Recent News - Bella Mente Racing

Day 3: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

September 5, 2013 By Bella Mente 2 Comments

Bella Mente Racing came out swinging and on top for day three at the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, crossing the finish line in first for both races, which resulted in third- and second-place finishes (on corrected time) respectively.

Day 3 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

“The Wind Gods were with us today and we had a steady eight to 13 knots of breeze,” said owner/drive Hap Fauth. “In both races we grabbed the start and physically crossed the finish line ahead of the fleet. It was a rewarding day and the team performed at an exceptionally high level.”

Day 3 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

After a short postponement onshore, due to morning showers and thunderstorms, Race 4 began at 2:30 p.m., but shifty wind conditions forced the Race Committee to change the course direction mid-race on each of the four 1.5 mile legs. By Race 5, the breeze had kicked up a bit and Bella Mente delivered another stellar start and stayed ahead of the fleet at each mark rounding and through to the finish.

“Everyone performed at their best today,” said Bella Mente Racing’s tactician Terry Hutchinson. “All the components that it takes to win races – starts, helming, execution and tactics – came together and Hap did a great job concentrating on keeping the boat going fast. All the effort showed in the results.”

Day 3 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Tomorrow, Bella Mente and the Mini Maxi fleet will take on its second day of coastal racing off Porto Cervo.

Check out the event’s day three release at http://regattanews.com/pressrelease.aspx?cid=28435&lid=1&eid=294&clid=685&year=2013&ctid=6

Day 3 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Lay Day: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

September 4, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

After the first two days of racing in the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, the regatta had its scheduled lay day today (Wednesday, September 4^th), allowing Bella Mente Racing to reflect and prepare for the final days ahead.

Aerial view of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda during the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (Photo By: Rolex / Carlo Borlenghi)

“We improved our performance the second day,” said owner/driver Hap Fauth. “Though our boat speed has been lack luster, the team has performed well in extremely light conditions. Bella will shine in ten knots and above.”

Fauth and the team may get their wish, with heavier breeze forecasted for the final three days of the event.

Check out today’s event release and video at http://regattanews.com/pressrelease.aspx?cid=28412&lid=1&eid=294&clid=685&year=2013&ctid=6

Day 2: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

September 3, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

This morning, Bella Mente Racing awoke to news of another day of light wind conditions off Porto Cervo for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship. The team experienced similar conditions yesterday, when the fleet kicked off day one of racing with a 25 mile coastal race. Today, two windward leeward races were scheduled and completed.

Day 2 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

After postponements onshore, the Mini Maxi fleet headed out on the water at 11:15 a.m., but Race 2 didn’t get underway until 1:45 p.m. when the wind, coming from the northeast, crept up to seven knots.

Day 2 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

“We did very well to salvage a great beat from an average start in the first race of the day, and ended up second at the top mark,” said Bella Mente Racing’s Strategist John Cutler. “We pushed the boat to its limit in trying conditions, and anytime we had a bit of a puff, Bella Mente sailed great. Once again, the crew work was flawless, and we continued to gain on Shockwave throughout the first run, and then passed them on the final beat.”

Bella Mente crossed the finish line in first place, ahead of Shockwave, but the results on corrected time were too close to call immediately. The team later found out that they finished second, just two seconds (on corrected) behind Shockwave.

Day 2 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Race 3 was started in a slightly dying breeze, but with just enough wind for the Race Committee to get things going. Bella Mente started from the pin-end, and for the upwind leg the team battled Stig and Rán 2 on the left side of the course, while Alegre and Shockwave took on the right side. The right side of the course paid off in the end and Alegre rounded in first place, followed by Rán 2, Shockwave, Stig and Bella Mente respectively. Downwind, Bella Mente was able to pass Stig, but narrowly lost to Caol Ila R, finishing the race in fifth place.

