Race Update: Corfu Challenge 2017:
The Corfu Challenge started today at 1:00pm local time. Racing was delayed due to lack of wind. Race 1 started at 4:00pm local time in Corfu!
Corfu Challenge Race Results Update: July 4th, 2017: 1st – Proteus, 2nd – Momo, 3rd – Bella Mente, 4th – Evniki & 5th – Cannonball
Follow Results Closely at http://corfuchallenge.com/results.html
CORFU CHALLENGE REAWAKENS THE ANCIENT SPIRIT OF SAILING
CORFU, GREECE – This summer, the usually quiet waters of the Ionian Sea will once again roil with ancient energy—a dauntless fleet of sailing ships racing toward the shores of Corfu. A vision straight from the pages of Apollonius, it could easily be Jason and his Argonauts outracing the Colchian fleet in their famous arrival at theisland. The name of Jason’s ship, Argo, means “swift,” and these vessels are all worthy of the name. They are the world’s top, state-of-the-art Maxi 72 class racing yachts, each crewed by a team of modern-day Argonauts vying for victory in the inaugural Corfu Challenge, July 3-8, 2017.
The concept of the race was inspired by a group of Maxi owners searching for a way to bring new challenges to the sport—new experiences that would at the same time reconnect sailing to its oldest historical roots. The key was finding the right location—one that would deliver an experience of new waters, good winds, new challenges, and a new discovery of sailing’s ancient mythology. “What about Corfu?” suggested owner George Sakellaris. Corfu’s very scenic setting presents a new adventure for sailing. Its high mountains with Mount Pantokrator present unpredictable and challenging wind patterns. Corfu would be the ideal setting. Evoking a modern renaissance of sailing’s oldest Hellenic traditions, the Corfu Challenge has generated great enthusiasm throughout the competitive sailing community and has been included in the 2017 Maxi 72 Overall Trophy. Early Corfu Challenge entries by the world’s top Maxi 72 boats include Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente, Dieter Schön’s Momo, and George Sakellaris’ Proteus.
The 2017 Corfu Challenge is being organized by the Marina Gouvia Sailing Club, with the cooperation of the International Maxi Association (IMA) and the Maxi 72 Class. The event is open to all boats with a valid 2017 Maxi 72 Certificate, as well as boats with a valid endorsed 2017 IRC Certificate and a Maxi 72 Class confirmed Wild Card invitation.
As an officially sanctioned event, the Corfu Challenge will not only inspire the sport to explore its historical grounding in the ancient Hellenic spirit and traditions of sailing; it will, at the same time, help to bring Greece into the future as a key new host of top class yacht racing.
Today was a short and sharp final practice day for Bella Mente before tomorrow’s first day of racing at the Corfu Challenge. Boreas the Greek God of the north wind brought a capricious breeze to the waters of Corfu. Sailing in the Lee of a 2,500ft mountain brought a measure of unpredictability to the race course 20-30 degree shifts with winds ranging 11-27knts.
Bella Mente ticked off some spinnaker testing and upwind modes this coupled with 3 short windward leeward laps to polish the boat handling, then we brought Bella back to the dock. We are 100% ready to roll tomorrow. Catch word for the week is flexibility, we have seen a very varied race course, we will need to be nimble and adapt to the changing conditions. – Coach James Lyne
Corfu Challenge 2017 by James Lyne
Bella Mente Time Lapse of the boats Arriving and Unloading in Corfu from earlier this week.
Video Credit: Karatasitsas Κonstantinos
©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
The Maxi 72 Class has pulled out all the stops this year, showcasing a more competitive fleet of race yachts than ever before. Next week the teams will take on the new waters of the Ionian Sea for the the inaugural Corfu Challenge in Corfu, Greece, scheduled July 4-8. Bella Mente Racing will be one of the seven world-class yachts on the start line, and after a thrilling Caribbean Circuit followed by Palma Vela in Mallorca last month, the team is prepared for another on-the-water battle.
©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
“You often hear race car drivers speak about the excitement of getting to race on a new track, and that’s exactly why we are looking forward to with this new Maxi 72 event in Corfu,” said Bella Mente Racing’s Mike Sanderson, adding that the other five events that make up Bella Mente’s 2017 race campaign are ones that the team, as well as a majority of the other Maxi 72s, have competed in before. “All the teams have extensive experience and play-books for our annual events in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy), but the opportunity to take these boats somewhere new, where none of us have raced Maxi 72s before, is very exciting. It will be a fantastic challenge to see who can tame the venue the fastest!”
Every year the Maxi 72 owners pull in top sailors to race onboard and continually invest in structural and design changes to give their respective yachts the competitive edge on the racecourse. Formerly known as the Mini Maxi Class, the Maxi 72 Class was established in 2014 with the goal of tightening up the rules and controlling the racing to make for more competition on the water. There are some box rules in place for a race boat to fit the Maxi 72 criteria, including length and draft of the boat as well as a maximum IRC rating limit; the class also has an owner/driver rule. However, there are still many places where each respective team can optimize the boats.
“All the teams are very close in boat speed and very well sailed so there is no clear advantage for anybody going into next week,” said Bella Mente Racing’s Owner/Driver Hap Fauth a three-time Maxi 72 World Champion who has been running his race campaign since 2006 and is currently racing with his third yacht under the Bella Mente namesake. His current Judel/Vrolijk designed Bella Mente was launched in 2012 and although it is the oldest yacht in the fleet of Maxi 72s actively racing it is one of the most competitive.
“There are pros and cons to having the older or newer Maxi 72 on the race course. When you have a new boat with a new hull design there may be some benefits regarding boat speed, however even with a top-tier professional crew, what you give up is experience when it comes to time spent sailing the yacht and learning its idiosyncrasies.”
New to the Maxi 72 fleet is Dario Ferrari’s Botin-designed Cannonball launched earlier this year, but the team has already proven to have a leg up in the competition, breaking a three-way tie between Bella Mente and Dieter Schön’s Momo to take the win at Palma Vela in May. The teams will go at it again in Corfu, joined by Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou and George Sakellaris’ Proteus.
“The boats are incredibly close in terms of boat speed and you can tell by the ratings of each boat, which are within a couple clicks of each other; there are some races where the whole fleet finishes within 30 seconds of each other,” added Fauth.
“We’ve made a lot of adjustments and improvements over the last month and spent countless hours doing sea trials. It will be a battle, but we’ll be stepping into it with our best foot forward, ready to fight.”
The event marks the fourth event in the team’s 2017 racing campaign, which all culminates in September with the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championships in Sardinia (Italy).
Bella Mente Update: June 24th, 2017: Destination: Corfu Challenge! We launched Bella Mente yesterday and we loaded her on the ship today in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The ship is scheduled to depart this evening from Palma, with smooth sailing the ship should arrive on Tuesday, June 27th, 2017 in the evening in the Port of Corfu, Greece. Bella will plan to be unloaded and back in the water by Wednesday, June 28th, 2017. The crew arrivals start on the 28th of June! Owner, Hap Fauth and crew are excited for the inaugural, Corfu Challenge Race from July 3rd to 8th. Standby for full race reports and preview next week. Go Bella Go!
#countdowntocorfu #bellamenteracing #seeyouincorfu #corfuchallenge2017
(Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)
The original Bella Mente Racing campaign kicked off in 2006 with Key West Race Week, and since then owner and skipper Hap Fauth has had three additional racing yachts in the program.
Launched in September of 2018, the current Bella Mente is a Maxi 72 designed by Botin Partners in Spain and built by New England Boatworks in Rhode Island.
