Boats, marine and boating trends

Portsmouth, England, January 18, 2008 - Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala, is confirmed as the host of the second stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in December 2008. 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.

At the Abad Plaza in Kochi today, the stopover port agreement was signed by Andy Hindley, Race Director for the Volvo Ocean Race; Mr. N. Ramachandran, Chairman, Kochi 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 and Dr. Venu, Secretary of Kerala Tourism.

The Kochi Port Trust, which will be responsible for organising the stopover, with the full backing of the Kerala Tourism Department, welcomed the signing of the port agreement today and is confident that the stopover will give Kochi great exposure.

"India has never hosted such a prestigious sailing event and we are very excited that Kochi has been chosen," said Mr. Ramachandran.    » read more »