11:35 AM Mon 28 Dec 2009 GMT
The New Zealand super maxi Alfa Romeo set a new bench mark for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race when she coasted across the finish line off Hobart's historic Battery Point just after 10 o'clock tonight, a cannon thundering out from Castray Esplanade to signal that she was the 65th line honours winner of one of the world's great ocean yacht races.
Her official finish time of 22:02:10 gave Alfa Romeo an elapsed time of 2 days 09 hours 02 minutes 10 seconds, the slowest since Nicorette took line honours in the 2004 race with a time of 2 days 16 hours 00 minutes and 04 seconds. Only a decade ago Nokia slashed Kialoa III's 21-year-old record and became the first yacht to sail the course in under two days. Since then the two day mark has only been bettered by Wild Oats XI in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
The 100-footer becomes the biggest yacht ever to lead the fleet home in the 628 nautical mile race and only the third New Zealand registered and owned yacht to win in 17 years.
Neville Crichton's victory over the champion Australian maxi Wild Oats XI climaxes an outstanding career in yachting. He won this race with his previous Alfa Romeo, a 90-footer, in 2002 and has had an extraordinary run of victories with the two Alfa Romeos in the UK and the Mediterranean, including winning the Fastnet Race and the Rolex Maxi World Cup.
Sailing up the River Derwent in darkness but with a near full moon sparkling on the calm water, Alfa Romeo and her escort fleet made a spectacular sight, her mast and black sails towering above a myriad of navigation lights.
Water police kept a close check to ensure that only accredited boats could be within an exclusion zone of 50 metres around the yacht, with no craft permitted further for'ard than the mast of the winner.
Alfa Romeo's victory ended the record-breaking winning streak of four consecutive line honours wins, including a race record and overall victory in 2005, for Wild Oats XI, her owner Bob Oatley and skipper Mark Richards.
Alfa Romeo eclipses Wild Oats XI's previous record as the largest line honours winner in the Sydney Hobart, being a 100-footer compared to Wild Oats XI's 98 feet when she won line honours four times.
It also means that the record of Morna/Kurrewa IV in taking line honours in seven Sydney Hobarts remains intact, although Wild Oats XI retains the record for the most (four) consecutive line honours wins.
For much of the 628 nautical mile race there was little between the two 100-footers, both designed by the US naval architects Reichel/Pugh and both built in Sydney by McConaghy Boats. Both are the epitome of state-of-the-art yacht design, hull construction, rig and sails and sailing systems. Both have canting keels and stored power to operate the keels, steering and sail handling systems.
Although the official sunset was 8.50pm, southern Tasmania enjoys a long twilight that means that on a cloudless evening such as we are enjoying tonight, it was still light as the 100-footer began her sail up the River Derwent, escorted by a flotilla of police and media boats, ferries, the replica square rigger Lady Nelson and an array of private craft.
Alfa Romeo rounded Tasman Island at 6:08pm after a day of sailing in generally light and fluky winds down the East Coast. At one stage she was hitting 20 knots, another time she was becalmed with Wild Oats XI closing the gap.
With the news that Alfa Romeo was well across Storm Bay and approaching the Iron Pot, dozens of power cruisers headed down the river to greet the line honours winner - the same way a motor cruiser greeted Rani and her skipper,
Captain John Illingworth RN, in the inaugural Sydney Hobart he helped found 65 years ago.
Ashore, the Taste of Tasmania was celebrating its 21st anniversary, with the old wharf packed to the rafters for opening night of this feast of fine Tasmanian food, wine and beer. Thousands of Hobartians and tourists who have been in the city all day enjoying a wide range of holiday activities, lined the foreshores of Castray Esplanade and historic Constitution Dock, where Alfa Romeo will berth after finishing the race.
Tonight Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton and his crew of professional sailors were the toast, albeit a little late, of Hobart as thousands crowded around the dockside to see him accept the Illingworth Cup and the Rolex chronometer on the new podium alongside Constitution Dock.
As Alfa Romeo finished, Wild Oats XI, the vanquished champion, was 16 nautical miles astern still in Storm Bay, while the British challenger ICAP Leopard had just rounded Tasman Island.
by Peter Campbell
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