Day 2 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Tomorrow is forecasted to be even lighter breeze than day one and two of racing, so the Race Committee has moved the event’s lay day from Thursday up to tomorrow (Wednesday, September 4^th). The final three days of racing (Thursday, September 5^th through Saturday, September 7^th) are looking much more promising in terms of weather conditions, with steady and building breeze forecasted.

“So far, it has been a light wind regatta, which has not favored Bella Mente,” said owner/skipper Hap Fauth. “We have sailed a tactically strong race achieving very mediocre results. Hopefully, after tomorrow’s lay day, we will have more wind and better results for the last three days of racing.”

On Thursday, the Mini Maxi fleet will race in two more windward leeward races. Keep checking in for more updates on Bella Mente Racing’s website, Facebook page and Twitter profile.

Day 1: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

September 2, 2013 By Bella Mente 1 Comment

The first day of racing started with a whimper, as the Wind Gods failed to live up to their blustery reputation in Porto Cervo. Bella Mente Racing wrestled with precarious conditions in the first coastal race of the 2013 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, finishing in ninth place.

Day 1 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Today began with an hour and a half of postponements onshore followed by a race start in just 7-8 knots of wind. However, the Race Committee handled the marginal weather conditions with grace, taking the Mini Maxi fleet on a two mile windward beat, followed by a 25 mile coastal course, comprised of classic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup landmarks: an eight mile run around the Island of Mortorio, a passage through Capo Ferro and roundings of Monaci and Secca di Tre Monti before a finish in Porto Cervo.

Day 1 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Bella Mente battled the Italian entry Stig on the beat up to the Monaci rounding, and the second-to-last leg of the race was a tricky run, which included a jib reach into the Gulf of Pevero.

Day 1 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

The crew work onboard Bella Mente was flawless today. Hap and the team have already shaken off today’s results and look forward to tomorrow’s racing, which will include two windward leeward races. Stay tuned!

(View the event’s coastal courses by visiting, http://www.yccs.it/images/stories/regate_pdf/2013/courses_2013.pdf)

Day 1 of the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Racing Starts Tomorrow for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

September 1, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

Practice Week in Porto Cervo, Italy before the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Bella Mente Racing wrapped up practice sessions in Porto Cervo, Italy today in preparation for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship. It was a productive day on the water, and the team was able to do many practice starts and races against competitors, which were run by Bella Mente Racing’s coach Tom Burnham. Most of the Mini Maxi racing fleet participated, including Rán 2, Shockwave, Caol Ila R and Alegre.

Practice Week in Porto Cervo, Italy before the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Tomorrow (September 2^nd) the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship will start with a coastal race, which will take competitors on a course that will range anywhere between 30 and 70 nautical miles; each coastal race counts 1.5 times in the scoring system here, and cannot be discarded, so the pressure is on!

Practice Week in Porto Cervo, Italy before the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

After many long days of practice, mostly in light winds, the team is happy to be getting into racing mode. Weather conditions for the first few days is forecasted to be light, but pressure should be building later in the week.

Bella Mente Racing will be updating the website along with Facebook and Twitter daily, but readers can also get full race reports and updates at http://regattanews.com/gallery.aspx?eid=294&year=2013&clid=0&ctid=100

Practice Week in Porto Cervo, Italy before the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo Credit Jesús Renedo)

Bella Mente’s 2013 Grande Finale – The Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

August 31, 2013 By Bella Mente 3 Comments

Bella Mente Racing will round out its ambitious 2013 campaign in style next week (September 2-7), defending its title as the 2012 Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion during the 24^th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo, Italy.

Bella Mente and Stig at at mark rounding during the 2012 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo By: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)

Led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, the 72′ Judel/Vrolijk designed Bella Mente will race with 22 sailors, including newly added tactician, Terry Hutchinson, an America’s Cup Veteran, fresh off competing in the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in Newport, R.I.

