Alfa Romeo II (rechristened Black Jack IV) is a maxi yacht designed in 2005 by Reichel/Pugh for yachtsman Neville Crichton. First-to-finish in the 2009 Transpacific Yacht Race ("the Transpac"), she also set a new elapsed-time Transpac race record[2][3] for monohulls.
Alfa Romeo II is a "Reichel/Pugh 100" design measuring 30.48m (100.0ft) overall.[4] She features a 44m (144ft)[5] carbon fibre mast built by Southern Spars, water ballast, and a canting keel. She is thought to be capable of 35 knots (40mph; 60km/h) downwind in a fresh breeze.[6] Some of the boat's systems are operated via PLCs, automatically stepping up engine speed as power is required to operate the hydraulic ram actuating the canting keel, or disengaging the propeller when it is retracted into the hull to reduce drag.[7]
History
2009 Transpac Race
Total crew of about seventeen sailors included Stanley Honey, navigator; Olympian Ben Ainslie, English Gold Medalist Finn sailor of the 2008 Summer Olympics; and members of the Ericcson 4 crew, recently victorious in the Volvo Ocean Race. According to the 7 July 2009 morning report, Alfa Romeo II broke the Transpac race record for most miles covered in one day, set in the 2005 race by Morning Glory, by sailing 399 nautical miles (459mi; 739km) in 24 hours.[3][8] She improved that on both following days; on 8 July 2009, Alfa Romeo II reported 420 nautical miles (480mi; 780km);[9] on 9 July 2009, she reported 431 nautical miles (496mi; 798km).[10] She was first to finish the 2009 Transpac race, in which she set a new elapsed-time record[2][3] of 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes, 20 seconds.[11] She has been first to finish in at least 140 races.[12]
The Alfa Romeo yachts owned by Neville Crichton are 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.
In 2006 the team is also sponsored by SLAM, an Italian company producer of technical sailing sportswear, that provides the team of technical clothing.
12Unattributed (10 July 2009). "Alfa Romeo Poised For New Race Record". Alfa Romeo Maxi Yacht. Alfa Romeo Yacht Racing Team. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009. This reference clearly points out that it is the 100-foot (30m) boat which raced in the 2009 Transpac. The boat is actually 98.4 feet (30.0m) long; its design is called a "Reichel/Pugh 100." For reference to the boat consummating the new record, see Transpac race newsDeprecated link archived 2009-07-05 at archive.today.
↑"Alfa Romeo II". Sail-World NZL. www.kiwispy.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
↑
Fitzpatrick, Lynn (7 July 2009). "Transpac race milestones". Transpacific Yacht Club. Retrieved 8 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)(Distance covered from 6am day preceding to 6am day of report)
↑Race Committee aboard Alaska Eagle communications vessel (8 July 2009). "Daily Standings July 8, 2009". 2009 Transpac Race. Transpacific Yacht Club. Retrieved 8 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑
Race Committee aboard Alaska Eagle communications vessel (9 July 2009). "Daily Standings July 9, 2009". 2009 Transpac Race. Transpacific Yacht Club. Retrieved 17 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑Fitzpatrick, Lynn (11 July 2009). "Alfa Romeo Smashes Transpac Record by a Day". Finish reports. Transpacific Yacht Club. Retrieved 16 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) Alfa Romeo II is a monohull and set a new monohull elapsed time record. She came within about five hours of breaking the multihull elapsed time record 5d, 9h, 18m set in 1997 by Bruno Peyron with his Commodore Explorer.
↑Unattributed (28 December 2009). "Alfa Romeo takes line honours". Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
