26.01.2009
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PUMA making steady progress without boom
Symbolism of the Year of the Ox taken to heart
January 26, 2009 – PUMA are making steady progress northwards towards
Qingdao, China during the ‘nightmare’ fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race
2008-09. After breaking their boom in two on Saturday, the PUMA Ocean
Racing team chose to shelter from the worst of the storm by anchoring in a
bay in the lee of the Philippines. Since leaving their safe haven at
sunrise on Sunday morning, the team have been steadily checking off the
miles with their makeshift rig, still sailing in extreme weather, with
gusts of up to 50 knots of wind. As the Chinese New Year begins, the team
is working their way up the eastern coast of Taiwan, and have 855 nautical
miles to go until they reach the leg finish in Qingdao.
The PUMA Ocean Racing team have fashioned a temporary solution and are
able to sail upwind without a boom, by rigging up a new indexsheet system.
The team is currently sailing at a speed of 13 knots and has covered 234
nautical miles in the last 24 hours, more than any other boat in the
fleet. Skipper Ken Read has mangled the top of his left index finger, but
has been tended to by onboard medic, Shannon Falcone (ANT).
Speaking in hindsight about breaking the boom, Skipper Ken Read (USA)
commented: “The guys sailing on this boat are studs. No fear. There is one
thing we have all agreed on. The waves we saw on Saturday were some of the
largest any of us have seen. As if it was on cue, about two minutes after
the boom broke the massive waves started breaking on us.”
“We are not out of the woods yet but we can see a hint of daylight. Today
is the first day of Chinese New Year, the year of the Ox. I have been told
that the Ox symbolises prosperity, through fortitude and hard work.
Basically keep working at it, and the results will come. Well, let’s hope
we can. We lived through some brutal seas last night and have a few more
structural problems. The body shop trio of Casey [Smith, AUS], Salty [Rob
Salthouse, NZL] and Michi [Mueller, GER] have got il mostro nearly back
into fighting form again. Today is another day and we battle on.”
He continued to tell the gory tale of his own mishap onboard: “I am now
starting to feel the effects of some serious pain killers. We have brought
about a million people sailing on our Volvo 70 over the past year and a
half. The first thing we do is tell the folks not to put their hands on
any loaded lines like the indexsheet or runners. Well, I did not heed my
own warning. We are all creatures of habit on these boats. I was about to
ease the bottom purchase of our new indexsheet system, when we fell off a
wave. I braced myself by holding a rope that ran beside me. The exact time
I went to hold the rope was the exact time it was being eased through a
large titanium block. The block quite easily sucked my left index finger
in until I gave a little "hold" call then instinctively I just pulled it
out. Yuck. Not much of the last 30% of my finger left. At least from what
I remember. Just what the doctor ordered after the last few days. I am
officially a dumb ass. So Dr (Shannon) Falcone sprung into action and has
cleaned and bandaged my finger. My typing has now taken a severe
efficiency hit.”
Weather forecasts predict that the fleet will experience further rough
conditions as they reach the northern end of Taiwan. Strong winds against
heavy current will produce very rough seas, which the boats must cross
before heading towards the coast of China. Current estimates predict that
PUMA will reach Qingdao on Thursday or Friday this week.
The Volvo Ocean Race is made up of ten legs, finishing in June 2009 in St.
Petersburg, Russia. By joining the race, PUMA has entered a new premium
category and is the only Sportslifestyle company to participate in the
Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. For more information about the race, team and
the PUMA Sailing collections, please visit www.pumaoceanracing.com
Alongside PUMA’s entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, PUMA has launched a full
range of marine clothing and apparel, from offshore sailing gear to
onshore lifestyle fashion. The PUMA Sailing Performance collection was
developed and tested by the PUMA Ocean Racing team itself, and is worn by
the team throughout the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. The PUMA Sailing
Lifestyle collection takes inspiration from the sport.
For more information on Puma Ocean Racing, please contact:
Bridgid Murphy or Kate Fairclough
PUMA Ocean Racing
Tel: +1 978 996 5155 or +44 7827 277 517
bridgid.murphy@puma.com or kate.fairclough@puma.com
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