Volvo Ocean Race - Puma's Mar Mostro leaves Miami for Leg 7 start

by Lisa Ramsperger on 21 May 2012 Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 team Puma’s Mar Mostro is off across the Atlantic Ocean with the start of Leg 7 from Miami, Florida, USA to Lisbon, Portugal. The Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg crew rounded the buoys in Miami to complete the six-leg inshore loop and headed out for the offshore portion of the leg in the fifth position, with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing leading the fleet.

'It’s very emotional leaving,' said skipper Ken Read. 'It’s not often you get to come to North America and put on a good show and promote our sport. And it wasn’t just people from around South Florida, I’ve met people from all over this country here. It’s tough to leave, but at the same time we have a job to do.'

The 3,590 nautical mile Leg 7 is expected to take the boats approximately 11 days to complete. The fleet will travel up the Florida coastline before heading east.

'It will be quite light this first afternoon and into tonight, but I think the first boat into the pressure from this tropical storm could have quite a big advantage,' said navigator Tom Addis. 'Tropical Storm Alberto is the source of pressure to get us north, so it is important to try to feed into that pressure first. We’ll be playing around the edge of that system – it’s quite small and slow moving, so it should be fairly easy to manage. Overall, it looks like pretty good downwind sailing and a reasonably fast leg, which we always enjoy on these boats. There’s a good chance we won’t be extreme north as well, so hopefully it won’t be too cold.'

Leg 7 marks the second transatlantic crossing for Puma’s Mar Mostro. The team first departed U.S. waters on July 3, 2011, with the start of the Transatlantic Race 2011 from Newport, Rhode Island, to Lizard Point, Cornwall, U.K. Their first trip across the Atlantic Ocean was successful as they notched wins in both IRC Class 1 and IRC Overall of the race.

The original Puma crew is back in tact for the first time since Leg 4. Casey Smith (Brisbane, Australia), who missed Leg 6 due to a lower back injury, returned for Saturday’s Port Miami In-Port Race and is ready for Leg 7. Kelvin Harrap (Napier, New Zealand) was back onboard for Leg 6 after missing the Southern Ocean journey with carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms as well as bursitis in his elbow.

The Volvo Ocean Race started on November 5 in Alicante, and the fleet is traveling 39,000 nautical miles through 10 ports, finishing in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.

The Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg team is under the leadership of Read (Newport, Rhode Island, United States). Collectively, the crew has won the Around the World Race six times. The core includes: Tom Addis, Navigator (Sydney, Australia); Ryan Godfrey, Pitman (Adelaide, Australia); Kelvin Harrap, Helmsman and Inshore Tactician (Napier, New Zealand); Brad Jackson, Design Coordinator and Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Rome Kirby, Trimmer and Driver (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Michael 'Michi' Müller, Bowman (Kiel, Germany); Tony Mutter, Aerodynamics Coordinator and Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Jonathan 'Jono' Swain, Helmsman and Trimmer (Durban, South Africa); Amory Ross, Media Crew Member (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Kimo Worthington, General Manager (Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States); and Tim Hacket, Shore Team Manager (Sydney, Australia).

Results:

Overall Standings
POS TEAM OVERALL
1 Team Telefónica 165
2 Groupama Sailing Team 158
3 CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 152
4 PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 151
5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 74
6 Team Sanya 27

Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg scoring:
POS RACE/LEG PTS TOTAL
2 Alicante In-Port Race 5 5
-- Leg 1* -- 5
3 Cape Town In-Port Race 4 9
3 Leg 2, Stage 1 16 25
4 Leg 2, Stage 2 (3rd in Leg 2 overall) 3 28
4 Abu Dhabi In-Port Race 3 31
2 Leg 3, Stage 1 5 36
4 Leg 3, Stage 2 12 48
2 Sanya In-Port Race 5 53
2 Leg 4 25 78
2 Auckland In-Port Race 5 83
1 Leg 5 30 113
3 Itajaí In-Port Race 4 117
1 Leg 6 30 147
3 Miami In-Port Race 4 151
* Retired from leg

Puma Ocean Racing website