The Volvo Ocean Race, one of sailing’s premier events, set to visit India for first time everMUMBAI: This year will see one of the most prestigious races in the sailing calendar finally visit India, as the Volvo Ocean Race, fondly known as the Formula 1 of sailing, will stop in Kochi, Kerala.
Formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, the entrants will begin in Alicante, Spain, and pass through North America and the Middle East, before visiting India. It will then move on to Singapore, and after South East Asia will finish in the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Communications giant Ericsson are fielding two boats for the race, one of which is moored off Mumbai this week. Sailing involves professionalism and perseverance, according to the sponsors, and the experiences of the crew at least bear half of that out. Spending an average of 20 days out to sea at a time, the crew works on a four-hours-on, four-off shift pattern, but will often go without sleep for long periods in difficult conditions.
The boats themselves are majestic from a distance and equally impressive up-close. At 75ft long, and with a mainsail topping 80ft, the delicately engineered vessel has been built with the intention of making the best craft that technology allows, and costs its owners several million dollars for each race. Inside, although cramped, the navigational systems and efficient space usage makes for a serviceable condition for a crew to spend eight months inside.
Those months will amount to around 80,000km travelled by the boats before the race finally comes to its close. Starting in October, there will be a ten-day stopover at Kochi in December, when the crews will take a rest and repair the boats while the various corporate sponsors go into marketing overdrive.
Unfortunately, Mumbai is unlikely to see the race passing through its own harbour. These boats go as far as 7.5 metres deep, and the harbour in the city is too shallow to accommodate that.
