Alfa Romeo wins Sydney to Hobart yacht race

Of her 146 victories in ocean racing since being launched in 2005, this was the sweetest for the Kiwi supermaxi and her skipper Neville Crichton, who had roared up the Derwent River only to be stilled for a frustrating time just two nautical miles from the finish line.

''It's great to get here in the end, I can tell you,'' Crichton said on Constitution Dock last night. Asked how long he would be staying in Hobart, Crichton replied: ''Until we run out out of money in the bar.

''Every win's a good win, but this one is special because this is a very good race.''

The rivalry between Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats XI goes further than this edition of the Sydney-Hobart; beyond even the 2005 edition of the 628-nautical mile race, which Wild Oats XI won in race record time.

Indeed the feeling goes back to before they raced their first race. Alfa Romeo was designed by the US boat designers Reichel-Pugh with much input from the experienced Alfa Romeo crew but, once launched, the Wild Oats XI boat was commissioned - to be a virtual copy of Alfa Romeo.

An industry source said: ''Forget this spin about sister ships, Wild Oats XI was a copy of Alfa and it still rankles them.''

Crichton said it was the memory of Wild Oats XI outsailing his team back in 2005 that still hurt because he had made a tactical error. ''Back then, I was drinking the beer and [Wild Oats XI skipper] Mark Richards was drinking the champagne.''

But last night all of that history was forgotten as the boat - largely based in Europe - outpointed its rivals in nearly all aspects of the race. Alfa Romeo was faster downwind, upwind and, in this race, often no wind. As Alfa Romeo was crossing the finish line at Constitution Dock, joined by dozens of spectator craft under a big moon and fading red sunset on a picture postcard summer's evening, Wild Oats XI was some 18 nautical miles in arrears, while ICAP Leopard was 37 nautical miles behind. Alfa Romeo crossed the line two days, nine hours, two minutes and 10 seconds after leaving Sydney.

Crichton said the race had been the most straightforward of Alfa Romeo's race victories, but noted, ''The hardest bit is from [off the Tasmanian coast] to the finish.''

Alfa Romeo established a critical lead on the morning of the second day of the race, when she picked up a puff of breeze off Jervis Bay and quickly established a 20-mile advantage over Wild Oats XI and ICAP Leopard.

''We just slowly increased our lead from the beginning of the race,'' said Crichton. ''We would have preferred the heavy air running but in the light trickiness it was a matter of getting out of it as quickly as we can.''

Before the race start, Crichton told the Sydney Morning Herald that this year's Sydney to Hobart ''was the most important to us … the last time we lost was to Wild Oats XI three years ago, and we haven't been beaten since then. This is a bit of payback for us''.