KOCHI: The departure ceremony here after the ten-day stopover was one of the most spectacular the Volvo Ocean Race has ever witnessed, according to the race’s organizers.

“The Indian people, while unfamiliar with this race and its history, have shown incredible enthusiasm on this first visit to Asia,” the event’s international organizers said in a statement here. “From whatever angle you view this stopover — commercial, altruistic or just spreading the popularity of the event — it has been a great success courtesy of the interest and friendliness of the people that have numbered upward of 50,000 every day”.

Ken Read, the PUMA skipper, said, “India has taken in this race with open arms and the race has taken India in with open arms. It has proved to all involved that this could be one of the best decisions ever made in boat racing to bring the race to this part of the world.”

The eight-strong Volvo Ocean Race fleet, which arrived from Cape Town on Dec. 3, left Kochi for Singapore on Saturday on its 1950 nautical mile leg three. The yachts are now racing south of a line set between two waypoints south of Sri Lanka, put in place by race organizers to keep the fleet south of the coast and the possible intrusion by pirates.

Once round the waypoint, the fleet will then face a 1000 nautical mile beat toward Sumatra and the scoring gate set off the entrance to the Malacca Straits.

The eight yachts representing seven nations set out from the Spanish port of Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 for the 10th edition of one of sport’s most grueling and hazardous events. The finishing line in the race of 37,000 nautical miles is in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the yachts are expected in June.

Thousands of people, including a large number of foreigners, thronged the Volvo Ocean Race Village as the ten-day stopover celebrations got under way in the last week of November.

The world’s toughest ocean race described as the Everest of sailing was coming to India for the first time in its long history (three and a half decades) and the Kerala port city was its only stopover in India .

The authorities expect it to give much impetus to the state’s tourism industry hit by the global financial mayhem. The race village spread over two acres of land on Willingdon Island offered free entry to the visitors.

Kochi has already the status of India’s most favored destination for cruise lines luxury yachts. It had the highest number of cruise vessels in the country with 43 vessels calling during 2007-2008.