The excitement on the INS Mandovi jetty was palpable, as the sizeable media corps
jostled with each other to get first glimpse of the INSV Tarini sail boat, as
she majestically sailed into the Mandovi river from the Arabian Sea at 3.45 pm
on Monday afternoon.
She was escorted by several colourful sailing boats from the
Indian Navy and a grey, steel bodied, fast attack craft of the Navy, even as a
black, Chetak helicopter hovered above her, shooting aerial photographs.
It was a reception fit for royalty and deservedly so, as the
six, young women officers of the Indian Navy on board the Tarini were making
Indian maritime history.
The sail boat waited for a few minutes in the river, to coincide
its entry with the arrival of Nirmala Sitharaman, the honourable defence
minister of India at the jetty.
Finally, at 4.15 pm the majestic sloop constructed by the Goa
based Aquarius Shipyard came alongside the jetty. Raucous cries of ‘INSV
Tarini-hip hip hurray’ erupted on the jetty, even as three, MIG 29 jets from
the Indian Navy screamed past overhead, saluting the brave efforts of the young
women officers.
The Tarini skipper, Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi smartly
saluted the Defence Minister and said, “Circumnavigation complete” before
inviting her on board the Tarini.
A visibly charged up defence minister, in her short welcome
speech said that she was honoured and humbled by the achievement of the young
sailors. “These young lady officers have created Indian maritime history by
circumnavigating the globe on sail, at a time when so much technology is
available,” Sitharaman said. The defence minister was of the opinion that the
lady sailors had become role models for Young India.
Lt Commander Vartika, in her short speech acknowledged the
important role played by Captain (retd) Dilip Donde and Commander Abhilash
Tomy, their predecessors in the circumnavigation journeys. She said, “Both
these gentlemen are not present here today, but I would like to thank them for
their invaluable mentorship and support.”
Giving the invited gathering a short glimpse of their historic
voyage, the young skipper singled out the stormy seas around Cape Horn as the
most dangerous nights they had encountered. “That was most certainly the most
dreadful night on board the boat. We had sub-zero temperatures, we were facing
eight metre tall waves and winds screaming at us at 60 knots per hour. But we
held on,” she said to much applause from the audience.
Post the official reception, the young officers freely mixed
with media persons at the jetty. Vartika, almost continuing from where she had
left off, said, “When you are at sea with just the elements around you, you
realise just how insignificant you are. You get a different perspective of
life. This experience will stay with me all my life.”
Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, the team’s seamanship officer flashed
her inimitable smile and said, “With this sailing expedition, we have proved
our capabilities. But this is not an issue of gender. It is about disciplined
training. Youngsters in India should realise that they can achieve anything
they want to. Sirf Jijakna nahin ( They must not hesitate). They must never
step backwards. Only go forward.”
Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, who was the hull officer
on the boat pointed out that they had a reasonably smooth voyage, except for
the failure of the steering gear close to Mauritius. “That was a minor hiccup.
I consider myself fortunate to have been part of this successful team,” the
bubbly officer from Kullu said.
According to Pratibha, the biggest takeaway of the voyage was
the need to live within their limited resources. “We learnt to do so much with
so little. We learnt to conserve water and apply rainwater harvesting methods
on board the boat,” Pratibha said.
According to her, the team was appalled to see high scale of
environmental damage on the oceans. “It was not a pleasant sight. The Navy is
planning to send us to schools and colleges across India to make presentations
of our voyage. We will share this information with youngsters,” Pratibha said.
Likewise, B Aishwarya, the IIT-Delhi trained engineer on board
the vessel said that the voyage had been a success because of “our teamwork and
the manner in which we stayed together. My advice to Young India is—Kissi
baat se darna nahin. Do not be scared of anything. Just follow your dreams.”
It was nice to see a beaming Ratnakar Dandekar, managing
director, Aquarius Shipyard at the jetty. He said, “It feels nice to see any of
the boats built by us arriving after a long journey. I am completely satisfied
with the boat construction.”
Finally,
Captain Atool Sinha, officer-in-charge, Ocean Sailing Node at the INS Mandovi
said, “I often found myself telling the team that ‘people and lives change at
sea’ and one should learn to respect nature. The biggest take-away that one can
have from an expedition of this magnitude is – ‘respect for nature’
