The Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei was flagged off from Goa on Friday for Mumbai from where the vessel will begin the Sagar Parikrama-II, a solo circumnavigation of the globe.
The Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei was flagged off from Goa on Friday for Mumbai from where the vessel will begin the Sagar Parikrama-II, a solo circumnavigation of the globe. The vessel skippered by Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy, was flagged off from INS Mandovi, Verem at 11am by rear admiral R Hari Kumar,VSM, the commandant of the Naval War College at INS Mandovi, Verem for Mumbai, from where she will depart on November 1 for Sagar Parikrama-II. The circumnavigation of the globe will be unassisted, solo, non-stop and under sail, said Indian Navy sources. The voyage can be followed through the blog or the Youtube channel- Sagarparikrama2. To reclaim India's glorious maritime history, vice admiral Manohar Awati, who retired as the commander-in-chief of the Western Naval Command, had proposed that a solo circumnavigation of the globe under sail must be carried out. The Navy had accepted the proposal and permission of the ministry of defence was obtained in 2006. The 56 ft sloop was constructed at the boat yard of M/s Aquarius Fiberglas Pvt Ltd at Divar, by Ratnakar Dandekar and was handed over to the Indian Navy in Feb 2009. In a fitting tribute to the place where the boat was constructed, the Indian Navy named the yacht INSV Mhadei, after the river Mhadei, the origin of river Mandovi. Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy will sail Mhadei south of all the great capes--Cape Leeuwing, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope--and cover a distance of 21,600 nautical miles, cross the equator twice and will start and finish the voyage at Mumbai.
