Bella Mente shines in light-air Bermuda Race marathon

by Laurie Fullerton on 20 Jun 2006 In what is proving to be one of the most frustrating light-air races in the 100 year history of the Bermuda classic, the leaders within this year’s 263-strong fleet are finally converging on the final leg towards the St David’s Lighthouse finish line.

At 10:30am EDT today (Monday) Hap Fauth’s JV 66 Bella Mente was 126nm from the finish, 33 miles ahead of the Charles St Clair Brown's 98-foot New Zealand super maxi Maximus.

Early today, Maximus led the much smaller Open 50 Gryphon Solo skippered by Joe Harris by just 12 miles. 'This is not exciting sailing by anyone’s standards, with any chance of this year’s race setting new speed records now all but gone,' one Maximus crewman reported overnight, adding. 'During the past 8 hours we have covered just 42 miles. It is a huge frustration for a team that knows they have a record-setting boat beneath them.'

After three days and nights at sea, not everyone is disheartened, especially those on the 66-foot Bella Mente, John Thompson’s Alchemy and Dr. Richard Shulman’s 45-foot Temptress, who now find themselves in prime positions to challenge for the coveted Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy.

'I am still chasing that Holy Grail,' Shulman admits. In the 1994 race, he missed a first place by 3 minutes and 40 seconds. 'If I had won that race, I don’t know if I would still feel the same way today. I know that you cannot win unless you are well prepared and lucky. The luck part of it is really true. The good Lord has to be there.'

In the St. David’s Lighthouse Division, another dramatic lead change took place during the early hours today when E. Llwyd Ecclestone’s Kodiak II (138nm from the finish at 10:30am EDT) slipped ahead of Skip Sheldon’s 65-foot Zarraffa (141 nm from the finish). Lawrence Huntington’s 50-foot Snow Lion and Trey Fitzgibbon’s 65-foot Mischievous are tied for third place, 153nm from the St David’s Lighthouse.

Gary Jobson, the navigator on Kodiak II said today 'While there is a fair share of luck involved in winning, it is difficult to control your destiny. We have an incredible afterguard whose average age is 63. We also calculate that between us, we have completed a combined total of 170 Newport Bermuda races!'

Frank Steinemann’s Selene (163nm to finish at 10:30am EST) led the Cruising Division 23 miles ahead of Jim Reiher’s Swan 53 Sky and James Brown’s J133 Rumba a further 7 miles astern.

Tom Slade’s 52- foot Renegade, which has led the double-handed division throughout, was 163 miles from the finish this morning, 23 miles ahead of Gardner Grant’s J120 Alibi

The lead boats are expected to reach Bermuda early Tuesday morning followed by more than 100 others which are all in close proximity to each other. The bartenders are waiting.- Laurie Fullerton

Bermuda Marine Forecast: Issued at 11:30 am - Monday, June 19, 2006

Marine Synopsis - Light and variable winds today will become moderate southeasterlies for the next few days.

Today - Winds variable 5 knots, becoming southeasterly... Isolated showers with fair visibility... Seas inside the reef near 1 ft... Outside the reef 2 to 4 ft... Sunrise: 6:12 am.

Tonight - Winds southeasterly 5 to 10 knots, increasing 10 to 15 knots... Isolated showers with fair visibility... Seas increasing, inside the reef 1 to 2 ft... Outside the reef 2 to 4 ft... Sunset: 8:28 pm.

Tuesday - Winds south-southeasterly 10 to 15 knots... Isolated showers with fair visibility... Seas increasing, inside the reef 1 to 2 ft... Outside the reef 3 to 5 ft... Sunrise: 6:12 am; Sunset: 8:28 pm.

Wednesday - Winds southeasterly 10 to 15 knots... Scattered showers with fair visibility... Seas inside the reef 1 to 2 ft... Outside the reef 3 to 5 ft... Sunrise: 6:12 am; Sunset: 8:28 pm.


About the Bermuda Race:

The formative days of The Bermuda Race stretch back to 1904 when the controversial Editor Thomas Fleming Day, used the pages of Rudder as a forum to encourage offshore racing. Day began by organizing a 330 mile 'longshore' race from Sandy Hook to Marblehead that attracted 6 entries - and columns of criticism in the New York and Boston papers. Unperturbed, he went on to organize a second 'longshore' race in 1905 from Brooklyn to Hampton Roads, Virginia, and blasted back at his critics:

'Newspaper men ought to know better than consult a lot of grey-bearded rum soaked piazza scows. What do these miserable old hulks who spend their days swigging booze on the front stoop of a clubhouse know about the dangers of the deep? If they make a voyage from Larchmont to Cow Bay in a 10-knot breeze, it is the event of their lives, an experience they never forget and never want to repeat.'

His comments did wonders for promoting the concept of racing small boats beyond the horizon.

After the Hampton Roads Race, yacht owners turned to Day for something more ambitious. They wanted 'a real ocean race, one that would take them well offshore and into blue water.' The Rudder editor needed little encouragement, and in 1906 the Bermuda Race was born. The Brooklyn Yacht Club organized the start and encouraged participation, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club took charge of the finish line, and Sir Thomas Lipton was persuaded to donate a $500 Cup for the winner.

The Bermuda Race has been sailed from Newport, Rhode Island since 1936 and has come to be called The Newport Bermuda Race. In 1926 the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club was joined by the newly formed Cruising Club of America as co-organizer of the race.

June 16, 2006 will mark the 100th year of this classic event which still strives to encourage the building and racing of good boats. The event is open to yachts with a length of 27.5 and 98.42ft, and a stability index greater than 115. Various racing divisions cater for essentially amateur crews, professional crews, double handed crews. There is also a friends and family orientated cruising division, together with a professional demonstration class for yachts with water ballast and/or canting keels.

Source www.bermudarace.com