Monday, November 21 2011 - 1830 UTC Leg One Day 17
PUMA’S MAR MOSTRO SUFFERS BROKEN MAST
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG reported that they had suffered a broken mast on the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, which began 17 days ago from Alicante, Spain. The crew are unhurt.
The rig onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro failed at around 1500 UTC in the southern Atlantic Ocean, about 2,150 nautical miles from Cape Town, South Africa.
Skipper Ken read reported: “We were sailing on a port tack, beam reaching in 22-23 knots of breeze, heading east northeast with eight to 10 foot waves when the mast failed. There were no warning signs.
“There was no panic onboard, and all crew are safe and well.”
“Thanks to amazing seamanship, the three pieces of the mast and all of the sails were recovered. We haven’t suspended racing at this point and are weighing are options.
“At this point we are not using our engine, but are taking some time to clear our heads and evaluate next steps. Our plans may include heading to the island of Tristan da Cunha – about 700 nautical miles from us, nearly on the way to Cape Town.
“This is the saddest and most disappointed 11 people on earth. We were in a comfortable second position, traveling south to get into the final front and head across the southern Atlantic towards Cape Town.
“We were planning to be there in five days. At this stage, my goal is to make sure we get this crew back safely and we will look at options as to how to get back in this race.”
The Brazilian search and rescue organisation have been informed and are on standby to assist if necessary.
Volvo Ocean Race control is in constant contact with the team to establish the full extent of the damage and ensure the crew are given full support to enable them to deal with the situation.
The causes of the dismasting are not known at this stage. However, the rig is of a different origin and manufacture to that of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam which suffered a failure earlier during Leg 1.
PUMA Ocean Racing’s shore team are working on a recovery plan to ensure the yacht can rejoin the race as soon as practically possible and will work closely with Volvo Ocean Race to determine the cause of the dismasting.
Further information will be issued as it becomes available.
November 21, 2011 - 1000 UTC Leg One Day 17
RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERS AS SAINT HELENA HIGH COMES INTO PLAY
Leg 1 Report: 21/11/2011 10:05:53 UTC
DTL DTLC BS DTF
1 TELE 0.00 0.0 20.6 2171.0 2 PUMA 16.00 3.0 19.5 2187.0 3 CMPR 110.50 3.0 21.3 2281.5 4 GPMA 346.30 18.0 21.3 2517.3 - ADOR Retired from Leg 1 - SNYA Retired from Leg 1
Telefónica with skipper Spaniard Iker Martínez leads the charge south with PUMA’s Mar Mostro (Ken Read/USA) nipping at her heels 16 nautical miles (nm) behind, but it is a risky game the two leading teams are playing. The Saint Helena High is blocking the quickest route to Cape Town and on the southern side lies a westerly cold front which is the nectar the teams are all seeking.For much of today, the high-speed drag race south will continue on a port tack reach, but in the next 24 hours, as the leading pair approaches the Saint Helena High, navigation and strategy will be focused on barometric pressure. This is the means by which the navigator will know the relation of his boat to the centre of the high.
The risk is to sail too close and get sucked into the windless zone, balanced against shaving the corner and sailing less miles to the finish. The judgement is critical and one false move will be catastrophic.
On the south side of the high is a cold front, which Telefónica and PUMA’s Mar Mostro will reach around midday on Wednesday. Wind speeds here could be up to 25 knots, gusting 30, which are perfect for the Volvo Open 70. “The boat just lights up and takes off,” says co-skipper of CAMPER (Stu Bannatyne/NZL).
Onboard Telefónica, Neal McDonald reports lots of wind and already a cooler water temperature. “I think [navigator] Cape has found us great spot,” he says, referring to the position of the blue boat.
Arriving at the cold front later than the rest of the fleet will be Groupama 4 (Franck Cammas/FRA). The team could potentially need to gybe south to escape the new high building from the west and sail away from the direction of the finish in order to find the westerly breeze. This will mean sailing even more miles for the team who already trail the leaders by 346 nautical miles. &xnbsp;
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