Transpac Update #1

Hello Bella Mente Family,

I just wanted to send a short note to let you all know Bella started the Transpac Race today at about 1:00 PDT. All looked well from our vantage point on Point Furmin. Bella seemed to be moving nicely against our main competitor, Magnitude 80. Magnitude seemed overpowered sailing upwind in 15-18 knots of breeze.

Hopefully the additional righting moment we have on Bella will prove to help in this race. We should be able to use that stability for the first few days before the sailing angles get deeper, and we put up the spinnakers for the rest of the race

Current routing from this morning has Bella finishing in about 6.5 days (early morning on Friday, July 15th). This could be a record breaking run, so keep up with the boys on their way to Hawaii

A big thanks goes out to all of our suppliers and support team for getting us to the start. It was no small feat after out mast failure in March. We also added water tanks and a new bowsprit, and also shaved some weight off the keel. In addition Bella has had some creature comforts added so the team gets proper rest, and is as comfortable as possible.

Special thanks goes out to:

-Brad Fitzgerald and the team at Fitzgerald Racing
-New England Boatworks, Don Watson and Tom Rich
-Hall Spars and Rigging: Gunnar, Ben, Eric, Tom, and Dave Moffett, and the rest of the team in Bristol
-Future Fibres Rigging: Alex R., Ewan, and Alex W (who is now racing to Hawaii)
-North Sails, Chris Williams

I am headed back to Rhode Island tomorrow to continue the build of the new Bella Mente; I will be available any time and will be on East coast time. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or need to get in touch with someone on the yacht in an emergency situation.

Thanks, and wish for the best in our quest for the Barn Door Trophy!

-Rob