In Alicante, Spain, where the 37,000 nautical mile round the world race began last October, the PUMA team finished the first day of In Port racing in third place. The team intends to beat this in Singapore, where a maximum of four points can be earned from the In Port race day. As we currently lie in third place overall in the Volvo Ocean Race, this could make a big difference in the overall standings going into Leg Four of the race, which begins at 1300 local (0500 GMT) on Sunday 18th January.
Sailing onboard il mostro for the In Port race will be Kenny Read, Skipper; Andrew Cape, Navigator; Justin Ferris, Trimmer; Sidney Gavignet, Trimmer; Jerry Kirby, Bowman; Rob Greenhalgh, Main; Michi Mueller, Grinder/Sewer; Chris Nicholson, Tactician; Rob Salthouse, Pit, Casey Smith, Bowman, Shannon Falcone, Trimmer/Pit and Andrew Taylor, Grinder. Rick Deppe, our Media Specialist will also be onboard providing a live video stream straight from the boat, which can be viewed at Volvo Ocean Race TV in real time on race day, beginning at 0445 GMT.
Kenny commented: "We are all fired up for the In Port race here in Singapore this weekend. We have a lot of talented sailors in the PUMA team who have a history of racing around the buoys on short courses like this, so we're looking forward to some close racing. The Singapore stopover has been a good opportunity for us to strip the boat back and ensure everything's in good working order. We've been out sailing for the last couple of days tuning and making some final adjustments, as well as checking out the race course here in Singapore."
Following the In Port race, the PUMA team will have a busy final week in Singapore preparing for the start of Leg Four, from Singapore to Qingdao, China. Last minute preparations include loading the boat with food, sails, equipment and spares as well as ensuring the crew have essential rest before physically and mentally demanding leg which takes the PUMA team northeast into freezing temperatures.
