Six teams to compete in sailing race

Vice-Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Naval Command, will flag off the event.

The teams will sail up to Androth Island and head back to Kochi where they will be flagged in on Jan 14, a press release here said.

The race is being conducted by Offshore Sailing Club (OSC) which operates under the aegis of the Yachting Association of India (YAI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Ocean sailing as a sport had got a fillip in this part of the country when Volvo Ocean Race had stopped over at Kochi for the first time in India in 2008. OSC dedicated to promote ocean sailing has been conducting such races since then.

Majority of the yachting championships are restricted to within 50 Km of the coast said Captain Jaswinder Singh, the Secretary of OSC.

Offshore races however demand considerable support structures which include race monitoring and stand by search and rescue capabilities he added.

This edition, the fourth in the series, is sponsored by Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Associate sponsors are Ocean Blue, Pepsi, Club Mahindra and Air Arabia.