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Racing village getting ready to host Volvo Ocean Race TOURISM TRAIL

PORT OF CALL: The Kochi port has been attracting seafarers in their yachts for many years, despite having no marina.

A 2.5-acre racing village is getting ready at the BTP berth in Wellingdon Island, Kochi, to host participants of the Volvo Ocean Race, which is among the world’s three top sailing competitions.

Kochi is one among the 11 stopovers for the race that will cover 35,000 nautical miles over different continents and the three ports of call in Asia, the others being Singapore and Qingdao. The racers are scheduled to call at Kochi (from Cape Town, So uth Africa) in their yachts on December 3 and stay here for 10 days.

“The Kochi stopover would turn out to be both a sporting and a business event,” said Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust N. Ramachandran. Chief executive officers of foreign firms are expected to gather here and business conclaves have been planned with their Indian counterparts, he said. The firms would sponsor the yachts and some of them are expected to pool in over Rs.5 crore that is required to set up the racing village.

The port is in the process of readying infrastructure for the participants, business leaders and tourists who will witness the racers call at Kochi and the in-port races that have been planned here. “Work has started on the racing village. Apart from setting up fresh permanent amenities, existing ones will be upgraded. It would be a citizens’ event. Members of the public and tourists will have plenty of interesting races to witness,” said Mr. Ramachandran.

The marathon yacht race that starts from Spain on October 11, is also a prominent tourist attraction. The participants will then set sail for Singapore and call at six more ports till the race concludes at St. Petersberg, Russia on June 2009. The race is considered to be the largest and a very high-profile water sport extravaganza, held every four years. It is the water equivalent rally of the renowned Dakar car rally. The Volvo Ocean Race emphasises the importance of gradual design development, leading to easily driven, seaworthy yachts of high stability. This is because the need for safety and self-sufficiency is paramount.

Coinciding with the peak of the tourist season in the State, the race’s Kochi stopover will bring additional visitors to both Kochi and Kerala. Kerala Tourism, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and Yachting Association of India too are stakeholders of the event, which that will significantly enhance Kochi’s position on the world maritime map.

The Kochi stopover is being seen as a key component in India’s ongoing campaign to establish itself as a venue for hosting sporting events, following its successful bid to stage the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010. The race will give an impetus to water-sports activities in this part of the globe.

John L. Paul

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