Singapore confirmed as Asian stopover of Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Singapore will host a stopover for the 2008-09 race. It is the first time in the 34-year history of the event that a southeast Asian destination has been included in the route.

The fleet, which is scheduled to stop over in Singapore in late December 2008, will call at the resort island of Sentosa and be based at the new, state-of-the-art One Degree 15 Marina Club, one of Asia’s leading marinas.

The Singapore announcement follows the recent confirmation of another first - the race finish in the historic Russian port of St. Petersburg.

Glenn Bourke, Volvo Ocean Race CEO welcomed the new southeast Asian stopover.

“Singapore is vastly experienced in managing major sporting events and, as a testament to this, has just recently acquired the Formula One Grand Prix. The facilities provided to us by One Degree 15 on Sentosa Island will be world class,” he said.

Arthur Tay, director of ONE Degree 15 Singapore Ocean Race Pte Ltd and chairman of One Degree 15, said: “We are privileged to host such a high-profile event like the Volvo Ocean Race, often referred to as the F1 of the sailing world. Singapore is fast gaining a reputation as an international sailing hub and an exciting lifestyle destination. Now we are all set to welcome the world’s fastest ocean racing yachts. These are truly exciting times for Singapore.”

Singapore will stage the second in-port race of the series (the first will be in Alicante, Spain, ahead of the leg one start) and it will provide a dramatic backdrop to the inshore racing.

The selection of Singapore marks another milestone in the 2008-09 iteration of the race after the decision to take the offshore odyssey through Asia.

The race route is nearing finalisation with the offshore start set for Alicante on 11 October, 2008.