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9:51 AM Sat 29 Nov 2008 GMT
For the first time in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race / Whitbread Round the World Race an Asian stopover will feature 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 Saturday evening local time.
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.
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.
Torben Grael looks set to make it a double. The skipper of Ericsson 4, the winner of leg one into Cape Town, is poised to repeat the feat later today, or overnight, in Cochin, India. On the 07:00 GMT report, Ericsson 4 was just 90 nautical miles from the finish line, and steaming along at 10 knots.
One should bear in mind that the forecast is for much lighter conditions on the final approach to Cochin, so that could still slip back a little. The boats are so sensitive to wind speed, that should they get a nice little cell to sail in, they may still show up on Saturday evening in Cochin.
Behind, Telefonica Blue (where navigator Simon Fisher spoke about the surge to second place with Guy Swindells) has done a nice job of consolidating their grip on second place. Now 110 miles behind the leader, they have stretched to 160 miles ahead of third-placed Ericsson 3.
Just eight miles separate Green Dragon, currently in fourth place, from Delta Lloyd, now in sixth. In between is PUMA in fifth. The boats are very close to each other, not just in distance to finish, but on the water, each is within sight of the others, making for stressful racing.
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 Positions - Leg Two, Saturday, Day 15: 0700 GMT
1 Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 90 nm
2 Telef?nica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +110
3 Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) +271
4 Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) +303
5 PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +307
6 Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) +311
7 Telef?nica Black ESP (Fernando Ech?varri/ESP) +339
8 Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) +560
by Volvo media
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Cape Leeuwin, WA
Foiling - Components (Wings,Masts,etc)
