Volvo Ocean Race leaves Cape Town en route to India
November 15, 2008 – The PUMA Ocean Racing team made a superb start to Leg Two of the Volvo Ocean Race this afternoon, storming out of Table Bay in Cape Town en route to Kochi, India. PUMA led the eight boat fleet round two marks in the bay, in the shadow of Table Mountain, followed closely by hundreds of spectator boats. After making a perfect start to the leg, PUMA consolidated their lead in perfect sailing conditions.
As the Volvo Ocean Race fleet made their way south, to round the Cape of Good Hope at the foot of South Africa and pass from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, the fleet encountered fickle conditions with sudden areas of light winds, typical of Cape Town’s changeable weather. Some say that being first out of Cape Town can make all the difference in a leg like this, but as the fleet heads towards Asia for the first time, anything could happen.
Having said an emotional goodbye to family and friends on the dock at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town this morning, the PUMA team felt well-prepared for this 4,450 nautical mile leg into the unknown. Leg Two of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 takes the fleet to Kochi, India, a route never sailed before during any professional yacht race. Expected to take around 18 days to complete, the PUMA team anticipate tricky sailing conditions along the way, with tough currents to battle, the Maldives to navigate around, monsoon conditions possible on the approach to India, plus the potential threat of piracy in these waters.
Speaking ahead of the leg start in Cape Town Skipper Ken Read commented: “Our boat il mostro is in great shape, thanks to our fantastic shore team. I have never entered a race or a leg of a race so confused about how the outcome may turn out. I’m expecting the unexpected in this leg. This is certainly a road never travelled – rather than less travelled – so we have to be smart, with our eyes open, and also lucky in this leg too. There are many obstacles out there, both above the water, such as unlit fishing boats, but also in the water that we have to look out for.”
“There are so many different route possibilities; we could all end up hundreds of miles apart. It’s going to be interesting for us, but it could be a hard leg to follow back home. It may be hard at times to see which boat is really ahead, and who has the advantage. It certainly keeps me awake at night. The racing we do here in the Bay today could also be interesting – it’s like we’re about to run a marathon for the next 15 days, but we have to run a bunch of sprint races here first! Hopefully we’ll get into our rhythm pretty quickly. It’s like any other boat race. For me, as soon as the gun goes, any apprehension just goes out of my system. All of a sudden you’re focused.”
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 second leg of the race, in Kochi, India around 3rd December.
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
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