Class Start at the 2012 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo By: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)

The team will race against a fleet of 13 highly competitive yachts, also fitting the Mini Maxi criteria, including Andres Soriano’s new Mills 72 Alegre, which bested Bella Mente in the Rolex Giraglia Cup back in June and won the 32th Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre Sailing Cup this August. Other fierce contenders include Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán 2, (2010 and 2011 Mini Maxi Rolex World Champion), Alexander Schaerer’s Caol Ila R (2013 Rolex Volcano Race winner), Alessandro Rombelli’s Stig, and George Sakellaris’ Shockwave.

Bella Mente Racing taking home the 2012 Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship (Photo By: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi)

Bella Mente Racing will be updating Facebook and Twitter daily, but readers can get full race reports and updates at http://regattanews.com/gallery.aspx?eid=294&year=2013&clid=0&ctid=100

CLASS ZERO LINE HONORS GO TO BELLA MENTE IN 2013 ROLEX FASTNET

August 14, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

Bella Mente Racing, led by owner/skipper Hap Fauth, crossed the finish line of the 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race in Plymouth Breakwater today, Wednesday, August 14th at 07:33:53 with an elapsed time of 2 days, 17 hours, 43 minutes and 53 seconds. More information will be available shortly at http://fastnet.rorc.org/.

Follow Bella during the Rolex Fastnet Race

August 11, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

CAPTION: (left) Bella Mente Racing heading out to the start (right) owner/driver Hap Fauth on the docks before the Rolex Fastnet

Bella Mente Racing, along with 350 other vessels, is currently underway in the Rolex Fastnet Race. Track the fleet through Yellowbrick Tracker at http://fastnet.rorc.org/2013-fleet-tracking.html.

For updates on the race, visit the event page at http://fastnet.rorc.org/.

Sail Fast!

Bella Wins NYYC Challenge Cup At Day 1 of Cowes Week

August 8, 2013 By Bella Mente 1 Comment

ISLE OF WIGHT, COWES, U.K. (August 8, 2013) – Bella Mente Racing, sailing under the New York Yacht Club burgee, has won the New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup, one of the two most prestigious trophies awarded at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. The team of 22 sailors, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, is currently racing in the event’s Big Boat mini-series, which kicked off its first race on Wednesday, August 7th and wraps up with the second and final race today, August 8th in Cowes, England.

Bella Mente Racing at Day One of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week (Photo Credit Rick Tomlinson)

“We are delighted to come out on top for this year’s New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup,” said Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn.), adding that The Cup was awarded this year to the winner of the top IRC class in race one, and the team started the week off right, taking first place on corrected time.

On Wednesday, the 72’ Judel/Vrolijk designed Bella Mente, along with ten other class contenders, hit the accelerator at the start off Bembridge (east of the Isle of Wight) and ensued on a 21-mile course through the tricky waters of the eastern Solent, around Nab Tower and back. The 100’ Reichel Pugh designed Esimit Europa 2 crossed the finish first, nabbing class line honors, but took fourth place on corrected time.

Bella Mente Racing at Day One of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week (Photo Credit Rick Tomlinson)

“The start was definitely critical in this race, and playing the 20 degree wind shifts paid off,” said Fauth, adding that the team had many fierce contenders to battle throughout the race, including the two-time Rolex Fastnet Race Mini Maxi Class winner Ran 2 (skippered by Niklas Zennström), which took third place.

“We gained on every leg and finished with a comfortable lead on corrected time due to impeccable crew work by everyone onboard,” said Fauth, “and flawless navigation by Ian Moore and tactics by Mike Sanderson and John Cutler.”

Race two at Cowes Week is currently underway, and Bella Mente Racing has its eyes on the Britannia Cup, a second sought-after prize that is awarded to the overall winner of the Big Boat mini-series.

