Events with Asian taste are planned for Volvo Ocean Race stop-over

ALICANTE (Spain): Sailing fans can expect an Asian twist to the Volvo Ocean Race when it drops anchor in Singapore next January.

Arthur Tay, chairman of host venue One Degree 15 Marina Club and promoter and organiser of the stopover One15 Singapore Ocean Race, said: 'In Singapore, we'll do something that is uniquely Singapore and something that will add an Asian flavour.

'For example, we will hold a dragon boat race, which the European community might not have seen before.

'We will introduce our own surprises to them.'

Tay was among a group of Singaporeans who were in Spain over the weekend to witness the launch of the prestigious yacht race with the eight-boat 'in-port' regatta in Alicante.

The group included representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Singapore Tourism Board and SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping.

This is the 10th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, which features 70-foot, single-hull boats doing battle with each other across the world's oceans. It had started out in 1973 as the Whitbread race.

Next Saturday, the teams will begin their gruelling journey around the world.

They will cover 37,000 nautical miles, cross five oceans and four continents, and visit 11 ports around the world. All in nine months. No wonder it is known as the 'Everest of Sailing'.

This year, the race, which has traditionally been a largely European affair, will cross the Indian Ocean for the first time. As such, Singapore - the fourth port of call - is unchartered territory.

The next in-port regatta will be during the three-week stopover at Sentosa Cove's One Degree 15 Marina Club.

Low, who is also vice-president of the International Sailing Federation, is sure an exciting in-port race is in store in the waters off East Coast Parkway.

'The wind conditions will be challenging for the teams,' he said of the north-east monsoon that is expected to be a factor in the Jan 10 race.

'Wind speeds can be from a low of seven knots to a high of 14 knots. If we can get that range, we can expect a good racing event.'

Race boats aside, Singaporeans can expect to see a host of watercraft, including super-yachts of more than 65 feet, mega-yachts of more than 80 feet, and the high-speed 'Extreme 40' catamarans.

Tay is mindful that he and his team will have to pull out all the stops in order to win over the expected crowd of up to 100,000 during the three-week period from Dec 22 to Jan 18.

He said: 'We are thinking about how they will remember the Singapore stopover and how it is different from others, so they will keep coming back again.'

There are plans for a concert stand in the Race Village, with performances every night. But the line-up of artistes and celebrities has yet to be firmed up.

But, if the weekend activities in Alicante are anything to go by, then both sailing and non-sailing fans will be set for an enthralling time come January.

About 700 spectator boats littered the Mediterranean port, while thousands more watched from the Race Village as Spain's Telefonica yachts took top honours on Saturday.

One popular vantage point was the 500m-long purpose-built platform overlooking the sea, which boasted close to 3,000 spectators.

Englishman Ronald Forster, 63, who is here on holiday with his wife, said: 'This is just a perfect view of the race. This is so much more than what I expected.'

But it was not just the action on the seas that piqued the interest of the 37,000 visitors. At the Race Village, they could experience what the sailors go through on board a simulator, play with remote-controlled boats and board a replica of the first ship that went around the world.

Activities such as a Bryan Adams concert that was a hit with the 10,000-strong crowd kept the village alive through the night.

Come December, Singapore will also be looking to take the sailing world by storm.

Singapore to China leg 'will be toughest'

ALICANTE: The 2,500-nautical-mile journey from Singapore to Qingdao, China, is the sixth-longest leg in sailing's Volvo Ocean Race.

But do not let distances fool you, for it could well pose the greatest challenge to the eight teams.

Green Dragon Team skipper Ian Walker said: ' I think it's going to be the toughest leg of the race. I'm sure we'll get the most upwind, the coldest weather and some of the roughest seas. It represents a huge challenge.'

During this fourth leg of the 10-leg race, teams are expected to experience two extreme sets of conditions.

'We will be going from the hottest to coldest part of the race,' added Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist.

Puma Ocean Racing skipper Ken Read agreed that the Singapore-Qingdao route requires special attention.

The two-time US Rolex Yachtsman of the Year said: 'I'll have to admit that I'm not looking forward to that leg. Our weather forecasters say that could be a really hard leg.'

Come January, the boats will be tested to the limit.

'These boats aren't made to go upwind that's 30 to 40 knots, which is what it'll be at the strait that we have to go through,' said Read. 'It's a notorious, horrible place to sail. We've to make sure we get to China in one piece.'

Without giving too much details away, he said that preparations for this leg of the race would be different.

He said: 'We may change the sails, we may change how we sail... there are a bunch of subtle things we could do in order to prepare as best as we can.'

If you thought the teams might get a breather after the fourth leg, think again. The longest leg - a 12,300-nautical-mile marathon from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - will follow right after.