Hi CatalinaKid,
First, I can't profess to be an expert on how to best sail a race boat like Bella Luna. I was just delivery crew.
I think Bella Luna is a 1999 Nautor Swan 48 designed by 'German Frers' - http://sailboatdata.com/view_designer.asp?designer_id=23
We discovered some chafe on the jib sheet furling line, and the captain decided that it would be best to only use the jib if we had it fully deployed.
We didn't want to sail with the jib partially deployed and put extra strain on the furling line.
Even when sailing just under main alone, we were often maintaining speed over 9-10 knots (which for me was mind-blowing to see. I usually sail a heavy Westsail 42, a very different experience
We made the 1,500+ nautical miles sail in less than 10 days.
Happy sailing,
DrakeParagon