Two awards for PUMA Ocean Racing
by Volvo Ocean Race media 17 Feb 2012 11:08 GMT
16 February 2012
Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 Prize Giving © Ian Roman / Volvo Ocean Race
Amory Ross took home the Leg 3 Inmarsat Media Crew Member Award on a busy awards night for the PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG crew. The team also won a second consecutive DHL Shore Crew Award, as both awards were presented during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 Leg 3 prizegiving ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 16, in Sanya, China.
"It's nice to be rewarded for the effort that goes into it,” Ross said. “A couple of years ago when I decided this was something I wanted to do, the level of the MCM role wasn't the standard it is today. Now we've all worked really hard to make it a vital role that shares this sport and this race with everyone.”
Ross was honored for his work during Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi, UAE, to Sanya, China, that included a stop in the Maldives. Throughout the leg, as with each leg of the race, Ross provided daily blogs, photos, video and audio reports, documenting the team’s journey. He shared the adventure of passing through the Malacca Strait and the team’s easterly route through the Dangerous Grounds. He also coordinated media interviews and live satellite broadcasts from onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro. Ross was one of three finalists for the award, including Hamish Hooper from CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and Nick Dana from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
PUMA has now captured back-to-back DHL Shore Crew awards, also winning for Leg 2 from Cape Town, South Africa, to Abu Dhabi. The Leg 3 journey to Sanya was raced in two parts due to the threat of piracy, with shore teams required to load the boats on and off a large container ship. The award honors the “unsung heroes” of the race – boat builders, sail makers, riggers, technical experts, logistics team and more – who enable the teams to compete successfully.
Earlier in the day, the PUMA crew was presented with the IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge trophy for the furthest 24 hour run during the third leg – an award announced after finishing the leg. PUMA’s Mar Mostro posted a 24-hour run of 355.89 nautical miles on the final stretch up the Vietnam coast into Sanya.