On a warm, clear evening, the Volvo Ocean Race celebrated its own and paid tribute to what has been a spectacular stopover. With thousands in the race village to join in the celebrations, this was a memorable prize-giving ceremony.

As for the awards themselves, for the second consecutive occasion, Ericsson 4 scored the double, earning not just the leg win, but the highest 24-hour run (522 nautical miles) on the leg as well. Skipper Torben Grael said it wasn’t easy.

“It was quite windy soon after we left Cape Town and although the wind was similar to when we set the record in leg one, the waves were far more difficult. There was a lot of slamming and sudden stops,” he explained.

Telefonica Blue, the second place finisher in Cochin were also able to share in the celebration of Media Crew Member Gabriele Olivo, who was presented with the Inmarsat Media Award. His coverage of the leg was superb, in particular his videos showing the team breaking a daggerboard and the aftermath of that incident.

Green Dragon was in the hunt for a fourth place finish on this leg right up until the final 12 hours of sailing. What made that so impressive was they’d sailed the majority of the leg without a boom, having broken it in strong winds. For their efforts, the team was presented with the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Seamanship Award.

Finally, the third place finisher in Cochin, Ericsson 3, were exuberant as they came on stage to collect their trophy for the final podium position.

The teams and organisers all paid tribute to Cochin, Kerala and India for the generous and warm hospitality extended to the race and the crews on this first ever stopover in Asia.