25.03.2009
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PUMA still at sea and longing for Rio
40 days at sea and counting
March 25, 2009 – The PUMA Ocean Racing team continues to make painfully
slow progress towards Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on their 40th day at sea in
leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. The longest ever leg of the
Volvo Ocean Race is becoming longer and longer as all of the teams in the
fleet have encountered light winds off the coast of southern Brazil,
agonizingly drawing out the leg’s finale. Still with 379 miles to go, PUMA
is now expected to cross the finish line off Marina da Gloria in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, tomorrow afternoon (local), Thursday 26th March.
Forecasts for the next 24 hours look to offer some reprieve for the PUMA
team, with increasing south easterly winds expected later today. The PUMA
shore team and the team’s families are ready and waiting in Rio, with the
sailors longing to see their loved ones, fill their stomachs with real
food, take a shower and sleep in a real bed for the first time in 40 days.
Whilst these dreams are in the back of their minds, the team are still
racing at 150 percent, pushing their boat il mostro for every ounce of
speed in the battle to overtake one of the two Ericsson teams placed just
ahead.
Skipper Ken Read (USA) commented: “We can feel sorry for ourselves and
bitch about the weather and the wind and everything else that is
preventing us from “all we can eat in Rio” or we can suck it up and deal
with our situation the best we can. Continue to race and continue to do
our jobs. This crew has clearly done the latter and I am very proud of all
involved. Not a single “feeling sorry for ourselves” comment. We continue
to race as hard as ever.”
“A couple hours ago we were simply becalmed and I think our estimated time
to finish was about Christmas of this year - time for the wind to fill in!
I have a feeling that there are more frustrated people on shore than on
the boats. The shore teams want to start putting the boats back together.
I guess that the Rio stopover isn't much of one without the boats and the
crews! We are trying folks, believe me we are trying. We may have one more
chance at catching the Ericsson boats so we’re keeping our fingers
crossed, we shall see. We’re coaxing every inch from the old girl with
hopes of someday seeing Rio, and “all we can eat”…hopefully before
Christmas.”
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 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
Tel: +55 21 8273 7840 or +55 21 8197 4509 in Rio
bridgid.murphy@puma.com or kate.fairclough@puma.com
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