Maxi yacht Alfa Romeo, led by skipper Neville Crichton and considered one of the fastest in the world, returns to the Irish and English waters for the Rolex Fastnet Race after her fourth consecutive victory in real-time at the Giraglia Rolex Cup.

Winner of the Fastnet in 2003 (its Grand Slam year – with trophies from Giraglia, Fastnet and the Middle Sea Race) Alfa Romeo will be at Skandia Cowes Week to compete in the races scheduled for day 8 (round the Isle of Wight) and day 9 (coastal race). She will then participate in the Rolex Fastnet Race, which sets out from Cowes on 12 August – sailing to the Fastnet rock, before returning to Plymouth where the finish line is set up. The crew’s aim is not only to finish well, but to break the speed record which has remained unbeaten since 1999.