01.12.2008
PUMA in third place overall
Volvo Ocean Race visits Cochin, India for the first time
December 1, 2008 – In one of the closest ever conclusions to a Volvo Ocean
Race leg, four boats including PUMA crossed the finish line in Cochin,
India, within a matter of minutes this afternoon. Finishing the second leg
at 17.52 local time (12.22 GMT) as the sun was setting, PUMA arrived in
Cochin in fifth place, just 22 minutes behind Spanish entry Telefonica
Black. The Dutch team Delta Lloyd followed, crossing the line just seven
minutes after PUMA, with Green Dragon shortly behind. PUMA currently
stands in third place overall in the Volvo Ocean Race.
After an epic leg into the unknown, the PUMA Ocean Racing team was
delighted to set foot on dry land and be welcomed by the Indian crowd. The
4,450 nautical mile leg from Cape Town to India was full of drama for
Skipper Ken Read and the crew aboard PUMA’s il mostro. Just days after a
spectacular start to the leg, the team was dogged by structural damage
which was repaired by the crew as they continued sailing at a slower pace.
Having been forced to slow, PUMA lost valuable places as they navigated
their way towards some tricky weather, and the frustratingly light winds
of the doldrums. As the group of four boats, Telefonica Black, PUMA, Delta
Lloyd and Green Dragon battled their way northwards from the tip of India
towards Cochin, it was tight, but PUMA held their ground to come second in
this mini-race, finishing in fifth place.
PUMA Skipper Ken Read commented: “It’s wonderful to be here in India. We
had some serious damage to the boat during this leg, and if it wasn’t for
the fantastic team onboard we probably would have had to pull in some
place and repair it. I give huge credit to our team for fixing what looked
like a very grim situation. It cost us miles, but we got ourselves back
into the game. We’re a little disappointed in our finish this leg, but at
the same time we didn’t have to withdraw from the leg or take any other
drastic measures. The boat will be fine. We’re not licking our wounds by
any means, we’re not trying to feel sorry for ourselves, we’re doing this
to win this race. The boat will be back to full strength for the next leg.
We can’t wait have a short break, relax and start exploring India. It’s
been a long hard trip.”
“The give and take that has occurred during this leg is like no other race
I have ever been a part of. This is the hardest sailing race I can ever
remember being in. It was so diverse and so bizarre. Today was a good
example – this afternoon Telefonica Black was way out on the horizon
behind us, we could barely see them. Then an hour before the finish we
realize they’re seven miles ahead. It was really remarkable. We are now
very used to having boats right next to us over an entire leg. We
literally just crossed Delta Lloyd by about 100 meters about 20 miles
prior to the finish. It was incredibly close racing - and this is after
over 4000 miles! Congratulations to the podium finishers for the leg. It
will be the first time il mostro isn’t on the podium. We can’t make that a
trend though.”
The short stop in Cochin will be fraught with activity in getting the boat
ready for the start of leg three, to Singapore which begins on 13th
December. The Volvo Ocean Race is made up of ten legs, finishing in June
2009 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Each boat earns points for each leg, in port race and scoring gate they
pass. The sum of these scores gives the overall position. Each boat’s
overall position is calculated by summing the points which places PUMA in
third place overall at the end of this leg.
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
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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