Photo Credit: Onne van der Wal Photography
Bella Breaks Around Jamestown Record
The Bella Mente Racing Team after breaking the Mount Gay Rum Around Jamestown Record on Thursday, June 12, 2014
The Mount Gay Rum Around Jamestown Record for keelboats was broken today when Bella Mente Racing circumnavigated the 19-nautical mile (Conanicut) island in one hour, 19 minutes and 25 seconds (elapsed time). The previous monohull record was set back in October of last year by Alex Wadson’s Shaw 6.50 Manic which completed the course in two hours and 29 seconds. With 20 sailors onboard, the 72-foot mini maxi started south off Fort Adams in Newport at noon and was accompanied throughout the challenge by an easterly breeze between 12 and 16 knots. Tomorrow the team will revisit the course when it competes in IRC for the Around-the-Island portion of the 160th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. The team will continue in the event on Saturday and Sunday for buoy racing.
Throughout the weekend Bella Mente Racing will be posting updates via Facebook and Twitter and blog posts nightly. For event coverage please visit www.nyyc.org.
Bella Comes Together at Newport Shipyard
Bella Dives Back in with NYYC Annual Regatta
In less than two weeks, Bella Mente Racing will hit the ground running for the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. Scheduled from June 13-15, it will be the team’s first event since suffering from a mast failure at Les Voiles de St. Barths in April.
Bella Mente at the 2012 NYYC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. It was the first event that the team competed in on the current boat. (Photo Credit Billy Black)
“We plan to get Bella Mente back on track as quickly as possible,” said the team’s crew boss Mike Sanderson adding that the 72-foot maxi is currently being worked on at the Newport Shipyard and will be equipped with a new keel and a newer mast before the weekend classic. “It is a really interesting race and what we are looking for is a smooth and slick performance from our whole infrastructure.
The team has its work cut out for them with a slew of challenging competitors also racing in IRC, including the IRC favored TP52s Constellation, Hooligan, Interlodge and SLED and rival mini maxi Caol Ila R which they have been constantly swapping positions with all season. Caol Ila R to took the class win at Les Voiles de St. Barth while Bella Mente won the mini maxi class at Key West Race Week (Caol Ila R came in second) and finished second overall and second in the IRC Z class at RORC 600.
“The ratings on Caol Ila R and the TP52s make them tough to beat so we need to make sure to keep our distance,” added Sanderson. “If they are beside us then they are winning.”
Bella Mente at the 2012 NYYC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. It was the first event that the team competed in on the current boat. (Photo Credit Billy Black)
Following Annual Regatta, the team will embark on the Newport Bermuda Race the next week (June 20) before heading across the Atlantic to embark on its European circuit, which includes the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE in August, the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship in September and the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October.
“Between now and this fall we will constantly be switching from inshore to offshore mode. We are very privileged to have such a wide range of events and we need to focus on winning them. That road is going to start at the Annual Regatta.”
Follow the team on Facebook and Twitter. Nightly updates during events can be found here.
Happy Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day from Bella Mente which is celebrating from the Newport Shipyard! We hope everyone is having a great holiday! 
Bella Mente: Arriving Home Soon!
Bella Mente loaded up next to fellow mini maxi Caol Ila R and TP52 Near Miss. The hull is enroute to its homeport of Newport, R.I. where the team will compete next month in the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta presented by Rolex and the Newport to Bermuda Race before heading across the Atlantic to race in Palma de Mallorca, Spain for the Copa del Rey in August and then Porto Cervo, Italy for the Mini Maxi World Championship in September.
Repair Update
On Friday, April 18th, 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 7th 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.
NEWS UPDATE: Les Voiles de St. Barth
Unfortunately Bella Mente suffered a rig failure before the start of race day three at Les Voiles de St. Barth. The entire crew is safe and there were no injuries onboard. We will post an update regarding the final day of racing once we have more details.
PHOTOS: LVSB Day 1 and 2
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 1 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Amory Ross
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
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- LVSB Day 2 © Christophe Jouany
Les Voiles de St. Barth: Day 2
Hap Fauth helms Bella Mente upwind in light air during the second day of racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth (Photo Credit Amory Ross)
The weather played tricks on the mini maxi class at Les Voiles de St. Barth this afternoon, but that didn’t stop Bella Mente Racing from finishing first in both of day two’s coastal races. The team heads into the latter half of the week holding the division lead.
“It was a challenging but fun day on the water,” said team strategist John Cutler, adding that although the two 17-mile courses that Bella Mente sailed today were identical the experience on each couldn’t have been more polarized.“Conditions were really shifty and influenced by waves and quite a lot of rain in the first race. That moved the breeze around about 20 to 30 degrees, and at the same time we were going around different points so there was a big shift there. For the second race the rain was replaced with beautiful Caribbean sunshine, and although it was the same course as the first go-around it felt like a completely different race.
“Overall it was a complicated day and we kept just looking forward and waiting for the next shift to come our way.”
Bella Mente Racing, along with the entire Les Voiles de St. Barth fleet will enjoy the event’s traditional lay day tomorrow on Baie Saint Jean and pick up racing where they left off on Friday, April 18th and Saturday, April 19th.
“It is looking like there will be a little more breeze Friday and Saturday so we will see what happens,” added Cutler.
Check out team tactician Terry Hutchinson in LVSB interview yesterday:
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