Groovederci wins 2015 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship

John Demourkas and the Groovederci team were victorious, winning by one point.

The second-oldest member of the class, 61-year-old Demourkas, was presented with a specially-engraved Rolex Yacht-Master for heading up the winning team.

A victory had been far from assured for US Groovederci team, who on the first day were in fourth place among the 17-boat international fleet.

Demourkas moved into second place on the second day, and scores of 5-6-4 on day three kept him in position, tied with Alex Roepers’s Plenty team, also from the States.

Points were tight entering the final race: Roepers had the lead with 43 points, with Demourkas on 47 points. But a second place by Demourkas, while the other teams stumbled, launched the Groovederci team up to grab the title.

“We did it, we never gave up,” said a euphoric Demourkas.

“I had no idea we’d won until we crossed the line. JK [tactician John Kostecki] said ‘I think we did it’ and I said ‘no, that’s not possible.’

“I wasn’t even focused on it, just drive the boat, find my angles… not even thinking about what the results would be, or thinking about anything else.”