Recent News - Bella Mente Racing

Quantum Key West: Day 1

January 21, 2014 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

The light breeze and shifty waters that made-up day one of Quantum Key West Race Week proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Bella Mente Racing Team, which was very happy with the performance of its updated boat in the challenging conditions.

Although the postponement flag didn’t drop until 1 p.m. today, race committee was still able to get more than one race off in many of the classes, including IRC A where Bella Mente, Shockwave and Caol Ila R competed in two four-leg windward leeward courses. In race one, Bella Mente barely held the lead around the first mark and finished in third place, but for race two the team came back to claim the bullet, finishing off the day in second place overall.

Light conditions are forecasted again for tomorrow, accompanied by clouds and rain. By Wednesday, January 22nd the breeze is expected to shift for the better, and stay that way for the remainder of the week.

Keep up to date on Bella Mente Racing at Quantum Key West Race Week by following the team on Facebook and Twitter.

For real time updates, follow the event via livestream at http://premiere-racing.com/QKWLive/

Rehearsal is Over, Let the Racing Begin

January 20, 2014 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

Quantum Key West Race Week begins tomorrow, and after months of off-the-water preparation the Bella Mente Racing Team is ready to get down to business on the racing end. The team of 22 sailors, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, has spent the last four days practicing for the week-long regatta, and after Bella Mente’s 2014 optimizations and paint job the 72-foot custom mini maxi is performing famously (kudos to Peter, Ryan, Kyle for getting the boat to the starting line in stellar condition).

Temperatures have been chillier than what is normally expected in Key West, Fla. this time of year, and the cold front is forecasted to remain throughout the week. The moderate conditions that the team experienced over the weekend are expected to wane tomorrow and Tuesday, but pick up again for the latter end of the series.

“We are all looking forward to getting back on the race course against some friendly and familiar competition,” said Bella Mente Racing’s Project Manager Rob Ouellette, adding that Shockwave, Caol Ila R, and many other fantastic teams will be on the starting line tomorrow.

The harbor start is at 10 a.m. and two races are scheduled daily, as the Race Committee is aiming to get ten races in overall.

Tune in here for nightly for team recaps during Quantum Key West Race Week, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

To keep up with more action during the event, visit http://www.premiere-racing.com/

Practicing before Quantum Key West 2014

January 17, 2014 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

Check out photos of Bella Mente Racing practicing yesterday in Key West. The team is out on the water again today to prepare for Quantum Key West Race Week, which starts on Monday, January 20^th. Stay tuned for more practice updates this weekend! For more information on the event, visit http://www.premiere-racing.com/QKW2014_info.html.

For more updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

New Year, New Resolutions

January 9, 2014 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

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.

For the full list of Bella Mente Racing’s 2014 events, please visit https://bellamenteracing.com/regatta-calendar/

For more updates on the team, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

The New Year is Here!

January 8, 2014 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

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!

Mid-December Update

December 19, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

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.

Press Release: Continuing on the Quest for Perfection

December 12, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

For full archive of Bella Mente Press Releases, please visit https://bellamenteracing.com/press-releases/

Bella Mente Racing Continues Quest for Perfection

2014 Campaign Schedule Announced

NEWPORT, R.I. (December 12, 2013) – With all hands on deck during the “off season”, Bella Mente Racing is preparing for its next action-packed campaign in 2014. Under the leadership of owner/driver Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn./ Naples, Fla.), Bella Mente’s team of 22 will take on eight of the year’s most exciting racing events in North America and Europe aboard Fauth’s 72-foot custom designed and built mini maxi.

Bella Mente Racing, with owner/driver Hap Fauth at the helm, during the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo).

“Over these last few months we’ve made a number of changes to the boat to improve its balance and speed in certain conditions,” said Fauth, adding that world-renowned sailor Terry Hutchinson will join the team as tactician for a majority of the events. “We have enhanced our program this year in the hopes of gaining some boat speed as well as sustaining our growth curve in terms of the performance of the crew.”

Racing will kick off in Florida with Quantum Key West Race Week in January, followed by the RORC Caribbean 600 and Les Voiles de Saint Barth in February and April, respectively. In June, the team will transition to Rhode Island to compete in the New York Yacht Club 160th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex before starting the 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race. The remainder of the year will be spent in Europe where the team will race in the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE in August and the Rolex Middle Sea Race in October. Between events, the team will race in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, which Bella Mente Racing considers its pinnacle event each year because of its strong turnout of yachts that also fit the mini maxi criteria. In 2012, Bella Mente Racing was crowned Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion, but in 2013 friendly rival Ran 2 took home the title. Next September, the team plans to return with a vengeance.

Bella Mente races against competitors during the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo).

“The mini maxi fleet is a great one to sail in, because it is so competitive and filled with great sailors,” said Fauth. “Each year the fleet grows, and it is close racing at each event where we are all competing against each other. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will prevail; however, there are not many mistakes made on the racecourse.”

As for the Bella Mente Racing team’s journey, Fauth says, “It is a constant quest for perfection that we are on, and we look forward to pushing the envelope again next year.”

More about Bella Mente Racing
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 two additional racing yachts in the program. Launched in Spring 2012, the new Bella Mente is a 72-foot Mini Maxi designed by judel/vrolijk yacht design and built by New England Boatworks. Notable features include a Hall Spars mast; Southern Spars eC6 carbon rigging; running rigging supplied by T-E-C, winches and drive system by Harken and Stay in Phase; hydraulics by Navtec and Cariboni; most sails built by North Sails along with specialty Doyle Sails.

For more information, visit https://bellamenteracing.com/ or “Like” Bella Mente Racing on Facebook or “Follow” on Twitter.

Sponsors for Bella Mente Racing include TSI, ESC, Tekran, DICKEY-john, Churchill Yachts, Worthington Aviation, Worthington Ag Parts and New England Boatworks.

Throwback Thursday: 2006 Newport Bermuda Race

December 5, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

It’s “Throwback Thursday” and we are at it again going through photos from previous years. Here is a shot of the team celebrating with Dark n’ Stormies on the dock after being first to finish the 635-mile 2006 Centennial Newport Bermuda Race with an elapsed time of four days, 20 hours and 44 minutes. This was the kick-off season of the original Bella Mente Campaign…oh how time flies!
Does anyone else remember the sailing events they competed in that year?

For more posts like this one, visit the Bella Mente Racing team’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BellaMenteRacing

Post-Thanksgiving Update

December 2, 2013 By Bella Mente 1 Comment

Last week, the 72-foot custom mini maxi Bella Mente moved to Crackerboy Boat Works’ Eagle Eye shed where it will undergo a paint job of the deck, cockpit and topsides over the next week or two. The Bella Mente Racing team is back this Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday to continue to prep the boat for hardware installations. The team will also be very busy later this month and into January as it wraps up some minor system modifications.

Throwback Thursday: Bella at 2006 Heineken Regatta

November 21, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

We are stepping back in time to 2006, when the first Bella Mente Racing campaign kicked off. Here is a photo of the team at the Heineken Regatta, which was shortened that year due to light air. Bella Mente took second-place in IRC. Can anyone name all the crewmembers in this picture?

Cast your vote by commenting here or on the team’s Facebook page

(https://www.facebook.com/BellaMenteRacing)