Volvo Ocean Race: Fast and furious first two days at sea for PUMA Ocean Racing

by Kate Fairclough

The PUMA Ocean Racing team’s first two days at sea have been fast and furious. Dodging in and out of squally storms, PUMA’s il mostro battled with their seven competitors in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race to reach the Straits of Gibraltar, and exit the enclosed Mediterranean Sea en route to the Atlantic Ocean. As the PUMA team manoeuvred themselves out through the narrow gap between the southern tip of Spain and the northwest tip of Morocco and began to head down the west coast of Africa late last night, il mostro was in third place.

After 400 miles and almost two days at sea, PUMA are now in second place, neck and neck with Telefonica Black, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4. As the boats begin to divide and go their separate ways in the Atlantic Ocean, choosing their own route south across the Equator as they race down to Cape Town, South Africa, even bigger gains and losses will be made.

PUMA Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read and his crew are now settling into their daily routine aboard il mostro and are beginning to adapt to the way of life they will lead for the next twenty days. Ken commented from onboard: “Life has been a bit hectic since our start, including a fast and furious first 10 hours. One minute we were planing into the lead, losing visual contact with the two Ericsson boats in a little squall, and the next thing we knew they were 15 miles ahead of us.

“Since that time we have had squalls, drift off's, tons of tacking and gybing - all to be overlapped with Green Dragon and Telefónica Black in the Straits of Gibraltar. It was pretty cool actually, as we had a few mechanical problems on board and catching up the way we did was a huge boost for the team. It is great to be at sea, great to back with the boys. And besides having a little catching up to do with the two Ericsson boats, and fending off the rest of the fleet, all is great on board.”

Regarding leaving Alicante, where the leg began, Ken commented: “I would guess that leaving for any sort of journey would have its ups and downs. Leaving for a long sailboat race is no different. Although I had to keep reminding my wife and daughter that it was only three weeks...it certainly seemed bigger to all of us. The entire team for that matter. Each of the guys and all of the girls had watery eyes as we left Alicante, a town which was an amazing host to the start of this race.”

Current Position:
2nd Place
Distance to Leader: 7 nautical miles
Distance to Leg Finish: 6088 nautical miles
Miles covered in last 24 hours: 182 nautical miles

The Volvo Ocean Race is made up of ten legs, finishing in June 2009 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The fleet is expected to finish the first leg of the race, in Cape Town, around 3rd November.

PUMA Ocean Racing