Epic Adventures Await Bella Mente Racing this August

August 2, 2013 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

NEWPORT, R.I. (August 2, 2013) – Bella Mente Racing will be battling the elements along with some of the world’s top competitors when it takes on two of Europe’s premier racing events this month. From August 6th through 8th, Hap Fauth’s 72’ Judel/Vrolijk designed Bella Mente will race in the Big Boat series of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight in Cowes, England. Then it will switch gears for the Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts on August 11th in the same location and takes the team on a 608-nautical mile journey to Plymouth, Ireland, through the English Channel, over the Celtic Sea and past the iconic Fastnet Rock. Both events promise to challenge Bella Mente Racing with precarious weather, wind and sea conditions.

“We’ve got a few days of practice before our first event and are ‘full on’ as they say,” said Fauth (Minneapolis, Minn./Naples, Fla.), who not only owns Bella Mente but also helms for the Bella Mente Racing team, which consists of 22 sailors. The team is in the midst of a very ambitious 2013 racing campaign with four events already completed, including February’s RORC Caribbean 600, at which the team took first in IRC 0 and second in IRC overall, and May’s GAASTRA PalmaVela, which the team won in the Mini Maxi Class.

Bella Mente Racing during its most recent event, the Rolex Giraglia Cup (Photo Credit Rolex /Carlo Borlenghi)

After Bella Mente Racing’s last event, the Rolex Giraglia Cup in June, the boat was shipped to Endeavour Quay Boatyard in Gosport, England to undergo preparations and change the boat to its offshore set-up for the two upcoming events.

“Cowes Week will get us back into competitive racing mode,” said Fauth. “We will compete in three coastal races, and I think the biggest challenge for all of them will be racing on The Solent, which is a large body of water where we will have to combat the extremely strong currents in what is normally a ton of breeze.”

Fauth added that the adverse weather conditions will help the team prepare for the Rolex Fastnet Race, Europe’s oldest offshore race.

“The elements make the Fastnet Race what it is by reputation, and though this is my first time competing in the event, I have heard many people talk about it being multiple races in one,” said Fauth, “because of all the components that come into play on the course, including the heavy tides and currents, drastic changes in wind and sea conditions and the extremely cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean.”

The level of competition will also be off the charts, with a record 380 yachts signed up to race. They include Niklas Zennström’s Ran 2, back-to-back race winner in the Mini Maxi Class.

Bella Mente Racing during its most recent event, the Rolex Giraglia Cup (Photo Credit Rolex /Carlo Borlenghi)

“Of all the races that we do, Fastnet will demand a 100 percent team effort to succeed. We have to be proficient and execute as a team to win this thing,” said Fauth, noting that the majority of the Bella Mente Racing crew has been involved in numerous Fastnet races.

“Every team that you sail with has a different dynamic and Hap has built around him a great combination of sailors,” said the team’s navigator Ian Moore (Cowes, England), a Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup veteran. “The majority of us have been sailing together on Bella Mente for a couple of years, so when times get tough we have that trust in each other. It is a very mixed team in terms of nationality and personality, and it works incredibly well.

“In any offshore race you take on a lot of responsibility as the navigator, but the Fastnet is completely different than any of the other distance races we have done this year. It is as though you are racing an inshore buoy race for over 600 miles, because there is always something happening and you are always fine tuning.”

Following the Rolex Fastnet Race, Bella Mente Racing will round out the year in Porto Cervo, Italy with September’s Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship, which the team won in 2012.

“Each of these upcoming events is going to bring a slightly different set of challenges to the table,” added Moore, “but for the Mini Maxi Worlds we are definitely keen on winning the trophy again.”

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 onFacebook 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.

Day 3: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

Lay Day: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

Day 2: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

Day 1: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

Racing Starts Tomorrow for the Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

Bella Mente’s 2013 Grande Finale – The Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship

CLASS ZERO LINE HONORS GO TO BELLA MENTE IN 2013 ROLEX FASTNET

Follow Bella during the Rolex Fastnet Race

Bella Wins NYYC Challenge Cup At Day 1 of Cowes Week

Epic Adventures Await Bella Mente Racing this August

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