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The Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship

PORTO CERVO, SARDINIA, ITALY (September 6, 2015) – Bella Mente Racing has seen success at all five regattas in which it has competed this year, and this week the team’s skill will be put to the ultimate test when it takes on its final and most challenging sailing competition yet: the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship (September 7-12). The annual event is a pinnacle one for owner/driver Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn./Naples, Fla.) and his team of sailors, as it attracts the best of the best in the Maxi 72 Class for six days of tight racing off Porto Cervo, Sardinia.

Bella Mente during the RYS Bicentenary International Regatta (Photo Credit: Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com)

According to Fauth the ante has been upped for this year’s edition: “This particular class has been around for a while, but the rules were consolidated this year, making it so that all the boats on the starting line this week are rated even closer than before.” Fauth added that Bella Mente Racing, which took the championship title in 2012, will go head to head with other previous winners, including returning 2014 champion Caol Ila R (previously Alegre). The team also will battle against the 2015 Rolex Fastnet Race Winner MOMO, which is new to the Maxi 72 fleet this year. “Everyone is pushing the limit in terms of design in the hopes of getting as close to the edge of the class guidelines as possible,” said Fauth, “so all the boats on the line this week will be rated very similarly.”

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

The Bella Mente Racing campaign was launched in 2006 after Fauth purchased his first Bella Mente (a Judel/Vrolijk 66 built in 2002); in 2012 he launched his third and current Bella Mente (a custom Judel/Vrolijk 72 footer). Fauth now serves as president of the Maxi 72 Class.

“What attracts me to this class in particular is the fact that both boat design and team performance have equal roles in the overall success of your race program,” said Fauth. “This class is perfect for anyone who wants an innovative hand in every part of the campaign. I enjoy this more than a box rule boat, which by definition limits you in terms of progress against other designs.”

Bella Mente Racing’s Navigator Ian Moore (Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK) expanded on that subject, adding, “The Maxi 72s have evolved to be the best IRC boat at this length, and although we are still racing under the IRC rating system, there is such a narrow spread of handicaps between the boats that we are effectively competing at a level rating. However, this is not to be mistaken for one-design, as these boats all have very diverse design backgrounds. All are built with strengths and weaknesses in different areas and must be sailed to play to those differences. This is what makes it a very special class.”

So far, the team has put on a strong performance this year in the U.S., the Caribbean and the U.K., taking line honors and the overall win at the RORC Caribbean 600 and winning its class at Quantum Key West Race Week, the Royal Yacht Squadron Bicentenary International Regatta and Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. The team even made an impressive comeback at Les Voiles de St. Barth, moving up to second place overall after suffering an equipment failure on the first day.

Unlike the previous events this year – where the team competed in handicap classes against a number of different race boats – this week will have Bella Mente and the rest of the Maxi 72 fleet under a microscope as it is one of the few opportunities when the entire class is together. “This year’s fleet feels incredibly tight, and I would suspect that this event is going to be a true game of inches,” said 2014 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and Bella Mente Tactician Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.). “Nothing will come easy, as all the teams are very good, so it is about putting on a strong performance each day if we want the opportunity to win.”

Adding to Bella Mente’s competitive edge this year is a new keel to deepen the boat’s draft as well as a new rig and sail program, all of which are complemented by a fluid team dynamic onboard.

“Not to take anything away from the great individuals we’ve had in the past, but there is no doubt that this is our most solid team to date, across the program,” said former Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper, Mike Sanderson (Auckland, N.Z.), who has been sailing onboard Bella Mente for the past four seasons. “It has been such a pleasure to be a part of something where everyone is swimming in the same direction. We are all 100 percent in this together.”

Strategist Adrian Stead (Bursledon, U.K.) is new to the team this year but a veteran when it comes to racing Maxi 72s; he served as tactician for the highly successful Rán racing program for many years. “The Worlds is always a tough week –mixing windward-leeward racing with coastal courses in this great but challenging venue against even more challenging competitors. The key to our success will be consistency and chipping away each day to make sure we are at the front of the pack by the end of the week. Every team here has done its preparation, and we feel we have got Bella Mente in its best configuration. We have great sails, a solid team and are getting the most out of the boat. The proof will be when we all line up tomorrow.”

More about Bella Mente Racing
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 two additional racing yachts in the program. Launched in Spring 2012, the current Bella Mente is a 72-foot Mini Maxi designed by judel/vrolijk yacht design and built by New England Boatworks.

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Sponsors for Bella Mente Racing include TSI, ESC, Tekran, DICKEY-john, Churchill Yachts, Worthington Aviation, Worthington Ag Parts and New England Boatworks.