All-Women Navy Squad To Sail Across The World

The Indian Navy is all set to make a mark across the globe -- on sea, air and land. An all-women team of the navy will sail across the globe from June this year, Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar announced on Thursday. Also, Commander Abhilash Tomy of the navy is planning to circumnavigate the globe on air. Commander Tomy has already travelled across the globe on a sailboat earlier in his career. The navy has also announced a trek to the highest peak in the world, Mt. Everest.

About the all-women navy squad, Kumar said that a team of six has been deputed for the task. It will be headed by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi and aims to finish the sailing trip in eight months. However, Commander Tomy is focusing on finishing his circumnavigation by air in just three months.

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The women’s crew will get on board INSV Tarini, which is the latest sailboat inducted by the Indian Navy.

This is not the first time that the navy has allowed an all-women crew to sail. Earlier, the team has sailed onboard INSV Mhadei to Visakhapatnam from Goa for the International Fleet Review 2016 and then they sailed to Mauritius and back. The crew then sailed to Cape Town to participate in the ‘Cape to Rio 2017’ contest, organised by the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC), Cape Town. The all-women crew was trained at the newly-set up Ocean Sailing Node in Goa.

Besides Captain Vartika Joshi, the sailing team comprises Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, Lieutenant Patarapalli Swathi, Lieutenant Vijaya Devi and Lieutenant Payal Gupta.

Picture credit- Kalamkranti