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The “Beautiful Mind” of Les Voiles de St. Barth

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Les Voiles de St. Barth Press Release
December 22, 2015

Bella Mente. It means “beautiful mind” and references the spirit of Les Voiles de St. Barth just as easily as it sums up American business man Hap Fauth’s state of being when he is skippering his Maxi 72 of the same name. Bella Mente and three other Maxi 72s – Peter Ogden’s Jethou (GBR), Dieter Schön’s Momo (IVB), and George Sakellaris’s Proteus (USA) – will come to St. Barth from April 11-16 to sail as a group in the seventh edition of the Les Voiles de St. Barth regatta, joining tens of dozens of other racing machines in classes for Maxi, Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, Multihull, and One-Design.

Bella Mente Racing during the 2015 Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany)

Bella Mente Racing during the 2015 Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany)

“That’s how I feel when I am on Bella Mente and racing: a happy spirit, a happy mind,” said Fauth, who counts this as his third boat with that name and is a nominee for US Sailing’s Yachtsman of the Year because of a slew of 2015 racing victories, including the Maxi 72 World Championship, he has claimed aboard her. “We will have an enhanced fleet at Les Voiles de St. Barth in 2016. It will be the first time Jethou and Momo have sailed in the Caribbean (the event counts toward a first-ever Maxi 72 Season Trophy) and, in general, the anticipation is that this will be a very well attended regatta by most of the race boats in the Caribbean. There are always a number of maxis and super maxis in the fleet, so it’s always very good racing. I love Les Voiles de St. Barth. It’s exciting and in my opinion very well run as a regatta.”

Click here to read the full Les Voiles de St. Barth release 

 

Hap Fauth Featured in Naples Illustrated

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Hap Fauth, owner/driver of Maxi 72 Bella Mente, makes a splash in the April/May 2015 Issue of Naples Illustrated after winning the RORC Caribbean 600 in February of this year.

The team just wrapped up Les Voiles de St. Barth earlier this month and is preparing to head to the UK to kick off its European campaign, which consists of the RYSR Bicentenary International Regatta, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. For more media features on Hap and the team, visit our “In The Press” page.

NaplesIllustrated

click image to download article PDF

For more updates on the team, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, Hashtag: #BellaMenteRacing

Les Voiles de St. Barth: Race Day 3

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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.

Follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, Hashtag: #BellaMenteRacing

For event updates visit www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com. Follow the regatta via social media on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, Hashtag: #LesVoilesdeSaintBarth

Les Voiles de St. Barth: Race Day 2

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The Les Voiles de St. Barth fleet experienced classic Caribbean conditions for day two of racing, and Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente thrived, with a flawless start and upwind beat on the 42nm course to Tintamarre and back, taking second place in the Maxi 1 division.

Bella Mente in day two of racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Bella Mente in day two of racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

“Today was a perfect day for us, the goal was to sail the exact same type of race we were going to sail yesterday,” said Bella Mente’s Tactician Terry Hutchinson, adding that the team still hopes to capture first place in the final two races this week, to help make up the score gap after a minor equipment failure forced them to withdraw from day one of racing. “Hap nailed the start as the pin-end boat. The whole fleet tacked and we went a little further and got a really nice lefty. We sailed up and around the boats to leeward of us and from there it was a matter of good boat handling and executing the sail changes well, which the guys did.”
Bella Mente after a perfect start off St. Barth in day two of racing (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Bella Mente after a perfect start off St. Barth in day two of racing (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Tomorrow marks the regatta’s lay day, famous its festive shoreside event at St. Jean Beach. After that will be two more intense race days on Friday and Saturday.Follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, Hashtag: #BellaMenteRacingFor event updates visit www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com and follow the regatta via social media on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, Hashtag: #LesVoilesdeSaintBarth

Les Voiles de St. Barth: It’s On Tomorrow

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Bella Mente Racing hits the water tomorrow for day one of Les Voiles de St. Barth. The team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, will line up against ten other competitors in the Maxi division.
Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

“We’ll race as fast as we can and as intelligent as we can and let the chips fall where they may,” said Fauth adding that the Maxi class is made up of many different types of race boats all competing under the CSA rating. “When you’re racing against a variety of competitors that have different ratings in CSA it changes the game a bit, as you are trying to make sure you are racing at the right pace in real time. You want to be as aggressive as you can with your maneuvers without accidentally shooting yourself in the foot.”
Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

The team has been practicing in St. Barth since Thursday, April 9, and the consistent breeze they’ve experienced are also forecasted this week during the regatta. Bella Mente along with the rest of the 70-boat fleet will start racing tomorrow, Tuesday April 14 at 11 a.m.
Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Bella practicing off St. Barth (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)

Follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, Hashtag: #BellaMenteRacingFor event updates visit www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com and follow the regatta via social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, Hashtag: #LesVoilesdeSaintBarth

Les Voiles de St. Barth: How to Follow

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The on-the-water action will be nonstop next week, when Hap Fauth and his team aboard Maxi 72 Bella Mente take on some heavy hitters in the Maxi division at Les Voiles de St. Barth. Racing will take place Tuesday (4/14), Wednesday (4/15), Friday (4/17) and Saturday (4/18), during which time the team, along with the rest of the 80-boat fleet (to-date), will compete in a variety of challenging coastal courses that weave through and around the reefs and smaller islands surrounding St. Barth.

The Les Voiles de St. Barth Fleet off Gustavia last year (Photo Courtesy of LVSB Website)

The Les Voiles de St. Barth Fleet off Gustavia last year (Photo Courtesy of LVSB Website)

Follow the Team and the Regatta

Practice for Bella Mente Racing starts Saturday, April 11 and goes through Monday, April 13.

Nightly race reports from Bella Mente will be posted on the website during racing. For more updates during practice and the regatta, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, Hashtag: #BellaMenteRacing

For event updates visit www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com and follow the regatta via social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest

Bella Mente during the 2014 Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Jouany Christophe)

Bella Mente during the 2014 Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit: Jouany Christophe)

 Les Voiles de St Barth 2015 Video Teaser

About Bella Mente

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.

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