INSV Tarini entered Cape Town (South Africa) on March 2, 2018, during its maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe. The vessel is skippered by lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi and the crew comprises lieutenant Commanders Pratibha Jamwal, P Swathi, and lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta.
The vessel has covered 17,500 nautical miles from Goa, and crossed the equator on 25 September 17 (total distance is 21,600 nautical miles).
The crew and the vessel have encountered rough seas and extremely cold temperature coupled with stormy weather conditions, making the task of circumnavigation highly daunting and challenging. The vessel’s passage through the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans thus far, has witnessed winds in excess of 60 knots and waves up to 7 metre high. The expedition titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’, aims to showcase ‘Nari Shakti’ on the world platform and help in transforming societal attitudes and mindset towards women in India by raising visibility of their participation in challenging environs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Raksha Mantri had flagged-off INSV Tarini from Goa on September 10, 2017. According to a statement of Department of Public Relation (DPR) , Ministry of Defence, the vessel would return to Goa in April 2018, on completion of the voyage. The expedition is being covered in five legs, with stop-overs at Fremantle (Australia), lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa). Presently, the vessel has covered four of the five legs of the voyage and has entered the last port at Cape Town, South Africa.
Since it is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew, on behalf of team Tarini, lieutenant Commander Prtibha Jamwal and P Swathi share their experiences of sailing with The Pioneer.
Q: Sailing is all about “Muscles & Brain” and being women how difficult is for the team Tarini to sail the boat without engine for propulsion and avoiding the canal routesIJ
A: I would say sailing is not just about muscles and brains, it demands a lot more than that , being women has nothing to do with sailing a boat , if you are fairly fit and have common sense you can sail but it demands a lot of patience and determination which come to person irrespective of their gender. Moreover sea and boat are gender neutral
Q: Sailing is termed as a pure joy of performance, please comment.
A: To be honest ocean sailing cannot be defined by one emotion. Some days are so calm and you have time to do that soul searching in the middle of ocean and peaceful environment, whereas on days there is such rush that you hardly have time to think.
Q: Do the team TARINI think that boat life is an epic challengeIJ
A: Yes, indeed living in a boat for long duration is a challenge. It is not just about comfort of living but because of a very clean Bronx space you don’t get to walk much which in long run gives you some health issues especially in your lower body because as you are working your upper body is getting enough exercise. Apart from that I would say ocean sailing really tests your patience when all together for days you don’t get wind and you are not covering any distance, it surely makes you more patient.
Q: Playing with the wind, waves and water in rough sea. What keeps you all motivatedIJ
A: I believe for any sport it’s the passion and love towards the sport which makes you do it over and again, and of course the changes and learning that that particular sport has given you.
Q: It is a general saying “the act of sailing more than just a pass time, and it is on a boat that you learn who you are”. Is it trueIJ
A: It is very true, by qualification I am an engineer but I never had put my technical knowledge to test ever before I joined this boat. Here our mentor made us repair things with our own hand and they actually worked. Though it is a small thing it was real boost to my confidence.
Q: Please explain about your training before your first ever voyage of circumnavigation.
A: We have been trained extensively for 3years as a team initially as we all had no idea of sailing so we learnt the basics of sailing at INWTC Mumbai under Cdr Abhimanyu Patankar who happens to be the only international sailing umpire of India. Thereafter we learnt from our mentor India’s first solo circumnavigator Retd Capt Dilip Donde. We did theoretical training of navigating and communication at various Naval Schools.
Q: Are physical maps still relevant in the age of Global Positioning System (GPS )IJ
A: For plotting your positions you need both .We have a very advanced navigation system but we still follow the age old means of navigation which are paper charts, because in case of total electric failure non of our electronic charts are going to work hence we will have to rely on the good old paper charts.
Q: “A soldier has no gender “: On board what challenges have TARINI crew facedIJ
A:To be honest non from the sea because sea never tested us based on our gender . The first day when we were joining for training on board we were very clearly told by our mentor Capt Donde: Keep genders outside the boat because the sea is not going to be any less harsh on you if you are female or male. It does not recognise your gender. Believe me whatever challenges we had faced were not because of our gender.
Q: Obeying the captain’s instruction, coordinating with fellow team crew member, and sense of discipline with a spirit of “brotherhood”..Team TARINI is inspiring the women across the globe, what keep you all unitedIJ
A: We are bunch of common people. We have differences but at the same time when you are in a team you have to understand that the other person is also thinking towards the betterment of team just that the path or the way of thinking is different. Moreover for us it had been little easy as we all are military person we have a chain of command which we follow all the time.
Q: How has been the learning experience for TARINI onboardIJ
A: Sea and boat are the best teachers that I have had. I have learnt a lot of patience; learnt importance of small things which we overlook in normal life.
Inbox- Indigenously- built INSV TARINI is a 56-foot sailing vessel and inducted in the Indian Navy in 2017 and has showcased the “Make in India “ initiative on the international forum.
The expedition is being covered in five legs, with stop-overs at Fremantle (Australia), lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa). Presently, the vessel has covered four of the five legs of the voyage and has entered the last port at Cape Town, South Africa