29.11.08
Leg Two Day 15
A WARM WELCOME AWAITS IN COCHIN
With the Volvo Ocean Race fleet poised to descend on the stopover port of Cochin, India this weekend, the race village is taking shape as the finishing touches are applied. This marks the first time in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race / Whitbread Round the World Race that an Asian stopover has featured on the itinerary.
On Saturday morning the first boat to finish leg two was projected to be Ericsson 4, due to arrive in Cochin, in the India state of Kerala, as early as this evening local time, and all preparations in the race village are focussed on that target. Wind conditions are forecast to be quite variable, so that ETA could move forward or back as the day progresses.
The stopover facilities are stretched across two acres on Willingdon Island, just off Cochin proper. Infrastructure in the area has been given a serious upgrade under the watchful eye of the Cochin Port Trust’s chairman, N Ramachandran.
“A lot of hard work from a lot of people has gotten the site to this stage,” Ramachandran said. “The race is arriving ahead of schedule (originally the boats weren’t expected until Wednesday) but we will be able to get everything ready for then. A lot of people have worked hard on this.”
Although India has been shaken by a terrible terrorist attack 1,000 kilometres to the north, in Mumbai, stopover officials here are determined that nothing detracts from the events scheduled over the next two weeks. Security has been stepped up but Ramachandran is expecting healthy visitor numbers through the village.
“We believe that at least 50,000 to 100,000 people will be visiting the race village on the important dates, such as arrivals and departures,” Ramachandran revealed. “On the days in between we are expecting at least 50,000 footfalls.”
The majority of visitors are expected to be locals and domestic tourists from elsewhere in India, but the local organisers hope that foreigners and teams will discover what Kerala is all about. To underline their point, National Geographic Traveller magazine described the region as one of the “10 paradises of the world”.
Volvo Ocean Race Leaderboard
Leg Two – Day 15: 0700 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 90 nm
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +110
Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +271
Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +303
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +307
Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +311
Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) +339
Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +560
For media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact:
Lizzie (Green) Ward – Senior Race Press Officer (Race HQ - UK)
Tel: +44 1489 554 832 Mob: +44 7801 185 320
Email: lizzie.ward@volvooceanrace.org
Visit www.volvooceanrace.org http://www.volvooceanrace.org for all the latest news!
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