On Friday, April 18^th, Bella Mente Racing was forced to withdraw from racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth after its 72-foot namesake was dismasted during the race four pre-start.  The mast has been recovered and has returned to Hall Spars in Bristol, Rhode Island where more assessments and testing are being made to determine the method of failure. Prior to dismasting, the team held the lead in the event’s mini maxi division.

“The wind was gusting to the mid-twenties and the seas were rough but nothing terribly dramatic,” said team manager Rob Ouellette adding that the entire crew was safe and there were no injuries onboard. “The rig we lost was delivered with Bella Mente when she was new in 2012.”

Soon after the event in St. Barth’s finished, Bella Mente Racing’s Peter Henderson, Ryan Brown, Mark Newbrook, Matt Smith and Thomas Allin motored the boat from St. Barth to St. Thomas (not a comfortable trip without a mast). The hull is being loaded today in St. Thomas on a ship bound for Newport where some minor scrapes and scratches will be repaired and the second rig (built in 2013) stepped.

“Our racing schedule will remain largely unchanged and we look forward to getting back out there as soon as possible,”said Oulette adding that the team will reconvene on June 7^th to practice for the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta presented by Rolex and the Newport to Bermuda race later that month. “To all of Bella Mente supporters, thank you for all of the well wishes!”

From Bermuda, Bella Mente will be shipped to Palma de Mallorca, Spain for the Copa del Rey in August and then head to Porto Cervo, Italy for the Mini Maxi World Championship in September.

All of Bella Mente Racing’s hard work will come to fruition next week when its 72-foot namesake glides back into the water to take on a new year of competition and camaraderie at eight of sailing’s most celebrated events this season. Since early October, the team has had its nose to the grindstone with boatwork: painting, modifying, updating, and installing. Over the next few days, the final touches will be made at Crackerboy Boat Works in Riviera Beach, Florida before the boat is launched this Sunday (January 12^th), and delivered to The Keys for Quantum Key West Race Week, which kicks off Friday (January 20^th). Before racing begins, a series of rig and system trials will be carried out on the water, and the team will converge for several days to practice.

The New Year has already been a busy one for Bella Mente Racing, which has been hard at work putting the boat back together after spending the fall months making updates to  prepare for its 2014 campaign!

A full blog post will be added tomorrow so stay tuned!

The holidays are in full swing, and the Bella Mente Racing team is moving fast and efficiently to finish updates and refits to the boat before the 2014 season. The deck and hull have been painted, and deck hardware is being reinstalled within the next few weeks, including the winch, hydro and electronic systems, all of which have been tuned. The keel’s fin has been faired, painted and wet sanded, and the full keel will be re-attached to the hull just after the New Year. After the final updates have been made to the boat, the team will step the mast and launch Bella Mente in West Palm Beach, Fla., where they will carry out rig and boat trials on the water before Quantum Key West, which kicks off January 20th.