Puma was in second place when it struck trouble. Photo / AP
Puma became the third yacht in the Volvo Ocean race fleet to sustain serious damage when its mast broke today, forcing the U.S. entrant to retire from the first leg from Spain to South Africa.
American skipper Ken Read's crew had led for much of the opening stage and was in second place when the rig broke as the yacht sailed through rough conditions in the South Atlantic.
A statement from Puma said nobody was injured and all pieces of the mast and all sails had been recovered from the water before the yacht headed for the island of Tristan da Cunha.
"We've just withdrawn from the leg,'' Read said in the statement. "As you can imagine, there aren't a lot of smiles right now, but one way to make it even worse would be to proclaim that there wasn't a chance to make the next leg.
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"This is about earning points in this race. We think by sacrificing points on this first leg, it gives us a chance to actually earn points for the second leg and the In-Port Race. So, that's our goal.''
Abu Dhabi and Sanya have previously been forced to pull out of the first leg with damage to their boats.
Spanish team Telefonica leads the race ahead of Camper and French boat Groupama.
The second leg from Cape Town to Abu Dhabi starts on Dec. 11.
- AP
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