Gotta Be The Shoes

A quick ten question hit with Ken Read, skipper of the just announced Puma sponsored VOR entry. Enjoy.

We're you surprised that Puma wanted to get involved?

KR:
Not after they told me what their plan is.  They are actively expanding markets into new sports and sailing was one of the next on their list.  I have a friend who introduced me to the company and we worked hard together for several months to see if this was something they wanted to do.  In the end it was definitely something they wanted to do and just the fact that other corporations left the last Volvo Race with such high praise for their investment made a great difference.  Puma is a very cool company that is going to be great for sailing in general!

What is the budget?

KR:
I think it is enough to be very competitive in this race.   

How many boats and who is your designer?

KR:
That will be announced soon.  We are cautious with information at this point not because we are going to be a super secret AC style team- but because Puma is a publicly traded company who is for the first time introducing their world to a new sport.  They just want to be careful with their announcements and also want to spread out the timing of the announcements a bit. 

With two boats, will you be looking  to do something significantly different, design or rig wise with one of them?

KR:
One or two boats is still an internal debate.

You guys have purchased AMRO Two. Is this for training and to establish a design baseline?

KR:
Both.  ABN 2 is a really good boat and will be perfect for what we need it for.  It will look good based here in Newport.  Where our program will be based out of by the way.  Hopefully we can use this for even more of a kick start to grand prix sailing in North America. 

Who have you lined up for the critical crew positions?

KR:
 No big announcements here but there is a core group that has been at it for about a month and a half now.  So, we aren't exactly fresh at this.  Kimo Worthington is the GM of the program and I couldn't have gotten this together without him.  Running Pirates, OneWorld, A cubed Girls etc. makes him as qualified as you can get for this job.  Also, a buddy of mine from college, Billy Lynn from Boston, was critical in the early stages helping get the program off the ground with the sponsor.  Billy was in the advertising business and worked some long hours putting the entire package together.  Those two are the critical crew positions in my view right now because without them this would not have happened. 

Are there some crew positions tbd? And can people try out? 

KR:
I don't know if we are going to do tryouts, but there are a lot of great sailors available and we have to be smart about our decisions.  There is only 10 crew total.  The three crew under 30 years old rule is a big one.  It all has to be factored in.  We aren't going to jump into this too quickly though.  We have hired our 11th crewmember who is the full time on board cameraman- new to this race.  Ricky Deppe went around the world aboard Chessie Racing and has a couple visits to the Bearing Sea under his belt as a photographer for Discovery Channel filming the "The Deadliest Catch".  I think he is qualified- do you think?

Who will build the boats and when do you plan on launching? 

KR:
TBD 

This is a brutal affair, how do you get your head into this endeavor?

KR:
I had a great experience with the Ericsson team the last four legs and I think I told you that I was hooked so to speak.  It is the right race, at the right time for me personally.  And I believe in the race with regard to corporate return.  So my guess is that I was believable when I talked about it to Puma.  Because I believe in the race and the adventure. 

Any idea what kind of sails you'll be using? Ha...

KR:
Starts with a N, ends with a h.  Throw an "ort" in the middle.  And like my sabbaticals during the America's Cups, Tom and Jay and the rest of the management team have been incredibly supportive with me continuing competitive sailing.

Good luck and I'm sure we'll be in touch.

KR:
Thanks Scot