December 19, 2008 – With 732 miles to go until the finish of leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race from Cochin, India to Singapore, PUMA Ocean Racing lie in fourth place amongst a very close fleet. Ken Read (USA) and his team aboard PUMA’s il mostro are battling against unsettled monsoon weather conditions in the Bay of Bengal. The team is currently expected to arrive in Singapore on or around Tuesday 23rd December, just in time for Christmas.
In its 35 year history, the Volvo Ocean Race has never raced through Asia before and Singapore will be the first South East nation to host the race. After crossing the Bay of Bengal, the PUMA team will pass through a scoring gate, before heading southeast down the Straits of Malacca, the busiest shipping lane in the world, towards the finish line just off the island state of Singapore.
PUMA is currently sailing in a leading pack of five boats, who are scattered to the north and to the south of PUMA. Each of the teams are working hard to choose the best and fastest route to the finish, weaving their way in and out of squalls and patchy areas of light winds typical of this region. Life onboard is extremely taxing in this unfamiliar climate, especially with Christmas looming, as PUMA Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read commented from the boat:
“The Bay of Bengal. Sailing here is like using a Ferrari for a Tractor Pull. Slogging upwind, tacking on every shift for days. In fact, for one 24-hour period we had 51 squalls come through bringing rain, shift, no shift, wind, no wind etc. Not a very glamorous sailing spot at this moment in time. We currently have Telefónica Black just behind us and Ericsson 3 within sight too. As usual, it is full on - there is never a dull moment. The great news is the conditions we have had are beginning to even out and the squalls are becoming far less frequent. The bad news is it is about to get really strange once we enter the Straits of Malacca. This is the channel between Indonesia and Malaysia. It is one of, if not the, most used commercial shipping lane in the world. There is an Indonesian navy who is rumored to stop random boats and request fees to pass through. Potential outright piracy exists, and supposedly heaps of fishing boats, which may be lit or unlit, with lines or nets. Here the fun will really begin.”
“One small problem we have is that a good case of diarrhoea has overcome the boat, to the point that our toilet pump broke from overuse! Talk about a disaster. Fortunately, Dr Falcone [Shannon Falcone (ANT), trained medic] is on the case and hopefully we can shake this before the entire team takes their turn.”
“The questions are starting to come to the navigation station a little more frequently concerning our projected ETA. We have several crewmembers flying home to be with families and several of us have families who will anxiously be in Singapore hoping to celebrate the holidays with all the sailors out here on the water. Hope the Straits are kind to us. That is all I want for a Christmas present this year.”
The race fleet is expected to arrive in Singapore on or around 23rd December. 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 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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