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Volvo Ocean Race 2008/2009
Leg 7 Boston - Galway
www.volvooceanrace.org -
Übersicht Leg 7
22.05.2009
http://media.pumaoceanracing.com
PUMA breaks rudder mid-way across Atlantic Ocean
May 21, 2009 – Just after 1800 GMT today, Thursday May 21st, PUMA broke
one of their two rudders whilst racing hard across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mid-way through leg seven of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 from Boston, USA
to Galway, Ireland, the PUMA Ocean Racing team suffered the breakage
whilst blasting downwind at speeds of up to 35 knots in heavy seas. The
team, who are safe and in good spirits, have rigged up their emergency
rudder system and intend to carry on racing to Ireland.
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Foto: Sally Collison
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Given that the PUMA Ocean Racing team had to physically stop, take down
the sails, fix the rudder and then begin sailing again, they now lie only
26 miles behind Delta Lloyd, currently in first place. After an incredible
day, which saw PUMA move up the leaderboard several places from fifth to
first place before the incident, the team currently have 1,097 miles to go
and are expected to reach Galway, Ireland this Sunday.
Skipper Ken Read (USA) commented from the boat: “Sailing on starboard tack
at about 1800 GMT we had about 28 knots of wind and were going pretty
quick with an A-zero and full indexsail. The sea state was quite awkward. A
ton of water was coming over the deck with each wave but it was no big
deal. All of a sudden we got a pretty nasty puff and we were off. We were
a bit on the edge and did a small spin out. I heard a bang at the back of
the boat and hoped like hell that it was the runner block hitting the boom
or something. It wasn't. When the boat sat on its side with the sails
flopping and there was nothing that we could do to get it back down away
from the wind, it was clear that the leeward rudder had snapped off. We
quickly got the boat going downwind again by using the sails to steer, and
finally heeled the boat to windward so the weather rudder would control
the boat while we assessed damage. Then we had to literally stop the boat
and take down the sails and fit our emergency rudder to proceed to
Ireland. We'll race as best we can. Our emergency rudder system is pretty
slick. Time will tell if we have more rudder problems. We are all
certainly a bit concerned right now.”
“However, we can leave it to Capey [Andrew Cape, AUS] to lighten up the
situation and get everybody back into the swing of things…. Here we are in
the North Atlantic about halfway to Ireland and there is a loud bang and
it is full stop onboard. Everyone is a bit pissed off. Capey comes out of
the hatch comes with his duffel bag over his shoulder, and says “last time
I was here I heard the same noise and then it was time to get off". [He
was talking about when the keel system broke on movistar in the last race
and they sadly had to abandon ship. Eventually the boat was lost. It
happened eerily close to our position here tonight when the rudder snapped
off.] After a good laugh, the team onboard went to work and now we are
back sailing again. I guess it is all in a days work. I just hate to go to
work on days like this.”
Leg seven is the last open-ocean crossing the Volvo Ocean Race fleet will
sail in the reindexing four legs of the ten leg race, scheduled to finish
on June 28th in St Petersburg, Russia. By joining the race, PUMA has
entered a new premium category and is the only Sportlifestyle 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
For images and footage free for editorial use please go to:
http://media.pumaoceanracing.com
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