Bella Mente Racing has roots that go back to late 2005 when the first of its four namesake racing yachts was acquired by owner/skipper Hap Fauth. The first Bella Mente was a Judel/Vrolijk 66 built in 2002, and it won, among other prestigious races, the 2006 Newport to Bermuda Race, while the second Bella Mente, a modified Reichel/Pugh 69 built in 2009, has the distinction of winning the 2011 Transpac Race.
Not one to let his team rest on its laurels, Fauth set out to commission a new 72-foot Mini Maxi with Judel/Vrolijk and spent two weeks tank testing and experimenting with different models before settling on a final design. Built by New England Boatworks and launched in April 2012, the third Bella Mente went on to not only score class victories in major regattas around the world (such as the RORC Caribbean 600 and PalmaVela) but also capture the Mini Maxi World Championship in 2012 and the Maxi 72 Worlds in 2015 and 2016.
Fauth had wanted to take his new boat farther than any of the Bella Mente racing yachts preceding it, and that he did. He believes; however, his efforts are only as good as the team that surrounds him. Many members of his original team are still sailing with him today on his fourth Bella Mente, another specially commissioned 72-footer designed by Botin Partners and again built by New England Boatworks. It was launched in September 2018.
When he is not competing on the water, Fauth runs several businesses that span many industries, from agriculture to aerospace, and he brings many of the same principles and tactics that he uses in the boardroom to the development of his sailing campaign. With a proven formula for success, Bella Mente Racing – constantly changing and adapting in order to rise above its competition on the water – has a fourth World Championship in its sights.
Sponsors for Bella Mente Racing include Churchill Yachts, DICKEY-john, ESC Spectrum, Tekran and TSI.
