Photos: L Cochin Port Trust R Keralatourism.org

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Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:30:00 UTC

Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, has been confirmed as the host port for the second stopover of the 2008-09 race.

The Indian stopover will come at the end of the second leg of the race from Cape Town, South Africa. Kochi will be the first of three new ports in Asia.

The seven yachts participating in the race will arrive in Kochi in December 2008 and will stay for 10 days, before starting leg three to Sentosa Island in Singapore. A race village spread over 2.5 acres will be set up near the BTP berth at Willingdon Island.

The booming shipping port on the Malabar Coast is one of India’s foremost tourist destinations and the race stopover is expected to bring thousands of additional visitors to both Kochi and the State of Kerala. The Kerala State Tourism Department envisages the event will bring significant visibility as well as economic benefit to the region.

Kochi’s selection was confirmed at an official ceremony at the Abad Plaza. Andy Hindley, Race Director, signed the port agreement along with Mr. N. Ramachandran, Chairman, Cochin Port Trust and Mr. KG Mohanlal, Managing Director, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation.

Also present at the press conference were Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Hon. Minister for Home, Vigilance and Tourism with Mr Cherian Philip, Chairman, KTDC and Dr. Venu, Secretary of Kerala Tourism.

The Yachting Association of India (YAI), an active advocate of the race coming to India, sees the hosting of a stopover as a key component in India’s ongoing campaign to establish itself as a venue for hosting major sporting events following its successful bid to stage the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.

“Hosting one of the world's top three sailing events will obviously boost any future bid to host major sailing as well as other sports events in India," said Commander Ajay Narang, Honorary Joint Secretary-General, YAI. “It will also be a tremendous fillip for local sailing,” he added.

In underlining the importance of the Indian stopover to the evolution of the race, Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: “It has always been part of our vision to take the race to different and wider audiences and we are delighted that Kochi has become part of that vision.

“India not only presents huge opportunities for the development of the event, but this coupled with the daunting challenges the competitors will face when racing their grand prix yachts in unfamiliar waters, will make the visit to India even more exciting for everyone involved.

“India has hundreds of millions of enthusiastic sports fans and we know they will enjoy this challenging race, with its passion, teamwork, adventure and excitement.”

Did you know that you can watch hours of race video at www.VolvoOceanRace.tv, the official Race TV channel for free!

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