KARSTEN MIRANDA
karsten@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. That is an unwritten motto among the defence forces in India.
And so, when a Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai Army Offshore Sailing expedition felt the effects of Cyclone Ockhi in the Arabian Sea, the journey turned out to be a major learning experience for the group of young sailors.
Expedition leader Lt Colonel Bhuwan Khare explained that this was trip for training and selection for major expeditions in international waters and the distance to be covered was 500 nautical miles. He added that they were travelling in vintage Seabird class boats that did not have any of the modern amenities except for the GPS navigation as the purpose of the expedition was to train the team.
The expedition had flagged off from Mumbai on December 1. They were travelling in four separate boats with five crew members each.
The first leg of the trip was Mumbai to Ratnagiri and from there they would proceed to Goa. While the initial part of this journey to Ratnagiri was smooth sailing, the tougher parts came towards the end of this trip. This is when the boats experienced the extreme weather conditions as a result of the cyclone and it was nearly seven hours of choppy waters, heavy currents and billowing winds. The wind speed had picked up to as high as 20 – 22 knots, and the swells in the sea had reached a maximum of two metres.
Despites the worry and caution, the team however did not panic and worked together, putting their training to use and managed to reach the Ratnagiri harbour where they halted for an extended period until the weather situation improved. They left Ratnagiri and successfully reached Goa on December 7. After careful inspection of their boats and other preparations, the next leg of the expedition flagged off for Ratnagiri from Dona Paula Harbour on December 9 morning.
The expedition was flagged off by Maj Gen MJS Siali, ADGEME (B) and Siddharth Satardekar, President Goa Yachting Association (GYA). They had earlier also been provided assistance by Malcolm Coelho, Managing Director of Dolphin Adventure Sports Pvt Ltd.
The expedition team comprised of 64 Army personnel including a naval officer and two women officers. The search and rescue cover was provided by INS TARASA along with the Coast Guard which continuously monitored the whereabouts of all 4 boats.
“Goa is a famous sailing destination and we received excellent support from all bodies based in Goa. The expedition team is extremely thankful for providing necessary support for mooring and administration to Siddharth Satardekar, GYA President and other establishments such as INWTC Goa, Station Head Quarter, Headquarter Naval Area and Coast Guard who have been extremely supportive during our stay in Goa,” said Captain Arpita Dwivedi.
