PUMA Fights off Advances

PHOTO: Amory Ross

Leg 6 leaders PUMA have been fighting off the advances of second placed CAMPER and third placed Telefónica, virtually from the moment the fleet left Brazil for Miami.

No matter how hard they try, escaping the clutches of the chasing duo has proved impossible. By 1600 UTC today just six nautical miles (nm) separated the top three boats.

Media Crew Member (MCM) Amory Ross said after such a prolonged battle the PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG team were now getting used to living in such close company with their rivals.

“At least today we were ready for it!” Ross wrote in his latest report from the boat. “Sunrise this morning brought the familiar sight of CAMPER on the horizon, and sure enough, they only got bigger.

“Then came Telefónica just before sundown. So here we sit, three’s company, all lined up after 10 days of great racing.

Ross confessed that being under such pressure to perform added an extra thrill to leading the fleet on Leg 6.

“As nice as it’s been out in front, there’s a certain excitement that comes from having other boats in clear sight,” he said. “Not that this leg has been boring, but more than a week on the same tack in similar conditions gets extremely repetitive.

“It’s fun to have something to disrupt the monotony and it sure helps to pass the time too.”

However, Ross said the trade wind sailing the fleet is expected to have for the next few days could favour CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and Team Telefónica, as PUMA’s Mar Mostro is better suited to lighter upwind conditions.

“Every boat has design strengths and weaknesses that favour certain wind speeds, sailing angles and sea states,” he said. “Today marked a clear transition from one to another.

“Finally gone (knock on wood) are the dismal Doldrums and the volatile conditions that they can create, and arrived are the first hints of true trade wind sailing and 20 plus knot winds.

“But Mar Mostro tends to thrive in lighter conditions and now we’re moving away from that; maybe towards a windier corner that suits the design of CAMPER or Telefónica a little better.

“It’s impossible to know for sure though, so all we can do is focus on making our boat go as fast as possible in the building breeze."

Ross said despite the other two teams being so close, the PUMA crew had nevertheless chosen to sail their own race and trust in their ability and speed, rather than adopting a defensive strategy.

“With our two rivals in sight – even at night we can track their lights – we’re more or less back to the starting gates,” he said. “It would be easy for us to change our strategy to defend against them, but it’s important to remember that we’re only just over halfway through this leg.

“We still need to sail our own race, plot our own course. There’s still a very long way to go until Miami.”

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