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Bella Mente back in the shipyard preparing for the 2016 campaign (Photo Credit Peter Henderson)

This past Friday, Bella Mente Racing competed in the 2015 Annual Wirth M. Munroe Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach Yacht Race, where the team took the award for line honors, completing the 39-mile race in four hours, one minute and 54 seconds; Ian “Soapy” Moore took home the Navigators Award. The race was a bumpy one, with a large northerly groundswell in the Gulf Stream. Right when the team finished, the boat was taken out of the water just prior to a front that came through that night.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Sea Trials This Week

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The team practicing earlier this week (James Lyne)

Bella Mente Racing has been buzzing with activity this fall, preparing its Maxi 72 for an ambitious 2016 campaign; and after three months of nose-to-the-grindstone work on the boat, the team congregated in West Palm Beach this week for a series of sea trials.

“The boat looks beautiful,” said Owner/Driver Hap Fauth, adding that in addition to regular boat work and maintenance, the team has made a couple of updates to the Maxi 72, including new sail configurations and a new boom. “The Maxi 72 is a complicated boat and very technical, so it is a huge work list to keep it in top condition. It is my belief that you either go forward or you go backward, so we are constantly making updates to Bella Mente in order to stay on the cutting edge.”

The team practicing earlier this week (James Lyne)

The team practicing earlier this week (James Lyne)

Today, the team kicks off the 2015 Annual Wirth M. Munroe Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach Yacht Race, which will allow for more fine-tuning on the water prior Quantum Key West Race Week next month, the first of seven events in its 2016 circuit.

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The team practicing earlier this week (James Lyne)

Shipyard Update: November 16

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Bella Mente being unloaded in West Palm Beach last month (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)

The 2015 season may be over, but the Bella Mente Racing Team is still working around the clock to get its Maxi 72 ready for another ambitious campaign next year. The boat is back in Florida undergoing updates and a paint job. The rig is back together, a new boom arrives this week and the mast will be stepped later this month. Winch system service is well underway, and the team is looking into some new sails. Sea trials will take place the first week of December. Stay tuned for more updates!

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Bella Mente at the Shipyard (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)

Good Luck to the Fastnet Fleet!

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2015 Rolex Fastnet Start today, August 16, off Cowes. (Rolex/Kurt Arrigo)

2015 Rolex Fastnet Start today, August 16, off Cowes. (Rolex/Kurt Arrigo)

Good luck to all the teams racing in the Royal Ocean Racing Club 2013 Rolex Fastnet, which starts off Cowes today. Unfortunately, Bella Mente Racing had to withdraw from this year’s edition of the race due to our owner/driver Hap Fauth’s work commitments. He is definitely disappointed as he hasn’t withdrawn from a big race like this since 2006.

Regardless, we’ll be following our friends and competitors out there on the legendary race and will take to the water again next month for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championships!

For updates on the team, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit https://bellamenteracing.com/.

Cowes Week: Racing Abandoned Today

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With no wind predicted for the Solent area today, racing for all classes was abandoned this Tuesday for Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. Bella Mente Racing along with the rest of the IRC Big Boat Class, will kick off its first day of racing tomorrow. According to event organizers, Wednesday is forecasted to start with more consistent breezes of around 8-10 knots, which may build quickly to 15 knots or more.

For nightly reports from Bella Mente during racing, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit https://bellamenteracing.com/.

For event updates, follow AAM Cowes Week on Facebook and Twitter or visit http://www.aamcowesweek.co.uk/.

Hashtag #CowesWeek #BellaMenteRacing

Bella Kicks off Cowes Week Tomorrow

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It’s “full speed ahead” for Bella Mente Racing in Cowes this summer, with the team just off a victory at the Royal Yacht Squadron Bicentenary International Regatta and preparing for Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, where they will be racing in IRC August 11-13.

AAM Cowes Week (Photo Credit Rick Tomlinson)

2013 AAM Cowes Week (Photo Credit Rick Tomlinson)

The team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, last competed in the five-day regatta in 2013, where they won the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup, one of the two most prestigious trophies awarded at the event. This year, the team will have its work cut out with two other Maxi 72s on the line: Dieter Schoen’s Momo and Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou.

“Having to keep an eye on two other boats very similar to ours is going to prove challenging, especially mixed with the tricky current and wind conditions found in the Solent, but it will be great fun,” said Bella Mente Racing Crew Boss Mike Sanderson. “It will be our first time lining up against the new Maxi 72 Momo, so that in itself brings a huge amount of excitement.”

“The spirit onboard is great right now. We all know each other well, as a majority of the team has been lucky enough to be together for some time now. Hap is a great leader who commits to the campaign early enough each year for us to be able to keep this great team together. He is also a great guy to compete with, making it fun to keep coming back and giving everything we can to try and win.”

For nightly reports from Bella Mente during racing, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit https://bellamenteracing.com/.

For event updates, follow AAM Cowes Week on Facebook and Twitter or visit http://www.aamcowesweek.co.uk/.

Hashtag #CowesWeek #BellaMenteRacing

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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