The crew of Drumstick after finishing last year’s race in Nha Trang.

The third international yacht race from Hong Kong to Vietnam will open October 15 and dock in the beach resort town of Nha Trang on October 17.

VinaCapital Group, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and Saigontourist Travel Service (STS) will jointly organize the VinaCapital Hong Kong – Vietnam International Yacht Race 2008, STS said in a statement Thursday.

The biennial event aims to promote Vietnam as a major tourism and foreign investment destination.

More than 100 professional crewmembers in 10 yachts from countries including Hong Kong, New Zealand, England and China will compete in the race, organizers said.

The race will start at 11 a.m. (12 a.m. Hong Kong time) in Hong Kong on October 15 and traverse more than 1,000 km in about 48 hours before arriving Nha Trang on October 17.

All the yachts will be displayed in front of Nha Trang Town square before the award ceremony at the Nha Trang Sailing Club on October 19.

After the race’s successes in 2004 and 2006, organizers decided to keep Nha Trang as home of the official finish line, Chief Operating Officer of VinaCapital Group Brook Taylor said.

Quach Minh Due, the investment director of VinaCapital, will join the crew of racing yacht Shahtoosh as the very first Vietnamese female crewmember to enter the race.

Fourteen yachts competed in 2004 and 13 in 2006.

Yacht racing is popular in many Asia Pacific countries but is still relatively unknown in Vietnam.

Reported by Vinh Bao