The seven teams in the Volvo Ocean Race were gearing up today for the Boston in-port race. Telefonica Blue was heavily favored to win tomorrow’s race in light of wind predictions and past performance. However, there were hints that Puma might have a home-field advantage with skipper Ken Read’s experience in the area.

Winds are predicted to reach a max of ten knots. Blue produced winning results in Alicante, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where wind conditions topped at 9 and 8 knots respectively. In Qingdao, where the breeze was even lighter, Blue took second. The team holds the best in-shore record. Ken Read of Puma, Ian Walker of Green Dragon and Torben Grael of Ericsson 4 all acknowledged that weather predictions favor the Spanish boat.

Read, however, thinks that in this case proximity may be a disadvantage.

“It is a bit of a myth that we have sailed in these waters a lot,” Read said. “Between [Massachusetts] Avenue and the BU Bridge on the Charles River, I’ve probably sailed about 1,000 races there when I was at Boston University. But unfortunately, we are out in the outer harbor.” Yesterday marked only the third time Read had been in that particular body of water.

Puma, which trails behind Telefonica Blue by only half a point, has a chance to reclaim 2nd place in tomorrow’s race. However, Read is concentrating on personal performance.

“I think that we have to just continue to sail well, not to put any undue pressure on the team that isn’t already there,” Read said. “There is plenty of pressure, believe me… in performing in your hometown or home region.”

As the Volvo Ocean Race is steaming forward as planned, there have been a few important behind-the-scenes changes in the past few days. Thursday, months of negotiations culminated in an official agreement to move VOR headquarters from England to Alicante, Spain. Knut Frostad, CEO of the VOR, said it makes sense economically to have the race based in one of the stopover ports, and that Spain has consistently shown it understands event culture and competition organization. The last two races launched from Spain.

The VOR will stay there for at least three more race editions. Spain is ensured to have two separate teams in each race. In addition, the agreement includes construction of a race museum that will celebrate the event’s (originally the Whitbread Round the World Race) 36-year history.

It was also announced that Volvo AB and Ford, owner of Volvo Cars, will fund the next race. The budget is believed to top $33.5 million.

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