Maxi 72 start (Photo Credit: ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi)

After two days of the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championships were cancelled due to rough conditions earlier this week, Race Committee decided to push up racing by an hour today to ensure that competitors would be able to get out on the water. The Maxi 72s raced a shortened coastal race with the anticipation of doing a second race, but unfortunately the dwindling breeze only allowed for the first race. Bella Mente Racing, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, finished in second place with Robertissima taking the win and creeping up to second place in the overall standings, only .75 points behind Bella Mente, which still holds the lead.

The Maxi 72 Fleet (Photo Credit: ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi)

Terry Hutchinson:

It was a good day onboard Bella Mente today. As it is with the coastal races, we understand the importance of the bonus points. Hap, Soapy (Ian Moore), and Doogie (Sean Couvreux) had a great start mid-line. It was a tricky first beat, but we managed our way around in second place behind Robertissima.

From there, it was a matter of defending our position and making gains where we could. It still does not feel we are firing on all cylinders and yet we are battling. Tomorrow will be another two coastal races, so still plenty of points on the table.

For more on the International Maxi Association visit:www.internationalmaxiassociation.com
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The Maxi 72 Fleet during day two of racing (Photo Credit: ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi)

After day one of racing was cancelled due to high winds, Bella Mente and the rest of the Maxi 72 fleet took to the water today in Porto Cervo, Sardinia to kick off the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship. Despite the tricky conditions, which included large swells and dwindling breeze, the team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, prevailed taking first place in the first windward/leeward race of the day and tying with Robertissima for second place in the second race. Bella Mente goes into tomorrow holding the class lead, 1.5 points ahead of Momo.

Bella Mente during day two of racing (Photo Credit: ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi)

Hap Fauth

It was very challenging. With the huge sea state, there was lots of mountain climbing and with the shifty breeze it was a challenge all day. But we came out okay.

Mike Sanderson

Many people commented when we where trying to get the boat off the dock that this would be the trickiest part of the day, as massive swells rolling into Porto Cervo Harbor were creating havoc for the fleet. That wasn’t to be the case though, the waves during racing that were out of whack with the wind speed, which was steadily dropping, made for a couple of very tricky races. Onboard, it all felt a bit rough around the edges, but to come away with a first in the first race and a tie for second in the second race, meant in fact that it was a very solid day points wise.

Adrian Stead

After a blowout for day one, it was great to get out and race today. Conditions were pretty lumpy with a 1-1.5 meter seaway from the north, and a breeze that started at 19 knots and dropped to 12 buy the end of race two.

For race one, Bella Mente got a great mid-line start and was going well upwind to lead around the top mark from the left. Downwind, there were big surfs on the waves and we dropped back to third at the gate, with Momo taking the lead. Some good shifts up the second beat got us back in the lead at the top, which we held until the finish – a nice opener!

For race two, we had another well-executed mid-line start with Terry (Hutchinson), Hap, Soapy (Ian Moore) and Doogie (Sean Couvreux) launching us well out of the blocks. We had a solid first beat and led at the top. Momo gybed away from the shift but saw more pressure and came in ahead at the gate. No place changes up the still lumpy second beat, but on the final run Robertissima managed to make a gain, leaving us sharing second place on handicap.

Overall, it was an ok opening day, and we are at the front of the fleet, but also feeling that we left some points out there. Tomorrow looks very rough with strong winds overnight.

Click here to read the organizer’s press release
For more on the International Maxi Association visit: www.internationalmaxiassociation.com
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(Photo Credit: ROLEX / Carlo Borlenghi)

The mistral was in full force today in Porto Cervo, Sardinia for day one of the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship, with a northwesterly breeze clocking in between 30 and 35 knots. The Race Committee kept the Maxi 72 Fleet at the dock waiting for the wind to come down, but it did not. Windward/leeward racing is on tap for tomorrow!

Full report from the organizers:

Big conditions today off Sardinia’s magnificent Costa Smeralda sadly proved too big. Initially the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup race committee held competitors ashore to see if the forecast lull would occur. Ultimately at 1430 local time conditions on the course were in fact building rather than dropping, so, reluctantly, Peter Craig and his team from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, organiser of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup alongside the International Maxi Association, chose to abandon racing on what was supposed to have been the opening day of competition.

From the International Maxi Association base on the Southern Wind 78 Whisper, tied up among the other Maxi Cruiser Racers at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda dock, Secretary General Andrew McIrvine acknowledged: “Sadly conditions made sailing today extremely difficult. Not only did it make it difficult to set courses, but also the logistics of moving these very large boats in and out of the narrow harbour entrance safely. Plus there is the feeling that we don’t want to cause any damage on day one.”

As a result of this, it is highly likely that there will now be no layday, originally scheduled for Thursday.

Today a coastal race was scheduled for the Maxi 72s competing at their annual Rolex World Championship. George Sakellaris’ the Greek-American owner of Proteus was disappointed as he and his crew prefer longer races, but agreed with the Race Committee’s decision. “It is too tough for these boats to race in over 30-35 knots. We break a lot of stuff normally, even when we have 25 knots…”

Sakellaris is otherwise hopeful of his team’s chances this week in taking on Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente – the present dominant force in the Maxi 72.  “We are getting to know our boat better because we’ve had her for more than a year and we’ve made quite a lot of changes to make her more competitive, so I think we have a good chance. But Bella Mente has been at it for quite a long time and these boats are very sensitive, finely tuned machines. If you don’t fine tune them they don’t perform very well – but that makes the racing extremely competitive. It doesn’t get any better! Whoever wins this week – it will be by seconds.”

Luca Bassani, Founder and President of Wally Yachts, which again has the biggest class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup with 13 boats entered this week, ranging from Wally 77s such as Jean Charles Decaux’s J One to the 107 footers Kenora and IMA President Thomas Bscher’s Open Season, also thought that cancelling racing today was a wise choice.

“If you sail in up to 25 knots, that is reasonable. If you had the right sails to sail in 35-40 knots you could do it, but if you don’t have those sails, then there is no point…” he said.

Sir Peter Harrison, Vice President of the International Maxi Association’s Supermaxi Division was also keen to get racing. This is the first time the former British America’s Cup team principal has been back at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup with his 35m long Farr Yacht Design ketch Sojana since 2012, following a lengthy refit.

“We had 134,000 miles on the clock, so all the mechanical and electrical stuff was beginning to age, so we have replaced all of that. It is all new teak decking and new sails and all new rigging,” says Sir Peter, for whom this is only his second event since getting Sojana back on the water earlier this year.

Since Sojana and her owner have been away, there has been much movement in the Supermaxi class. This year three boats making their debuts at this event: Irvine Laidlaw’s new Swan 115 Highland Fling 15, plus two Baltic Yachts-built high performance carbon fibre one-offs: the Nauta 115 Nikata and the Javier Jaudenes-designed Win Win.

Conditions are forecast to be brisk, but sailable, tomorrow with racing scheduled to get underway at 11.30 local time.

For more on the International Maxi Association visit: www.internationalmaxiassociation.com
Follow Bella Mente Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Follow the Maxi 72 Class on the Class Website and Facebook

The Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship kicks off next week and Hap Fauth and his team aboard Bella Mente are in Sardinia practicing for the world-class event. The team’s training sessions are taking place through the weekend, with the main event starting up Monday, September 5 and wrapping up Saturday, September 10.

Stay tuned for nightly race reports during racing!

The team prepares for another day of practice