Onboard Bella Mente/Monday, February 24: RORC Caribbean 600
Bella Mente Racing’s Offshore Helmsman Mike Sanderson
We had a great start, and it has been lovely racing all afternoon. On the long reach out to the first mark, we were able to go leeward of Rambler and take the lead, which was exciting. Rambler then passed us on the run down to Nevis, but we are catching up and look forward to more great racing aboard the mighty Bella Mente.
PHOTO CREDIT: Onne van der Wal
Day 5 at Quantum Key West (Photo Credit Onne van der Wal)
It is shaping up to be a good year for Bella Mente Racing, which took home first place in the mini maxi class at Quantum Key West this past week. The event was the team’s racing debut for its 2014 campaign.
The final day of racing brought strong winds from 18-24 knots and although Bella Mente took third place in the last race of the series, after a hard-fought battle against Shockwave and Caol Ila R, they were able to keep the class lead overall.
The team is happy with the results that the week yielded, and looks forward to seven more exciting events this year. Next up, is the RORC Caribbean 600.
Owner/Driver Hap Fauth accepts the award for first overall in IRC 1 – Mini Maxi
Photo Courtesy of Quantum Key West
At Quantum Key West Race Week, the third day was the charm for Bella Mente Racing, which won all three of its races in IRC A. The team holds the class lead going into day four of the regatta.
“Today was the first time this week that we had nice conditions,” said Bella Mente Racing Coach, Tom McLaughlin adding that the day brought clear skies, flat water and breeze between twelve and sixteen knots of wind. “The good thing about today was that the calm weather gave the boat and the crew time to settle in, and we learned quite a bit because we were able to change things onboard and then look at the results. The bad thing about the day was that we lost our chief competitor Shockwave right after the start of the first race due to a serious problem with their propulsion system. However, we expect that they will be back on the racecourse tomorrow with their gloves off.”
Thursday’s forecast is comparable in terms of wind speed, but will be accompanied by a cold front and rainstorms similar to what competitors experienced earlier this week.
Bella Mente Racing Crew Boss Mike Sanderson:
“We are here in Key West to kick-start our 2014 season and test out the new modifications to the boat on the water. It was great sailing today and we are looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Stormy conditions added more drama to day two of Quantum Key West Race Week, and after an epic battle on the race course Bella Mente Racing came in second place, behind Caol Ila Ron, in IRC A’s only race of the day, putting the team in second overall going into day three.
“The Bella boys did a fantastic job in very tough conditions,” said owner/driver Hap Fauth, adding that the team was first to cross the finish line, but was 10 seconds short of first on corrected time. “It has been excellent racing in the mini maxi fleet and we look forward to what tomorrow will bring.”
The day started after two hours of postponement due to a dramatic wind shift. The race started in 13 knots of breeze and Bella Mente got a clean start at the signal boat. By the time the fleet had made it to the first windward mark, the breeze had died down to nine and a half knots. Bella Mente rounded just behind Shockwave, but caught up on the first downwind leg and passed the team before the leeward mark. A squall hit the racecourse on the second beat, and the fleet experienced heavy winds up to 24 knots. On the second downwind run, Bella Mente held a strong lead, but Shockwave was able to close the gap and narrow the team’s lead. Bella Mente rounded the leeward mark with a 25 second lead on the Shockwave, which then hit its spinnaker sheet on the mark, forcing the team to do a penalty turn. The Bella Mente Racing Team finished the race just short of Caol Ila Ron corrected time.
Keep up to date on Bella Mente Racing at Quantum Key West Race Week by following the team on Facebook and Twitter.
For real time updates, follow the event via livestream at http://premiere-racing.com/QKWLive/
The light breeze and shifty waters that made-up day one of Quantum Key West Race Week proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Bella Mente Racing Team, which was very happy with the performance of its updated boat in the challenging conditions.
Although the postponement flag didn’t drop until 1 p.m. today, race committee was still able to get more than one race off in many of the classes, including IRC A where Bella Mente, Shockwave and Caol Ila R competed in two four-leg windward leeward courses. In race one, Bella Mente barely held the lead around the first mark and finished in third place, but for race two the team came back to claim the bullet, finishing off the day in second place overall.
Light conditions are forecasted again for tomorrow, accompanied by clouds and rain. By Wednesday, January 22nd the breeze is expected to shift for the better, and stay that way for the remainder of the week.
Keep up to date on Bella Mente Racing at Quantum Key West Race Week by following the team on Facebook and Twitter.
For real time updates, follow the event via livestream at http://premiere-racing.com/QKWLive/
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.
