Volvo Ocean Race- Thanksgiving on board Puma Racing

by Amory Ross on 24 Nov 2011
Blog from the Seas, Leg 1, Day 20 - 24 November 2011

Today is Thanksgiving in the US of A – a holiday for family, food, drink, and giving thanks – and while there are only three Yanks on PUMA’s mighty Mar Mostro, the 11 of us are a family for the time being and I thought it was fitting, given the circumstances, that we use this opportunity to send out some serious kudos:

--Thanks to PUMA and to BERG for making this even remotely possible. Otherwise we’d all be applying for residency on Tristan.

--Thanks to Kimo (team GM), Tim (Shore Manager), and the rest of the PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG team working around the clock to get us to Cape Town. We owe you all immensely and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone soon. Don’t forget the beer!

--Thanks to VOLVO for the 75HP beast of an engine now trucking us southeast.

--Thanks to Captain Bondar and the entire crew of the Zim Monaco for their compassion and generosity in diverting to supply us with some much-needed diesel fuel. We hope you enjoy the smelly team tee’s.

--Thanks to Immarsat and Thrane & Thrane for connecting us to our families, friends, and the rest of the world.

--Thanks to Tristan da Cunha, just for being there.

--Thanks to the late Steve Jobs for iPods, and Michael Bay for 'Transformers 3,' without which we’d have little to keep us truly entertained.

--Thanks to Alpine Aire, Backcountry, and Fuzion, for supplying food…although not the ideal Thanksgiving meal. Somehow the freeze-dried turkey was left in Alicante…

And lastly…Thanks to all of YOU – everyone everywhere, now willing us on. You have no idea how much it helps, to know that there are people counting on us and supporting us. It’s going to be a long and difficult road forward, but we promise to give it our best and enjoy doing so. This race has only just started.

Happy Thanksgiving from those of us at sea on PUMA’s Mar Mostro. We’re sorry we can’t be with you at home, but demand you eat and drink well in our absence. Mom, don’t you dare throw away the leftovers – I’ll be home in a few months to collect.