Photos by Peter Henderson
After a busy and successful 2016 campaign with Hap Fauth and the rest of the team, the Maxi 72 Bella Mente returned to Florida last week. The racing yacht will spend the remainder of the year here undergoing updates and preparing for another ambitious campaign in 2017. Stay tuned for more news on Bella Mente Racing in the coming weeks.
Things are progressing nicely for Bella Mente at the Newport Shipyard. Last week the Maxi 72 came out of the shed after having the cockpit repainted and the non-skid tape reinstalled. The team also touched up the topsides and bottom and will give her another buff prior to launching. The boat was moved out of the shed, to allow some other projects to get sorted and open up time for it to return to the shed in late May. Systems service is underway with all systems (winches, hydraulics, and rigging) being removed and re-installed prior to a busy and exciting 2016 summer season, starting with the Maxi 72 North American Championships hosted by the New York Yacht Club in June.
Bella Mente and its shipping container and cradle all arriving at Newport Shipyard
After taking a yacht transport ship from Antigua to Newport, R.I., the Maxi 72 Bella Mente arrived safely at the Newport Shipyard yesterday, where the team hauled the rig and the boat out of the water. Over the next few months, the team will remedy a keel problem that arose last month during the RORC Caribbean 600 as well as prepare the boat for a busy summer of events.
Over the weekend in Antigua, the Maxi 72 Bella Mente was loaded onto a ship bound for Newport, R.I. where the team will remedy a keel problem that arose last month during the RORC Caribbean 600.
Bella Mente in Antigua (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)
“The issue is a very solvable one, but we can’t undertake any of the work in the Caribbean with the facilities that are available to us,” said Bella’s Project Manager Rob Ouellette, adding that the team had to cancel their participation in Les Voiles de St. Barth in April due to the problem. “It is very unfortunate that we will miss the event in St. Barth, but we are looking forward to getting the team back together in Newport, R.I. this summer for the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta followed by the Newport Bermuda Race.”
Bella Mente in Antigua (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)
From there, the team will head across the Atlantic to Europe where Bella Mente will compete in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE in August followed by the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship in September.
Bella Mente in Antigua (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)
Bella Mente won its class at Quantum Key West Race Week 2015. (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)
Bella Mente won IRC Overall, CSA Overall, IRC 1, and The Bella Mente Trophy for fastest traditional monohull at the 2015 RORC Caribbean 600. (Photo Credit: RORC/Ted Martin)
The team 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. (Photo Credit: Sharon Green)
Bella Mente won its class at the Royal Yacht Squadron Bicentenary International Regatta.
(Photo Credit: Paul Wyeth/pwpictures.com)
Bella Mente took first place in the IRC Big Boat Class at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, as well as one of the event’s most prestigious trophies, the Britannia Cup, for fastest average speed on corrected time. (Photo Credit: Rick Tomlinson)
Bella Mente took the title of 2015 Rolex Maxi 72 World Champion. (Photo Credit: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)
A big congratulations is in order for Bella Mente’s Owner and Driver Hap Fauth who was just shortlisted for US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award for his exceptional sailing performance in the 2015 year. Fauth is among 11 other esteemed men who have been nominated for the prestigious award.
Full Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards Press Release follows:
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (December 9, 2015) – The most significant sailing performances of the year are being heralded by US Sailing with the announcement of the 12 men and six women who have been shortlisted for the 2015 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards.
The nominees will be reviewed by a panel of noted sailing journalists who discuss the merits of each sailor’s racing results before voting to determine US Sailing’s 2015 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. The winners will be announced in mid-January and honored on Thursday, February 25, 2016, during a luncheon at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan, when they will be presented with specially-engraved Rolex timepieces.
Nominees shortlisted for US Sailing’s 2015 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award: Lightning World Champion Geoff Becker (Annapolis, Md.); distance racing record-breaker Ryan Breymaier (Annapolis, Md.); Etchells North American Champion Steve Benjamin (Norwalk, Conn.); J/70 World Champion Bill Hardesty (San Diego, Calif.); Etchells World Champion Skip Dieball (Toledo, Ohio); Rolex Farr 40 World Champion John Demourkas (Santa Barbara, Calif.); Rolex Maxi 72 World Champion Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn.); 470 European Champion Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.); Melges 20 World Champion John Kilroy (San Francisco, Calif.); 470 European Champion Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.); distance racing record breaker Lloyd Thornburg (Santa Fe, New Mexico); and J/24 North American Champion Will Welles (Portsmouth, R.I.).
Nominees shortlisted for US Sailing’s 2015 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award: US Women’s Match Racing Champion Nicole Breault (San Francisco, Calif.); Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 470 Women’s Champion Anne Haeger (Lake Forest, Ill.); Pan Am Games Laser Radial Gold Medalist Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.); Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 470 Women’s Champion Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.); Buddy Melges Challenge winner Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.); and Lightning North American Champion Jody Starck (Buffalo, N.Y.).
Established in 1961 by US Sailing and sponsored by Rolex Watch, U.S.A. since 1980, the annual presentation of US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards are considered the sport’s ultimate recognition of an individual’s outstanding on-the-water achievements for the calendar year. Over its history the coveted award has been presented to 43 men and 34 women, including these distinguished sailors who have claimed the honor multiple times: Ed Adams, Betsy Alison, Sally Barkow, Dave Curtis, Dennis Conner, JJ Fetter, Allison Jolly, John Kostecki, Buddy Melges, Lowell North, Jan O’Malley, Jane Pegel, Ken Read, Cory Sertl, Lynne Shore, Jody Starck, Anna Tunnicliffe and Ted Turner.
For highlights from the year’s racing results for each nominee, please visit: http://rolex.ussailing.org
About Rolex
Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex is also actively involved in supporting the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities as well as philanthropic programs.
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
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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.
