INS Mandovi (Goa): As the six crew members of INSV Tarini that include two women officers, are returning home tomorrow after successfully completing a 17000-nautical mile-long trans-ocean inter-continental voyage in seven months, the Indian Navy is all set to receive them at the ‘Flag in’ ceremony at the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), here.
The grand ceremony tomorrow will be attended by Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, as the Guest of Honour and Dr Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa, as the Chief Guest. Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, and Rani Rampal, ex-Captain of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team, will be in attendance.
The current sailing expedition of INSV Tarini is part of the run-up towards the Navy’s next big project to send a woman to circumnavigate the globe – Solo.
The crew’s extraordinary courage, resilience, and unwavering spirit will be showcased during this momentous event. Of particular note are the two women officers, Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A, who participated in the entire expedition, demonstrating the power of women empowerment. Both undertook the challenging voyage from Goa to Rio de Janeiro, via Cape Town and back, sailing for an impressive 188 days on the vessel. Other participants include Capt Atool Sinha, Lt Cdr Ashutosh Sharma, Lt Aviral Keshav, Cdr Nikhil Hegde, Cdr MA Zulfikar, Cdr Divya Purohit, and Cdr AC Doke.
The Indian Navy has been actively promoting ocean sailing, and this expedition is part of its mission to circumnavigate the globe. Captain Dilip Donde became the first Indian to achieve this feat in 2009-2010, followed by Cdr Abhilash Tomy, who became the first Asian skipper to participate in two circumnavigations.
Recently during Golden Globe Race 2022, GGR, an east bound non-stop circumnavigation race starting and finishing in Les Sables d’ Olonne France and which bars participants from using modern cutting-edge navigational equipment, Cdr Abhilash Tomy (retd) accomplished the rare feat of getting a podium finish completing the gruelling course in second position.
The Navika Sagar Parikrama, a previous sailing expedition by six women naval officers, further increased the popularity of ocean sailing within the navy and the country. The current voyage of INSV Tarini is a significant step towards the Navy’s upcoming endeavor to send a woman on a solo circumnavigation of the globe.
The officers who participated in this expedition were selected through a rigorous process at the Ocean Sailing Node (OSN) established at INS Mandovi on August 24, 2016. The OSN, under the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA) based in New Delhi, aims to promote and undertake ocean sailing activities.
– global bihari bureau
