Ken "Kenny" Read is an All American sailor who calls Newport, RI home and dreams to sail around the World. When the opportunity to make dream reality presented itself through the support of PUMA, global lifestyle company, he took a sabbatical from being the Vice-President of North Sails. North Sails is the largest maker and provider of sails for the marine industry.
World Class Ocean Racing Team
Kenny is one of the world's most decorated sailors with over 40 titles of recognition to his name. These awards grant him the opportunity to organize the best team of sailors to carry the PUMA brand around the world:
- Andrew Cape, 43, Great Britain
- Michael "Michi" Muller, 24, Germany
- Rob "Salty" Salthouse, 41, New Zealand
- Casey Smith, 29, Australia
- Jerry Kirby, 51, United States
- Jonathan McKee, 47, United States
- Justin Ferris, 32, New Zealand
- Sidney Gavignet, 39, France
- Chris Nicholson, 37, Australia
- Rick Deppe, 43, United States (Media Crew Member)
International Collaboration and Team Work
One person may be able to sail around the world solo, however, it will still take a collaboration of international people and extreme team work for it to be a successful venture. This team is an American entry built around people from around the world with skills to cover every need possible from building the boat, logistics, sailing the boat and looking after the health of each crew-member. The list of jobs is tremendous, though the first task Kenny and crew had to tackle was building the perfect boat.
The Perfect Boat For Around The World Race
She was christened "il mostro", meaning "the monster" in Italian. At a length of 70 feet, height of 105 feet and capable of reaching top speeds of 40+ knots, could potentially be the boat to beat in this year's event. il mostro is a second-generation Volvo Open 70 that was designed by Botin-Carkeek and built at Goetz Custom Boats in Bristol, Rhode Island, in conjunction with Customline Yachts.
Like all the Volvo 70s that participate in the race, it’s most notable characteristic is the canting keel. il mostro is able to cant the entire keel 40 degrees out to the windward side. This feature makes the boat extremely stable, similar to the current America’s Cup class, but with a boat which weighs 10,000kg less.
il mostro’s graphic design was conceived by PUMA and based on the look of one of PUMA’s most iconic and popular shoes called the “Mostro.” The sole of the shoe wraps around the bottom of the boat to give it a full 3-D visual impact when the boat is heeling. Sails are red with a giant black Leaping Cat logo that showcases an embroidered look. She's truly the most impressive looking boat in the entire fleet!
Amazing Race
Team Puma at the publishing of this article was leading the fleet by seven miles on Leg One from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa, however this amazing race is a test of endurance and patience. One really needs to follow the story and use there imagination of what it must be like to sail and life-size sneaker around the world.
References:
- Media Kit Provided by Puma Ocean Race
- Volvo Ocean Race Main Site
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