KhanhHoa (VNA) – International sailors concluded their over 1,200-kmjourney from Hong Kong (China) to Vietnam’s central coastal city of NhaTrang onOctober 21, with the first prize awarded to Mascalzone Latino of Italy.

The second and third prizes of the eighth Hong Kong-NhaTrang InternationalYacht Race went to Ambush and Freefire, both from Hong Kong.

Departing from Victoria Port in Hong Kong on October 17, 170 sailors from theUK, Italy, China, Russia, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong steered 13 boats toconquer the long journey which took place during the typhoon season.

Launched in 2004, the biennialtournament is organisedby the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club, VinaCapital VietnamOpportunity Fund Ltd, and other partners, aiming to promote tourism in Nha Trangcity, Khanh Hoa province and encourage yacht racing as a sport.


Randy Dobson, Chairman of CaliforniaManagement Group, said Vietnam has a beautiful coastline, which has been seenas an ideal destination for many international boat races.

He suggested Vietnamese localities duplicate similar competitions which targetVietnamese coastal cities.

Khanh Hoa aims towelcome 5.5 million tourists this year, a year-on-year rise of 17 percent,including 1.7 million foreigners, according to the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism.

The locality is seeking the government’s recognition of Nha Trang as a marineeco-tourism urban area and northern Cam Ranh peninsula as a national tourismsite.-VNA