfa Romeo I'' and ''Alfa Romeo II,'' she was also designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by McConaghy Boats; Her 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 The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a sports car produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 2007 and 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and later offered for sale for the 2007 model y ...

, in red, silver/gray, black and white, with a companionway ladder which resembles the car's grill. Rated as an IRC Mini Maxi, she displaces about . The IRC Mini Maxi division accommodates yachts between LOA. In September 2008, she was twice first to finish in Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup competition, with Torben Grael skippering. Though her LOA is about shorter than ''Alfa Romeo II,'' her beam is comparable, to enhance stiffness, or resistance to heeling, and she carries a long

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...

from which she sets an

asymmetrical spinnaker An asymmetrical spinnaker is a sail used when sailing downwind. Also known as an "asym", "aspin", or "A-sail" it can be described as a cross between a genoa jib and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but, the asymmetrical spinnaker is not ...

. 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 fleets. She has since been bought by George Sakellaris. ''Shockwave'' took line honors by completing the 635 nm 2014

Bermuda Race The Newport Bermuda Race, commonly known as the ''Bermuda Race'', is a biennial, 635 nautical miles (1175 km) sailing yacht race from Newport, Rhode Island to the British island of Bermuda. According to its website, the Race is the oldest r ...

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.

Sponsorship

''Alfa 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 A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot i ...

of ''Alfa Romeo II'' in the infobox.

References

External links

Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team
site
Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team news releasesAlfa Romeo II build details2009 Transpac race crew listMaxi Yacht Rolex Cup
Victory in Sardinia
Giraglia Rolex Cup
promotional information
Alfa Romeo II demonstrating speed
at Malta Rolex Middle Sea Race 2006

of Alfa Romeo II {{Alfa Romeo Ships built in New South Wales Individual sailing vessels 2000s sailing yachts Alfa Romeo Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race yachts Sailing yachts designed by Reichel/Pugh Sailing yachts built in Australia Sailboat types built by McConaghy Boats

Sponsorship

See also

References

External links