Volvo Ocean Race begins 2nd leg to India

Kochi, Nov 15 (UNI) The Volvo Ocean Race (VOR), described as the ultimate mix of sports, glamour and business, set sail for Kochi from Cape Town, South Africa, on the second leg of the world's premier yacht race, which is to stop over in India for the first time.

The yachts started from Cape Town at 1630 hrs. (IST) in fine weather with the wind below Five Knots/hour, information received here said.

Kochi is to be only stopover for the race in India. The yachts are expected here on December 3 for a ten-day break, before starting on leg 3 for Singapore.

The Puma, Green Dragon and Erricson 4 teams were in the front line and the rest four in the second line. When the gun fired, Puma got a perfectly timed start. Outpacing most of the spectator fleet, and most of the rest of the race boats as well, they went to the best of the breeze, the organisers said.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports, and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

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