The countdown is on for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, which kicks off racing next week (September 1-6) in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Tomorrow, the 72-foot custom mini maxi, with owner/driver Hap Fauth at the helm, will embark on four days of practice before the grand-prix event. The five-day regatta is part of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which marks its 25th year highlighting the exquisite design and performance of the world’s most impressive monohull yachts.

Image Credit: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

“It is a boat that rewards good teamwork, and a boat that rewards good development and a good development path,” said world-class sailor Terry Hutchinson when asked what he thought drew sailors to the mini maxi class. Hutchinson will join Fauth along with Mike Sanderson and John Cutler in the afterguard.  “There are many parts that go into the success of these boats. It’s not just about sailing well. You have to understand how to rate these boats and also understand the performance of your boat with that rating;  that is a really big deal. There is also lot of tweaking that goes on, which is inherent to the mini maxi design, and that is so fun because when you get it right you get rewarded.

Bella Mente at the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)

“The Bella boys have worked incredibly hard to get the boat to where it is now, and it is a far more refined piece of equipment than it was last year,” said Hutchinson adding that the boat suffered a rig failure at Les Voiles de St. Barth earlier this spring, but came back in full force earlier this summer breaking the monohull record in the Mount Gay Rum Around Jamestown Challenge and winning the NYYC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. Following that, the team took extremely narrow second place finishes to George Sakellaris’ Shockwave in both the Newport Bermuda Race and the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE. (Earlier this year Bella Mente won its class at Key West Race Week and claimed line honors at the RORC 600.)

“After the rig incident, it took an impressive amount of effort to get the boat on the starting line, but with all hands on deck, the team made it possible and now we are all reaping the benefits of that hard work and research.”

Bella Mente at the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)

Hutchinson has been part of the Bella Mente family for almost a year, as he came onboard for the 2013 Maxi Rolex World Championship. “Last year we sailed a really good regatta after the first coastal race,” said Hutchinson adding that the team was crowned World Champion in 2012, but lost the title in 2013 to Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran 2 after a tough first half of racing in Porto Cervo. This year, the team will battle Zennstrom again, but this time on his newly built Ran 5. His former Ran 2 will also be on the racecourse, now competing as Robertissima III and helmed by Roberto Tomasini Grinover. Many other fierce competitors will also populate the waters, including Bella’s most recent rival Shockwave and Andres Soriano’s Alegre, which debuted at The Worlds last year and took second place.

“If I had to pick a competitor that was favored for the win this year’s Mini Maxi Worlds, I would say that the field is wide open, which is the most exciting part.”

Next week, Bella Mente Racing will be posting photos and daily race reports from Porto Cervo so stay tuned!