On Saturday morning, before the Sun could rise, an Indian Navy team, which includes three women, left on a sailing expedition from Goa to Port Louis in Mauritius. The six-member crew will cover a distance of almost 2500 nautical miles (4500 km nonstop over a period of 20 – 21 days amid extreme weather and rough sea conditions due to the monsoon.
The vessel is being skippered by one of the most experienced Indian Navy yachtsmen Capt VD Meherishi. The crew members include Cdr Vikas Sheoran, Lt Cdr Payal Gupta, Lt Cdr Kaushal Pednekar, Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A.
The Indian Navy has six ocean going Indian Naval Sailing Vessels (INSVs) which include Mhadei, Tarini, Bulbul, Hariyal, Kadalpura and Neelkanth in her inventory. These yachts regularly undertake expeditionary sailing with a small crew of naval personnel. The crew for the sea sorties are selected from volunteers with adequate sea sailing experience.
Ocean sailing is an extremely tough adventure sport. These Ocean Sailing expeditions help in inculcating a spirit of adventure, enhancing risk taking abilities whilst honing essential seamanship skills including navigation, communication, technical operation of engines and onboard machinery, operation of Inmarsat equipment, logistics planning etc.
It also enhances Indian Navy’s ability to project its benign presence across the globe by participating in sailing expeditions like Sagar Parikrama and Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro races, IONS and Bay of Bengal sailing expeditions. Tarini is also known for undertaking circumnavigation of the globe ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ in 2017 with an all-women officers crew.
