Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Race - Second to Puma Ocean Racing

by Lisa Ramsperger on 17 Mar 2012 Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg crew outdueled the Groupama Sailing Team to finish second in the Volvo Ocean race In-Port Race. On Saturday, March 17, in Auckland, New Zealand Puma crossed the line 0:54 seconds behind race winner Camper with Emirates Team New Zealand, picking up five points.

Puma now total 83 in the overall standings.

'We knew it was going to be a fun day, and it proved to be a great boat race,' said skipper Ken Read. 'It was racing in tight quarters – exactly what we expected – and we’re comfortable in those situations. The race was tight and physical, lots of tacks, lots of jibes. We had a good start, then Camper got the first shift and that’s all they needed today – congrats to them, they sailed well.'

Sailing along the Auckland shoreline to the first mark, PUMA rounded in third, less than a minute behind leading Camper. Puma and Groupama traded places twice as they sailed through the second mark. Neck-in-neck with Groupama to the third buoy, Puma rolled past and moved into second around the fourth and final mark. Camper led from start to finish, and Groupama finished third.

'It’s always been a goal of ours to be consistent and not make big errors, so that’s going to continue to be our focus as we set out on this next leg into the Southern Ocean,' Read said. 'We’re looking at quite a forecast right now, and it’s going to be full-on for the first few days. So, we’re going to treat it with a lot of respect.'

On Sunday, the fleet begins the 6,705 nautical mile journey from Auckland to Itajaí, Brazil, for Leg 5. The leg takes the fleet through the formidable Southern Ocean and around Cape Horn. Race Start is at 14:00 local/01:00 UTC.

Thomas Johanson (Espoo, Finland) will sail in place of helmsman Kelvin Harrap (Napier, New Zealand) onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro for the leg from Auckland to Itajaí. Harrap will take a break due to 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.

RESULTS

Auckland In-Port Race:

POS TEAM TOTAL TIME

1 CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 6 60min, 38sec
2 PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 5 +0:54
3 Groupama Sailing Team 4 +1:26
4 Team Sanya 3 +2:20
5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 2 +2:52
6 Team Telefónica 1 +3:27

Overall standings:

POS TEAM OVERALL
1 Team Telefónica 122
2 Groupama Sailing Team 107
3 CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand 104
4 PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG 83
5 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 55
6 Team Sanya 25

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

* Retired from leg

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, Inshore Tactician (Napier, New Zealand); Brad Jackson, Design Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Rome Kirby, Trimmer & Driver (Newport, Rhode Island, USA); Michael 'Michi' Müller, Bowman (Kiel, Germany); Tony Mutter, Aerodynamics Coordinator & Watch Captain (Auckland, New Zealand); Casey Smith, Systems Manager & Bowman (Brisbane, Australia); Jonathan 'Jono' Swain, Helmsman & 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).

Puma Ocean Racing website