The VOR 2008-09 currently looks more like the VolvoOrientalRace than Ocean Race. After Alicante, who signed up as start port some months ago, the next country to sign on the dotted line as host port was China, and now India has signed up as a stopover port too.

It looks likely that the southwestern port of Kochi, a booming shipping port on the Malabar Coast, will be the chosen port for the stopover on the new race route through the Middle East and Asia.

‘India has never hosted such a prestigious sailing event and we are very excited that the Volvo Ocean Race is considering Kochi as a serious candidate for the competition,’ said the Chairman of the Kochi Port Trust, Mr N. Ramachandran.