Volvo Ocean Race Bretagne In-Port Race – Puma returns to podium

by Lisa Ramsperger on 1 Jul 2012 Volvo Ocean Race Bretagne In-Port Race got underway today, Saturday 30th June. The Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg team returned to the podium, finishing third in Lorient, France. Puma crossed the line 24 seconds behind race winner Groupama Sailing Team, the overall leader in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand finished second.

'We’ve been watching Wimbledon a little in the evenings and they post a statistic for unforced errors – we’d have a big No. 1 in that category in this race,' said skipper Ken Read. 'After a really good first run we got ahead of Groupama, then one mistake is all it takes. We went to gybe and somehow the clew of the jib snapped the jib sheet around our weather daggerboard. It was such a fluke thing. Groupama is sailing well, and when mistakes are made, they are always there to capitalize. We give them credit. This is a tough one for us.'

Puma was off to a strong start as the fleet split down the first leg of the 9.2 nautical mile inshore course. Puma’s Mar Mostro rounded Mark 1 in third place, 30 seconds behind leading Camper. After a gybe inside of Groupama, Puma rolled over the top and into second position heading to Mark 2. When the jib sheet was caught at the leeward mark, Groupama passed Puma and returned to the second slot. On the last run, Puma and Groupama made gains on Camper and narrowed the gap to under 20 seconds. While Puma nearly got around, Groupama was able to roll past and finish first.

With today’s results, the overall race standings remain the same. Groupama increased their lead by two, sitting at 225 points with Puma in second at 200. Camper is four points back with 196. One race leg and one In-Port Race are left on the schedule.

'We have bounced back from losing our mast in the water in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on leg one, so if we can bounce back from that, we can recover from this,' Read said. 'For this final leg, it’s really going to come down to who’s going to be second, third and fourth, unless Groupama makes a colossal mistake.'

Tomorrow, the ninth and final leg of this year’s Volvo Ocean Race gets underway. The 550 nautical mile trip from Lorient to Galway will take approximately a day and a half for the fleet to complete. Racing begins at 13:00 local / 11:00 UTC and will be streamed live online and on the live section of the Volvo Ocean Race YouTube channel. Streaming begins five minutes before the 10-minute warning signal. Also visit the event website for complete television broadcast information in local markets.

The Volvo Ocean Race started on November 5 in Alicante. When the fleet arrives in the final port of Galway this week, they will have traveled approximately 39,270 nautical miles around the world, stopping at 10 ports along the way.

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); Casey Smith, Bowman (Brisbane, Australia); 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

Bretagne In-Port Race in Lorient:
Pos Team Total Time
1 Groupama Sailing Team 6 56:12
2 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 5 +0.13
3 Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 4 +0.24
4 Team Telefónica 3 +1.34
5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 2 +1.48
6 Team Sanya 1 +

Overall Standings:
Pos Team Overall
1 Groupama Sailing Team 225
2 Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg 200
3 Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand 196
4 Team Telefónica 194
5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 124
6 Team Sanya 40

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
3 Leg 7 20 171
2 Lisbon In-Port Race 5 176
3 Leg 8 20 196
3 Lorient In-Port Race 4 200
* Retired from leg Puma Ocean Racing Volvo Ocean Race website