Mother City adopts “il mostro” the monster of the seas

PUMA Ocean Racing’s il mostro (the monster) became the first boat in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race to be adopted by the Royal Cape Yacht Club and flew the club’s burgee (flag) for the duration of the stopover in Cape Town.

South African sailing legend John Martin, Commodore of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, welcomed il mostro to the Mother City after it crossed the finish line at 5pm local time to take second place in the first leg of the round the world yacht race.

“Due to the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s historical support towards trans-ocean international events and crew, the club has become known as ‘The Tavern of the Seas’, where sailors and their supporters of all colours and creeds can freely mix in a social environment. It is in this spirit that the club and members eagerly await the safe arrival of all participating vessels and look forward to the opportunity of adopting the il mostro,” said Martin.

Ronald Rink, Managing Director PUMA South Africa, said: “On behalf of PUMA, we are honoured to have the PUMA Ocean Racing Team and il mostro adopted by the Royal Cape Yacht Club. We would like to thank the Commodore, the staff and members of RCYC for the gesture and il mostro will proudly fly under the Royal Cape Yacht Club burgee for the duration of the Cape Town stopover.”

The adoption took place at the V&A Waterfront when the PUMA Ocean Racing team handed an il mostro burgee to the Martin, who in return handed over the club’s burgee.

The Volvo Ocean Race began in 1973 as the “Whitbread Round the World Race”. Today the 11-legs of the legendary yacht race take about nine months to complete as the world’s fastest monohulls cover 37 000 nautical miles in often dangerous waters. The race blends state-of-the-art design and technology, elite sporting performance and extreme adventure. It is a high-endurance, physically-challenging race, sailing continent to continent, in an easterly direction around the globe.

For more information about the race, team and PUMA sailing collections, visit www.pumaoceanracing.com.