2015 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship - Race day three
by Bob Fisher on 27 Sep 2015
Alex Roepers' Plenty shares the lead with Groovederci Sarah Proctor
On a day of sparkling sunshine, it couldn't have been much brighter for Alberto Rossi and the crew of Enfant Terrible in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. The Italian team posted two wins and a second place in the day's three races. Only some poor results in earlier races, thanks in part to problems with the kelp, will stop Rossi from winning this championship.
The lead, after nine races, is shared by Alex Roepers with Plenty, and John Demourkas' Groovederci. They are five points clear of Wolfgang Schaefer's Struntje Light, who in turn is three points ahead of Kevin McNeil's Nightshift. The top five have displayed consistency, whereas all the others have had results they would like to forget, but this, as always, is a no-discard series.
No one knows better than Demourkas just how important the final day will be and he knows also of the private rivalry that exists between his tactician, John Kostecki, and the tactician of Plenty, Terry Hutchinson. 'They've been racing each other for years,' said Demourkas, 'and I have no doubt that they will be at it again tomorrow.'
Some of the competitors over the three days have run into problems with the kelp on the course, Demourkas among them: 'We lost a couple of places as we rounded the gate mark in the second race - I simply could not avoid it but it took me from second to fourth. As a West Coast sailor I am used to this phenomenon and perhaps should have learned to deal with it better.'
Today the wind was shiftier than previous days and the total veer no more than 25 degrees, but it made both the windward and leeward legs more tricky and there were some unexpected place changes, but the skipper who read the shifts best was Alberto Rossi in the second race, gaining a whole minute on the second 1.2 mile windward leg, going on to win the race by one minute thirty-two seconds.
Helmut and Evan Jahn, jointly steering Flash Gordon 6, kicked off the day with a win after a stunning start had allowed them to tack early and take advantage of the right hand shift. They were chased hard by Enfant Terrible but were able to repel their challenges. Alex Roepers' Plenty was third and Martin Hill's Estate Master fourth.
After his runaway victory in the day's second race, Rossi was not expected to repeat his success, but proved conclusively that this was his day to shine by picking his lane soon after the start to lead at the weather mark the first time. Once more using the input of tactician, Vasco Vascotto, he sailed Enfant Terrible down the perfect line on the run to stay clear of Groovederci. It was the start of another victory for the Italian team.
The final Day will see whether or not this class can produce a worthy Champion. There is every reason to believe that the winner of the engraved Rolex watch could come from any of the top six skippers in results from the first nine races.
2015 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship - Preliminary Cumulative Results
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