01/12/2012 09:44 am

PUMA wins Shore Crew Award for Leg 2

DHL recognizes PUMA’s exceptional behind-the-scenes efforts during leg 2 of the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race

DHL presented Team PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG with the second-ever awarded DHL Shore Crew Award at the first-ever Race Village on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche Breakwater. The crew overcame many obstacles and the media team was singled out for some innovative work that attracted considerable media attention in Abu Dhabi, the race’s first-ever Middle East stopover.

This new award honors the ‘unsung heroes’ behind the Volvo Ocean Race – the boat builders, sail makers, PR teams and so many more – who help make the race happen and enable the teams to compete successfully. The two runners up were CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

Pure efficiency

In Leg 2 of the world’s premier round-the-world yacht race, PUMA’s shore crew was the essence of efficiency, readying their boat overnight to prepare for the In-Port Race and the start of Leg 2 in Cape Town.

Team PUMA Ocean Racing was the last to reach Cape Town after their boat lost its rig in the South Atlantic in Leg 1 and had to be transported by container ship to the southern tip of South Africa. Arriving only two days before the In-Port Race, PUMA’s shore crew literally repaired and readied the boat over night so that the boat crew could hit the water and practice the next day.

A major comeback

Three weeks later Skipper Ken Read and his team completed a major comeback by placing in the top three in the first stage of Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi – a feat that wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of the shore crew. “The boat was back in one solid piece and our mast problems were behind us,” he said.

It was a remarkable comeback considering the fact that the team had little or no rest since the start of the epic ocean race in October.

Another first

The history-making stopover in Abu Dhabi gathered even more media attention as a result of the efforts of PUMA’s media team. Particular mention was made of the team’s latest move – another race first – to fly in a team of bloggers to cover the Abu Dhabi stopover. DHL couldn’t help but reward such a pioneering effort.

The new DHL Shore Crew Award

Enabling others to do business is precisely what DHL is all about. The crucial characteristics of an award-winning shore crew embody DHL’s core brand values of speed, teamwork and reliability. The shore crew makes it possible for the team to compete just as DHL – the Official Logistics Partner of the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race – helps to make the race possible.

Each shore crew is evaluated leg by leg by a special panel of judges appointed to evaluate the teams’ performances based on a set of criteria. In addition to the winners of each leg, shore crews accumulate points during the race, culminating in an overall winner in Galway, Ireland after the final leg of the race.

Shore crews work on extremely tight schedules and are held to the highest standards. They are responsible for multi-million dollar team kits and equipment. This, too, mirrors DHL’s role in the race, which is to ensure that the team kits reach the ports safely and on time and to be available around the clock to express deliver spare parts for the teams when needed.

 

Keep up with the action at http://www.volvooceanrace.com.

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