ADVERTISEMENT

Breaking Barriers: Indian Navy’s All-Woman Sailing Crew Relives The Journey Around The Globe

An all-woman naval officer crew made history by sailing around the globe. Here’s their story...

The sailing vessel INSV Tarini used in expedition Navika Sagar Parikrama. (Photo: Indian Navy)
The sailing vessel INSV Tarini used in expedition Navika Sagar Parikrama. (Photo: Indian Navy)

On May 21, 2018, six Indian women naval officers made history. They completed their trip round the globe—sailing 21,600 nautical miles in 254 days, a first by an all-woman crew.

INSV Tarini was skippered by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi on its journey—Navika Sagar Parikrama. Her crew comprised Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Commander P Swathi, Lieutenant S Vijaya Devi, Lieutenant B Aishwarya and Lieutenant Payal Gupta.

The all-women naval officer crew that circumnavigated the globe a year ago. (Photo: Indian Navy)
The all-women naval officer crew that circumnavigated the globe a year ago. (Photo: Indian Navy)

The six officers trained for nearly three years before the voyage, first under Captain Dilip Donde, India’s first solo circumnavigator, and then with Captain Atool Sinha, an Asian Games silver medallist and Officer-in-Charge, Ocean Sailing Node.

They set sail on Sept. 10, 2017 with four planned stopovers in Fremantle, Australia; Lyttelton, New Zealand; Port Stanley, Falklands; and Cape Town, South Africa apart. A technical fault forced a halt at Port Louis, Mauritius.

The crew monitored and reported marine pollution on the high seas, and collated and updated meteorological, ocean and wave data, which helped India better forecast weather.

As they complete one year of homecoming, BloombergQuint gets you their story of unbreakable confidence, strength and determination.

Watch this video to know more:

Opinion
Meet The ‘Lady Singhams’ Of Jaipur