Six women officers of the Indian Navy who sailed around the world have been conferred with the gallantry Nao Sena Medal announced on the eve of Independence Day.
Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, who was the skipper of the crew along with Lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swathi Pathrapalli and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, Aishwarya Boddapati and Payal Gupta became the first all women Asian team to complete circumnavigation.
This also the first time a woman military crew attempted the feat. Circumnavigation is a feat that requires certain criteria like starting and finishing at the same port, not passing through any canals or straits, crossing all meridians at least once, crossing the Equator twice, going around the three great capes; Cape Leeuvin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope.
The all women crew sailed across the globe on Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini in an eight month gruelling journey. They travelled 21,600 nautical miles before returning in May this year.
The voyage was completed using sails as the women braved through 10 metre waves in the choppy seas and facing fierce winds over 100 km/hour and temperatures ranging from 4 to 40 degrees. The six women officers were picked from the 20 volunteers who started training in 2014.
Earlier Indian Navy officer Captain Dilip Donde (retd) and Commander Abhilash Tomy did a solo circumnavigation. Tomy completed it non-stop in five months. In fact, it was Capt Donde, who trained the women before they set sail from Goa on September 10, 2017.
They made halts at Freemantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand) Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Town (South Africa) before returning to Goa in May 2018 completing the mission named Navika Sagar Parikrama.
WOMEN POWER
The all women crew sailed across the globe on Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini in eight months. They travelled 21,600 nautical miles before returning in May this year.