ZADAR, CROATIA -  Alex Roepers began his sailing season by scoring a major victory in Australia, stopped in Italy a few months later to secure another significant achievement then capped an extremely successful 2016 campaign by closing the deal in Croatia.

Roepers and his team aboard Plenty captured the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in the waters off Sydney, earned the class's European Championship out of Ancona then crossed the Adriatic Sea to post his third victory of the season at the D-Marin Zadar Regatta this past week.

"It's been a perfect year for the Plenty," said Roepers, an investment banker based in New York City. "We are absolutely delighted by the results. All credit goes to the crew for performing at a high level and accomplishing what we set out to do."

Roepers and Plenty clinched the Farr 40 International Circuit championship by winning the D-Marin Zadar Regatta, held Thursday through Saturday off the Dalmatian Coast. Renowned professional Terry Hutchinson served as tactician for Roepers, who steered his black-hulled boat to first place in three races and second or third in five others in posting a low score of 24 points.

"Zadar is an absolutely beautiful location while the D-Marin Dalmajica Marina is a top-notch facility," Roepers said. "We enjoyed excellent sailing conditions and the competition was outstanding as usual. We could not be happier about finishing the season with a win at this regatta."

This is the second International Circuit title for Plenty, which also captured the 2014 crown. That was also the year Roepers collected his first Rolex Farr 40 World Championship and coincided with bringing Hutchinson aboard as crew boss. The Annapolis resident put together a team of sailors he trusts, led by trimmers Morgan Trubovich and Skip Baxter.

"Terry is responsible for organizing, motivating and leading the sailing team," Roepers said. "In my opinion, Terry is the best in the business at what he does. He is truly a difference-maker."

Roepers was also cited the contributions of boat captain Paul Simas and coach James Lyne. The longtime class member said the entire Plenty team came into the year very motivated after stumbling a bit in 2015.

"A disqualification at the North American Championship cost us the circuit and we sort of let the world championship slip through our fingers," Roepers said. "So it felt good to come back this year and get the job done."

Hutchinson had high praise for the performance of Roepers as helmsman and also applauded the crew for its consistency with sail changes and manuevers.

"We won every regatta we entered, which is aweseome! We had a great start to the season with the win at worlds then carried that momentum into the European Championship," Hutchinson said. "When you have strong boat-handling and superb speed, it gives you the ability to sail conservatively and not take chances. I think our success over the course of the season was due to avoiding the big boneheaded mistakes."

Roepers and the Plenty program now set their sights on the 2017 International Circuit, which will be contested at various locales in Italy. All the owner-drivers in the class are pointing toward the 20th annual Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, being held July 13-16 in Porto Cervo. It is fitting the Farr 40 class is celebrating its 20th anniversary in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

"We have put together a great circuit for next year. We will be stopping in Capri, Sardinia and possibly St. Tropez," said Wolfgang Schaefer, vice president of the Farr 40 Class Association. "Personally, I very much looking forward to the worlds because I have a close relationship with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda."

Schaefer and the Struntje Light team closed the 2016 campaign in fine fashion with a runner-up finish at the D-Marin Farr 40 Zadar Regatta. Hamish Pepper devised the strategy for Schaefer, who overcame a slow start to finish just two points astern of Plenty and two ahead of third place Enfant Terrible.

"We had some technical problems at the beginning because we have some new sailors," said Schaefer, who sailed Struntje Light to victory in Race 6 and second place in five other starts. "We sorted out our issues and sailed well the rest of the way. Our tactician did a splendid job and we had the boat going fast."

For skipper Alberto Rossi and the Enfant Terrible team, any chance of winning the regatta went out the window with a disqualification in Race 9. It was the result of a situation with Struntje Light in which Enfant Terrible committed a foul.

“They made the mistake. We were the leeward boat and therefore had the right to luff them,” Schaefer said.

Rossi may not have necessarily agreed with the jury’s decision, but ever the gentlemen did not protest.

“We did not feel there was an overlap situation and therefore did not need to give room. Unfortunately, the jury did not see it that way,” Rossi said. “It wasn’t a pretty result for our team, but this is the game.”

Enfant Terrible engaged in an epic tacking duel with Plenty during Race 7 on Friday. Those two boats executed an incredible 22 tacks on one upwind leg with Enfant Terrible ultimately winning the race by a small margin over Plenty.

"It was match racing at its finest. Two tremendous crews displaying impeccable boat-handling and matching each other move for move," class representative Brady Stagg said.

"That type of intensity is why the Farr 40 class still provides the coolest and best one-design racing there is," Roepers said. "It is due to the standard Geoff Stagg and his organization have brought to the class. They maintain very strinct controls and always put the owners first."

Pazza Idea, owned by Pierluigi Bresciani of Verona, Italy, captured the Corinthian championship for the 2016 International Circuit. Roberto Spata called tactics aboard Pazza Idea, which was the top Corinthian entry in Zadar after finishing third at both the European Championships and the D-Marin Sibinek Regatta.

"We are very happy with our results for the circuit. We are glad we competed in all three events because we managed to improve our sailing throughout," Bresciani said. "We started out without any fear with the desire to compete hard and learn as much as we could. There was a very large gap at the beginning, but we managed to close it considerably."

Corinthian class competition on the 2016 circuit was extremely close with Rush Diletta (Mauro Mocchegiani) and MP30+10 (Luca Pierdomenico) also displaying outstanding consistency. Geoff Stagg, president of the Farr 40 Class Association, said the rapid improvement of the new Italian teams adds tremendous depth to the class going into 2017.

"We are pleased with our progress, but far from satisfied," Bresciani said. "We look forward to getting better as a team and being able to beat the professional boats next year."

The Farr 40 Class Association would like to thank title sponsor D-Marin and race day sponsor Quantum Sails.

Complete results for the D-Marin Farr 40 Zadar Regatta can be found at:  www.yachtscoring.com