Today marks the designated lay day for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Here is a photo gallery from Monday through Wednesday of Bella Mente Racing competing in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championships in Porto Cervo, Sardinia. The team will pick up racing again tomorrow, Friday (Sept. 4) and continue through Saturday (Sept. 5).
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
Bella Mente Racing experienced a challenging day three in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship. The team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, took to the waters off Porto Cervo, Sardinia for two windward/leeward races and finished in seventh and fourth place, respectively. The team currently stands in fourth place overall.
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship Day 3 (Photo Credit Jesus Renedo)
“Today’s moderate wind strengths and choppy seas was a little tough for the boat today,” said the team’s crew boss Mike Sanderson. “The good thing about this event is that the mini maxi fleet keeps mixing it up and you never know what boat is going to take the win for the day. For example, Shockwave had it tough early this week but had a great day today.”
The team will take some time off to strategize tomorrow for the event’s designated lay day and pick up racing again on Friday (Sept. 5).
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship Day 3 (Photo Credit Jesus Renedo)
Bella Mente Racing took fourth place in both races in day two of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championships and goes into tomorrow holding fourth place overall. The team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, tested their short-course racing skills off Porto Cervo, Sardinia with two 8 nautical mile windward/leeward courses against six other mini maxis.
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship Day 2 (Photo Credit Jesus Renedo)
“Although we missed our goal of top three by three points today, we had a couple of great comebacks,” said Tactician Terry Hutchinson. “Tomorrow is a new day. We have plenty to debrief on before then.”
Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship Day 2 (Photo Credit Jesus Renedo)
The team’s Crew Boss Mike Sanderson added, “We always knew that this regatta was going to be a tough one, and today certainly wasn’t easy.
“Every team that is in the mini maxi fleet came here with all the tools necessary to win. We underwent a few unlucky situations today, so for us to salvage fourth places finishes wasn’t all that bad,” said Sanderson. “Throughout the day, we stayed tight with the fleet and kept fighting right to the very end of both races, which paid off and allowed us to gain valuable points. Having a team that can pull off a comeback, like the one today, will keep us in the running later on this week.”
The team will continue racing through Saturday (September 6) with windward leeward courses planned for tomorrow (Wednesday, September 3).
For a full report from event organizers, visit http://bit.ly/1rL8trv
Day 2 Gallery (Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo)
Day 1 at the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo)
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!
Bella Mente and its team of 30 sailors and shore crew are expected to arrive in Porto Cervo, Sardinia early next week to prepare for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, which kicks off September 1 and continues through to September 6. With owner/driver Hap Fauth at the helm, Bella Mente Racing will embark on four days of practice next week to prepare.
Bella Mente at the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)
“This year’s Mini Maxi Rolex World Championships will probably be the tightest racing the class has ever seen,” said Mike Sanderson who will join Fauth along with Terry Hutchinson and John Cutler in the afterguard onboard.
Sanderson added that the regatta is the team’s pinnacle event annually because of its strong turnout of other extremely competitive mini maxis. In 2012, Bella Mente Racing was crowned Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion, and it hopes to steal back the title from Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran 2, which won last year and will be returning again next month with a new boat (Ran 5). Zennstrom’s former boat will also be competing as Robertissima III with Roberto Tomasini Grinover at the helm.
Bella Mente at the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)
Bella Mente Racing will once again be faced with George Sakellaris’ Shockwave, which it narrowly lost to at the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE earlier this month in Palma Mallorca (Shockwave and Bella Mente took first and second place, respectively, in IRC 0).
“We were very happy with how the boat was going at Copa del Rey and feel that we can win races,” added Sanderson. “The team has worked hard to make the boat as ‘rating efficient’ as possible without, hopefully, costing us any raw speed. Overall, the boat is feeling better than it has ever felt and the team is more settled and prepared than ever. We are ready to put our heads down and fight.”
Check out photos below of Bella Mente being prepared for Sardinia (Photo Credit: Peter Henderson)
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo (click here for more photos of Bella Mente Racing’s adventures)
After finishing today with two third place finishes, Bella Mente Racing took second overall in IRC 0 for the 33 Copa del Rey MAPFRE. Next up for the sailing team of 20, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, is the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship in September.
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
“After waiting around for the breeze today, the race didn’t pan out for the mighty Bella Mente,” said Mike Sanderson who joins Fauth and John Cutler in the afterguard. “Most of the time our aim wasn’t to win the start, but to make sure that we didn’t lose it. Although that tactic didn’t pan out today, John Cutler did a nice job to make sure that we were still in the game, and Hap had the boat smoking downwind.
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
“It was an amazing regatta, right down to the wire. Peter Henderson, Rob Ouellette and the Bella Mente Shore Crew deserve a huge thank you, as does our fearless leader Hap. We had our moments during this regatta, but the great news is that we are on the right pace. I certainly wouldn’t swap with any other boat going into the Mini Maxi Rolex Worlds. Bring it on!”
It is getting down to the wire for Bella Mente Racing as they head into the sixth and final day of racing at the 33 Copa del Rey MAPFRE, just one point behind IRC 0 class leader Shockwave. The team completed two windward/leeward races today with second- and third-place finishes, respectively.
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
“It was an outstanding race day,” said owner/driver Hap Fauth. “The entire team really shined in both races, and John Cutler did a fantastic job in the shifty conditions, which kept us in the hunt.”
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
Cutler, who joins Fauth in the afterguard, added that today marked the windiest day of the regatta with breezes from 14 to 15 knots. “The top four boats in our class are close enough so that whoever has the final good day (tomorrow) will win the regatta.”
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
Bella Mente was able to break its tie with Robertissima III today and now holds second place going into day five of racing at the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE. The sailing team of 20, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, will continue sailing in IRC 0 through Saturday (August 9).
Photo Credit: Jesus Renedo
“It was another solid day on Bella Mente,” said Crew Boss Mike Sanderson adding that the team completed two windward/leeward races today. “We went out and won the first race but were over the line in the second race. Even though we started 50 seconds late, the team was still able to work its way back to a third-place finish.”
John Cutler, who joins Fauth and Sanderson in Bella Mente Racing’s afterguard, added that the conditions were shifty and tricky today. “Race one was a great effort by the whole team,” said Cutler. “We got into the lead on the first run and were able to hold our position throughout. Race two we misjudged the start, which caused us to be over early. However, we spotted some good breeze and were able to recover quickly.”
The team is two points behind class leader Shockwave, but there are still four races to compete in before Saturday.
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.
