PUMA enters Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012
Sportlifestyle Company to Compete Again in Around-the-World Ocean Race After Placing 2nd in the Last VOR
PUMA announced it will participate in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 after placing 2nd second overall in the 2008-2009 competition. The race, known as the “Everest of sailing,” begins in October 2011 in Alicante, Spain and ends in Galway, Ireland in June 2012. The eight stopovers in between include: Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya (China), Auckland, Itajai (Brazil), Miami, Lisbon and Lorient (France). The PUMA Ocean Racing team will once again be under the leadership of Skipper Ken Read. PUMA continues to produce and expand their line of sailing performance gear and remains the first Sportlifestyle company to participate in a venture of this kind. PUMA will also be the official supplier of all Volvo Ocean Race merchandise.
“We are proud of PUMA Ocean Racing‘s success in the last Volvo Ocean Race and look forward to the adventures this next race will bring,” said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA AG Chairman and CEO. “Both the team and the company hope to leverage the key lessons from the last VOR campaign in order to continue spreading the good will of the program and PUMA worldwide. The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the world’s iconic sporting events. It proved to be an extremely successful marketing tool for us and an important launch pad for the sailing product category. We look forward to building the sailing category even more throughout the next race, as well as expanding into other forms of outdoor lifestyle ventures.” Read more
The New York – Barcelona transoceanic sailing record vessels are ready to sail
The New York-Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record countdown has begun. Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered at the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden to take part in the inauguration of the Transoceanic Sailing Exhibit that includes a series of events throughout the city from March 26th through April 3rd, all leading up to the establishment of the first sailing record between New York and Barcelona. Two IMOCA Open 60s, the W Hotels and Estrella Damm, will leave New York harbor between April 5th through April 12th to arrive in Barcelona between April 20th and 30th.
Mike Hopper, Vice President of Sports Marketing of the New York City Sports Commission and Andor Serra, Managing Director of Fundacio Navegacio Oceanica Barcelona (FNOB), were part of the ribbon cutting celebration. Surrounding them was an audiovisual exhibit featuring information about the record, located across the North Cove Marina where the competing vessels are moored since Tuesday.
Both team’s skippers participated in the presentation: Alex Pella, Pepe Ribes and Stan Schreyer with Estrella Damm; and Pachi Rivero, Antonio Piris and Peter Becker with W Hotels. The New York Yacht Club, which is collaborating with the project, picked Edward Cesare as reserve skipper for both teams.
Both teams are also getting ready for an in-shore regatta to take place on April 3rd in New York harbor. The regatta will allow both vessels to measure their strength before embarking on their 3,750 nautical mile journey.
The departure of the vessels to Barcelona will take place between April 5th and the 12th, depending on the weather conditions that the skippers consider more appropriate for the fastest crossing. The winning team will receive the Prince of Asturias and Girona trophy, designed specifically for the occasion.
A cultural and educational program
Among the activities preceding the beginning of the record, the Sea & Olympics, Avelino Pi, Photography exhibit can be seen at the South Street Seaport Museum. The pictures focus on oceanic sailing with more than thirty pictures from one of the pioneers of sports photography in Spain. The exhibit is part of the NY-BCN record cultural program and is complemented by the NY-Barcelona Jazz Jam Session that will bring together a renowned quintet group from New York and Barcelona on April 2nd at the Jazz Standard in New York.
The Educational Program has also begun aimed at spreading the culture of sailing to first and second year students at schools throughout Barcelona and New York. The program will involve classroom activities and videoconferences with the sailors who have already visited the Brooklyn Harbor School. The students will also visit the boats tomorrow.
For more information about the event please visit www.ny-bcn.org. The site will also have a live streaming of the record, with daily updates every four hours.
Source: Fundacio Navegacio Oceanica Barcelona