Conquering the high seas: Navy's first all-women crew reaches Mauritius

Indian women made a bit of maritime history on Tuesday, as the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei, with an all- woman crew  sailed into Port Louis, Mauritius on 14^th June. The vessel which was flagged-off  from her home port, Goa, on 24th May completed a historic first open ocean voyage, becoming the first one to be manned only by women,  in the history of the Indian Navy.

The six member crew comprised of  Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, a Naval Architect, the first woman Skipper of Mhadei,  Lieutenant P Swathi, Lieutenant Pratibha Jamwal (Air Traffic Control specialists), Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, Sub Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both Education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a Naval Architect.

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The 2100 nautical miles voyage from Goa to Mauritius was completed in 20 days. The journey was not an easy one, as they ran into some rough weather, expected during the monsoons in the Arabian Sea, naval officials said. The reason for choosing this time of the year was to make these ladies tougher, so that they are trained to face conditions they are likely to encounter during their attempt to circumnavigate the Globe in 2017. The training also consisted of theoretical and practicals undergone so far.

The crew was also accompanied by ten Mauritian women police officers , who joined them around 10 miles outside the harbor and sailed into port along with the Indian women crew. During the stay, the crew is expected to meet Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen and various other dignitaries.

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The boat is expected to return to Goa by early July.

Feature Image Credit: kalamkranti.com