PUMA were left wondering what they did wrong after their dreams of starting the race to Auckland ahead of their rivals were shattered when they got stuck in a wind hole while leading the first stage of Leg 4.
Ken Read’s men had built up a seemingly uncatchable lead thanks to a faultless performance around the seven-mile inshore section of the stage – but no sooner had they turned Mar Mostro round to head for the finish line than their advantage was cruelly snatched from them.
Snared in a windless area between two coastal weather systems, the PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG crew could only watch as rest of the fleet avoided the same fate and sailed past just a few hundred metres away.
“I have never seen anything go so bad that started so good,” a despondent Read said after Mar Mostro finished almost 40 minutes behind stage winners Telefónica.
“We had a two-mile lead after sailing fantastically, then we parked in a hole and watched the whole fleet sail by literally a hundred feet away from us. We sat there for an hour and a half. It was just infuriating.”
PUMA bounced back from dismasting in Leg 1 to prove themselves feared opponents leading Legs 2 and 3 for long periods, but despite flashes of brilliance they have yet to taste glory in either an offshore or inshore race.
“I don’t mean to seem angry, but I’m angry,” Read said. “We’re an hour late into the dock. There’s nothing to take from it right now.
“We talked about what we’d do differently and we can’t figure it out, we just don’t know. We led the group into a transition and then next thing we knew the breeze disappeared.
“You just want to take a winch handle and throw it through the deck. That’s the reaction. So, we’ve got to regroup but it’s hard enough to not give these guys an hour over a whole leg, let along starting the leg that far behind. It’s a very frustrating way to start a leg.”
PUMA will restart Leg 4 at 23:39:17 UTC on Sunday following Telefónica’s start at 2300 UTC.
Credit : I.Roman/VOR
Ken Read’s men had built up a seemingly uncatchable lead thanks to a faultless performance around the seven-mile inshore section of the stage – but no sooner had they turned Mar Mostro round to head for the finish line than their advantage was cruelly snatched from them.
Snared in a windless area between two coastal weather systems, the PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG crew could only watch as rest of the fleet avoided the same fate and sailed past just a few hundred metres away.
“I have never seen anything go so bad that started so good,” a despondent Read said after Mar Mostro finished almost 40 minutes behind stage winners Telefónica.
“We had a two-mile lead after sailing fantastically, then we parked in a hole and watched the whole fleet sail by literally a hundred feet away from us. We sat there for an hour and a half. It was just infuriating.”
Credit : M. Bow/VOR
PUMA bounced back from dismasting in Leg 1 to prove themselves feared opponents leading Legs 2 and 3 for long periods, but despite flashes of brilliance they have yet to taste glory in either an offshore or inshore race.
“I don’t mean to seem angry, but I’m angry,” Read said. “We’re an hour late into the dock. There’s nothing to take from it right now.
“We talked about what we’d do differently and we can’t figure it out, we just don’t know. We led the group into a transition and then next thing we knew the breeze disappeared.
“You just want to take a winch handle and throw it through the deck. That’s the reaction. So, we’ve got to regroup but it’s hard enough to not give these guys an hour over a whole leg, let along starting the leg that far behind. It’s a very frustrating way to start a leg.”
PUMA will restart Leg 4 at 23:39:17 UTC on Sunday following Telefónica’s start at 2300 UTC.
