After a rigorous week of sailing in Palma Vela 2017, Bella Mente will undergo many updates before the Corfu Challenge in July 2017. First steps…Un-Step Rig, Haul, Rudder out & Keel off…More updates to follow! (Photo Credit: Peter C Henderson) #bellamenteracing
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Bella Mente going head-to-head with teams in the Maxi 72 Class at Palma Vela ©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
It was a showdown for the ages this year at Palma Vela in Mallorca, with competitors in the Maxi 72 Class fighting tooth-and-nail to the very end. After completing a full complement of six races over five days, Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente, along with Dieter Schon’s Momo and Dario Ferrari’s newCannonball shared the same nine-point score as well as the same number of first-, second- and third-place finishes. Per tiebreaker rules, the three-way tie was broken by order of finish in the event’s final race, which took place Sunday (May 7) over a coastal course of 28 nautical miles. Cannonball, which won the race, claimed overall victory, while Bella Mente, which finished second, took the podium in runner-up position.
Hap Fauth at the helm of his Maxi 72 Bella Mente at the 2017 Palma Vela ©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
“If you’re out on the water watching these races you can see how tight the competition is, with the boats constantly trading positions and finishing within minutes and sometimes seconds of each other,” said Fauth, a three-time Rolex Maxi 72 World Champion whose team just completed its 2017 Caribbean racing circuit. “It just goes to show how the class lineup is as strong as ever right now. Our team moved ahead in many key areas during this regatta, and we know we’ll be faster through the water next time we sail. We’re keeping our eyes on the prize, which is winning the 2017 Rolex Maxi 72 World Championships in September. In order to achieve that we need to keep our heads down and our rate of improvement high.”
Maxi 72 Bella Mente at the 2017 Palma Vela ©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
Fauth races with a team of 20 world-class sailors, including two-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Terry Hutchinson, two-time Olympian Adrian Stead and Volvo Ocean Race champion Mike Sanderson, all three of whom join him in the after guard.
“I think all three boats were quite even this week, and given that we hadn’t done any modifications to prepare for our Mediterranean circuit prior to the regatta, we feel very confident about our performance moving forward,” said Sanderson adding that the team finished racing in the Caribbean just two weeks before their first sail in Palma; although it was a push to get the crew and boat on the water, the opportunity to line up against the new boat Cannonball as well as Momo, which had some major performance updates done, was too good to pass up. “The week was tricky, with Palma turning on a wide variety of conditions and unbelievably tight racing in the Maxi 72 Class.
“Momo came out swinging on the first day, winning both races, so we knew we would have to up our game across the board. The next day, we won a race and Cannonball won a race, which really shuffled the deck and from there, it was game on. I think all three teams came away from this event having learned an awful lot; we are excited to see the developments to come for the rest of the 2017 season.”
The Maxi 72s competing in the 2017 Palma Vela ©Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy
The Maxi 72s will all meet on the battlefield again in July for the inaugural Corfu Challenge in Greece followed by Copa del Rey MAPFRE in Mallorca, before taking the stage in Sardinia, Italy for the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship.
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For more information, visit https://bellamenteracing.com/. Follow Bella Mente Racing on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Sponsors for Bella Mente Racing include TSI, ESC, Tekran, DICKEY-john, Churchill Yachts, Worthington Aviation, Worthington Ag Parts and MSP.
Bella Mente has arrived in Palma De Mallorca, Spain late yesterday evening and was promptly unloaded and in the water! Palma Vela racing begins on May 4th, 2017 later this week.
Photo Update from Coach James: Bella racing in Saint Barth (
?James Lyne) #bellamenteracing #lesvoilesdestbarth #2017
Seriously how cute is this…Bella just received the cutest thank you note from the Little Learners in English Harbour, Antigua! They are adorable and loved our extra oranges! We can’t wait to come back and see you next year Little Learners!
Bella Mente and Proteus go head to head on the racecourse at the 2017 Les Voiles de St. Barth. (Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany)
With a rigorous Caribbean circuit in the rearview mirror, Bella Mente Racing looks ahead to even more challenging battles on the horizon as the team prepares for its European racing tour, which kicks off next month with Palma Vela in Mallorca, Spain. The team’s namesake Maxi 72 is currently being transported across the Atlantic where it will be unloaded and prepped for the regatta.
“We had a very successful practice and race period in the Caribbean, which allowed the crew to get back on the same page with the same intensity,” said Bella Mente’s Owner/Driver Hap Fauth, adding that the team started the 2017 season on a high note, winning IRC Overall, CSA Overall and CSA 1 at the RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua in February. However, it was a different story for Bella Mente Racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth in April, with the team finishing fourth overall in the Maxi 1 Class, five points behind winner Proteus, also a Maxi 72. “The outcome at Les Voiles de St. Barth was definitely self-inflicted, with Bella Mente being over the start early for one of the three races.”
At Les Voiles de St. Barth, there is no option for a premature starter to return to the line and restart; instead, a 10% penalty is added to the boat’s final time upon finishing the race. Bella Mente continued to sail a fantastic race, taking first place on corrected time, but due to the penalty fell to sixth, which ultimately hurt the team’s overall ranking.
Bella Mente racing at the 2017 Les Voiles de St. Barth. (Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany)
“These were the first two times we’ve been together in 2017, and I can’t think of a better environment to get our international team back together than in Antigua and St. Barth. I think it will make us that much stronger as we look ahead to what is shaping up to be an exciting European circuit,” added Fauth.
After wrapping up Palma Vela in May, the team will relocate to Greece in July for the inaugural Corfu Challenge – developed this year solely for the Maxi 72 Class. Later that month, it’s back to Mallorca for Copa del Rey MAPFRE. The season culminates with the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship in Porto Cervo, Italy in September. At this final and most significant event, Fauth and his Bella Mente team will push for their fourth World Championship title.
Bella Mente and Proteus go head to head on the racecourse at the 2017 Les Voiles de St. Barth. (Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany)
“I know the team is looking forward to the job ahead and the opportunity to cross tacks with some of the best teams in the world,” said Tactician Terry Hutchinson, adding that Bella Mente will be seeing a lot more competition from the Maxi 72 Class in Europe. “We will be going head-to-head with Proteus again, and this will also be our first opportunity to see the new Botin-designed Cannonball and the revamped Momo. The anticipation is a bit nerve-racking, as we have great respect for these teams, and we know that we have a big task ahead to be successful.”
For more information, visit https://bellamenteracing.com/. Follow Bella Mente Racing on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Sponsors for Bella Mente Racing include TSI, ESC, Tekran, DICKEY-john, Churchill Yachts,Worthington Aviation, Worthington Ag Parts and MSP.
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.
