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Farr 40 Worlds Update

The crowd at the leeward gate in yesterday’s racing at the Farr 40 Worlds.

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Nineteen teams from seven countries are competing this week at the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club on the Berkeley Circle.

Wednesday, the first day of racing, started with a brief postponement while the wind direction settled. Plenty’s New York-based Alex Roepers and crew (some of whom are Barking Mad alumni) won every race. Plenty has been building on their successes, having placed second at Cabrillo Beach in March and first in the North Americans in May, the Cal Cup in June and the Rolex Big Boat Series in September. "Everything is coming together this year," said Roepers.

Rolex Big Boat Series winner Plenty is plenty good in the Worlds too. That’s tactician Terry Hutchinson on the left of your screen.

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Thursday began with a 1.5-hour postponement, but the excitement built as the day wore on, and several near-collisions and four protests ensued. "We are seeing more action in Race 4 than we’ve seen all year on this circuit!" enthused the class’s Twitter feed. A torn main ended Groovederci’s last race of the day, but they were granted redress. Boat of the day honors went to Wolfgang Schaefer’s German-flagged Struntje Light.

Hasip Gencer’s Turkish-flagged Asterisk is leading the eight-boat Corinthian division. Each boat is allowed up to four professionals on the crew. Corinthian entries have none.

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Skippers and crews appear to be having a great time. While waiting out the long postponement shoreside yesterday, competitors were talking in groups while drinking their cappuccinos. Racing continues through Saturday, with three races scheduled per day and post-race festivities hosted back at StFYC, except Saturday’s awards ceremony, which will be held across Marina Blvd. at the Palace of Fine Arts.

See www.farr40worlds.com, and, for updates throughout the day, follow the Farr 40 Class’s very active Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/Farr40Class.

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Looking for something unusual to do on the water this weekend? Why not take part in the annual Petaluma River Festival, today through Sunday.