VOR: PUMA's Long List of Small Jobs

Replacing the rigging on il mostro's mast in Rio. Image copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race.

by Volvo Ocean Race media

PUMA shore boss Neil Cox is aiming to get il mostro back on the water by Wednesday, a turnaround he hopes will give the team sufficient preparation time for Saturday's in-port race.

The yacht arrived in Rio de Janeiro in third position on Friday morning, but, despite sailing a gruelling 12,300-nautical mile course, carried no major damage.

"It's just a nice change not to be dealing with any structural repairs," said Cox, whose shore team encountered hefty damage to their longitudinal frames in leg two.

"This is going to be a busy stop for us because the list of small jobs is long, but there's nothing major to worry about," he added. "We have a list of cosmetics and composite jobs. The hull will take some work to get it back in condition and the appendages are getting touched up. Daggerboards, rudders, keel pins, bulb are all getting some attention as well.

"Bigger picture, we look in pretty good shape."


PUMA and Telefonica Blue out of the water in Rio. Image copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race.

Work is required on the running rigging, which will be replaced. Cox explained: "The mast took as good a beating as anything else. The running rigging needs to be changed. We always had a spare set and would have considered changing it but our hand's been forced a bit by some chafe that you wouldn't want to take a chance with."

The team now intends to re-step the mast on Monday night, before floating the boat on Wednesday. It adds up to approximately 15 hours of work per day for Cox's shore team of 14 - three extra staff outside of the core group have been drafted in for this stopover - in order to provide Ken Read's crew with as much inshore preparation time as possible.

"We are trying to sail twice before the in-port race and we are pushing to get the boat back in the water," Cox said. "We want the guys to get a chance to practice. We are only just in second place (on the overall leaderboard) so if you want to consolidate on it you need the time on water not the cradle."

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