Kerala - Kochi   

Volvo Ocean Race agreement signed

— Photo: Vipinchandran

Spirit of sports: Andy Hindley, Director of Volvo Ocean Race, hands over a memento to Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in the city on Friday. K.V. Thomas, MLA, left, is seen.

Kochi: Kochi is all set to hew out a significant place on the world maritime map by playing host to the Volvo Ocean Race 2008, the agreement for which was signed here on Friday.

Race Director Andy Hindley and K.G. Mohanlal, Managing Director, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), signed the deal, in the presence of Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

Dozens of seafarers participating in the event are expected to call at Kochi in their yachts on December 3 (from Cape Town), making the port city among the three stopovers in Asia. This is the first time that the race is passing through Asia, making the Kochi stopover a historic one. The Volvo race is the world’s premier offshore round the world yacht race, considered one of the most demanding team-sporting events.

The race, which is expected to bring in thousands of high-end tourists to Kochi, will begin from Alicante in Spain in October 2008, and conclude at St. Petersburg, Russia, in July 2009, covering 39,000 nautical miles.

Making a presentation on the race and later interacting with presspersons, Mr. Hindley said that he was very impressed on learning the history of seafaring in India. The visiting yachts will be anchored at one of the berths provided by the Cochin Port Trust, a key player among the hosts.

After Spain and South Africa, the race will pass through Kochi, Singapore, China, Brazil, the U.S., Ireland, Sweden and Russia. As of now, there are seven entries. The participants spend half the nine-month journey ashore.

A few Olympic gold medallists in yachting are among the participants in the race. Kerala Tourism and agencies such as the Yachting Association of India will help to publicise and promote the event.

Interacting with presspersons after signing the agreement, Mr. Hindley said the city had a host of attractions that made the race prefer it to Mumbai.

“The enthusiasm and backing of the Cochin Port Trust and Kerala Tourism was phenomenal. Kochi is blessed with deep waters off the port and has a wide channel that provides an arena for people to view the race,” he said.

“The port city also has facilities to host in-port races. We needed some open space on the shore to create a race village and Kochi fits the bill.”

V. Venu, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, said sponsors were expected to pool funds of around Rs. 5 crore for readying facilities for the racers, tourists and the general public.

“We expect to accommodate them in 1,200 hotel rooms, spread over Kochi, Kumarakom and Alappuzha. The organisers will bring in over 10,000 guests, mainly VIPs and corporate heads, from within India and outside,” he said.

“The spin-off benefits and media publicity gained by Kerala will be tremendous, especially since the State needs more visibility in places such as the U.S. The racers will have to carry out major repairs on their yachts, generating income for boat-builders here.”

He said the ocean race was the ultimate in endurance sports and was often called the Everest of sailing. The yachts needed to be almost rebuilt after every leg of the race, since they were put to the ultimate test.

Hotels have been asked to block rooms for the participants and others connected with the event.

The Navy will play an important role in the race, advising and helping with technical requirements.

N. Ramachandran, Chairman of the port trust, said that geographically, Kochi was ideally placed to host the racers, since the city was close to the international shipping route.

“The port is being positioned as a people’s port. We are in the process of developing a world-class cruise terminal in Kochi,” he said. “The consultants have submitted a report and work will begin in a few months time. It will have a Kerala village, where the ethnic cuisine and culture will be showcased.”

The ocean race will be a precursor to India’s first marina, soon to come up on land owned by the KTDC on Bolghatty Island, said Cherian Philip, Chairman of the corporation.

“Kochi is all set to become the entry point for tourists visiting the country,” Mr. Philip said.

K.V. Thomas and K. Babu, MLAs, spoke. Senior Naval officers were present.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Volvo race director upbeat about Kochi
Hartal: government told to file affidavit High Court Round-up
Lalithakala Akademi awards announced
Worker killed in quarry accident
Volvo Ocean Race agreement signed
Fishermen rescued
Best coconut farmer award
Supplyco shops open today
Medical park to come up
Winter school begins
Minister orders strict vigil at quarries
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu