Hap Fauth and his team onboard Maxi 72 Bella Mente go into their final day of racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth today. Yesterday’s racing was comprised of gray skies and fair-weather winds and the team along with the rest of the Maxi class sailed a long 32 nautical mile course that hooked almost completely around St. Barth in a counterclockwise direction, before turning back for a clockwise rounding of the island and to a buoy set just downwind of the finish. The team came in fourth place on corrected time.
Video Onboard Bella Mente During Day 3 of Racing
Mike Sanderson:
We had high hopes for yesterday and for a good forecast, so that the race committee would have the opportunity to get two races in for our fleet. However, the morning donned rain, which is never a great sign for a steady day when you’re in the Caribbean. Sure enough, a huge cloud soaked us pre-race and there was a massive shift in the breeze, which gave us a sign for what sort of day it would be (shifty and changeable). Hap and Terry did a nice job with the start and again we had a strong first beat, which set us up for a good first leg and a couple nice sail changes as we worked our way around the island, and we were in good shape holding a strong corrected position in the race by the half-way mark. But the ‘fickle finger of fate’ got us the second a big black cloud rolled across the racecourse and got us good, and we went from being right in the hunt to drifting down the last run with the Melges 24 class. The boat is going well though and the boys are sailing well, so we took it on the chin and look forward to getting out there today.
Terry Hutchinson:
We had a good race yesterday, but it all went pear shaped in the last three miles. A rainsquall engulfed the fleet at the last turning mark, leaving us dead stopped in the water for the better part of 45 minutes. It was a bit tough but we raced hard all the way through the finish. Today is a new day.
Photos of Bella Mente During Day 3 of Racing
The team kicks off the final day of racing this morning on a 28 nautical mile course.
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For event updates visit www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com. Follow the regatta via social media on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, Hashtag: #LesVoilesdeSaintBarth
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