Imagine being on the sea for 30 to 40 days with no sight of land. That too, on a sailing boat and not a ship. Lt. Aishwarya Boddapati from Hyderabad is among the only all-women crew heading into the ocean on a 17-metre sailing vehicle of the Indian Navy, called MHADEI.
The all-women crew sailed to Mauritius this May. “Every two years, a sailing vessel sets out to circumnavigate the world. The Indian Navy felt it would be a good orientation for us to first experience the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before we do the world circuit,” recalls Aishwarya. A relative newcomer to sailing, Aishwarya observed her peers at work, learnt to put theory to practice.
Aishwarya studied metallurgical engineering and in her final year, worked with the DRDO which was working on a component of a ballistic missile. “It was a fascinating experience. I felt it would be exciting to be on the user side,” she says. The only connection Aishwarya had with the defence sector was her uncle who worked for Indian Air Force. “Normally, candidates prepare ahead to join the Navy. Since I didn’t have that exposure, my uncle asked me to be honest in the interview and not exaggerate things,” she says.
She was inducted into the technical side of Navy, and later posted in Andaman and Nicobar islands with the team that worked on maintenance and repair of warships. While at work, she learnt that the Navy was looking for volunteers to join an adventure expedition and applied. “I got selected in February 2015 but was required to finish my two-year tenure at Andaman. I joined the adventure team in March 2016,” she says.
Aishwarya remembers being inclined to adventure for a while. She had tried river rafting, bungee jumping, scuba diving and other water sports. She was aware that some of the lady officers who will be part of the adventure expedition had prior experience. “Some of them had already gone on an expedition accompanied by male officers in 2014. This time, the Navy wanted a six all-women crew and I am ecstatic to be a part of it.”
In Cochin, she was trained in the basics of sailing. “We learnt the technical and theoretical aspects of how to navigate a vessel that runs only on wind,” she says. During the Mauritius trip, she got a hands-on experience.
Aishwarya looks back at the days they spent at a stretch on the sea, celebrating the calm days and starry nights. “One night we faced an electrical problem after which we had no lights. The moon hadn’t risen. We spent the night star gazing. It was beautiful,” she says.
She doesn’t mind the lack of mobile connectivity. “Since we were six women on board, we got to know each other well. We would watch television series, take turns and cook, or read books on Kindle. There were times when there would be some misunderstanding, but you don’t hold grudges for long because you can’t go anywhere else,” she laughs.
The crew is preparing to participate in the Cape to Rio race scheduled from December 26, 2016, to January 17, 2017. “In August 2017, we will be sailing to circumnavigate the world on a new sister boat of MHADEI, called TARINI, now under construction in Goa. The details are yet to be worked out,” she says.
Closer home, she faced resistance when she disclosed her intention to join the adventure side of Navy. “My parents wanted me to get married, so they were taken aback,” she laughs. Aishwarya took her parents on a short sail off Goa. Experiencing the calm waters, her father was convinced it wasn’t a bad idea.
Besides the circumnavigation, she hopes to someday become a sky diving instructor.
The team
* Cdr Dilip Dhonde is the mentor and coach of for the all-women team
* The six all-women crew includes aeronautical engineer Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi (skipper), electronics engineer Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Patharlapaali Swathi, a post graduate in physics, Lt Shougrakpam Vijayadevi, a literature postgraduate, and computer science engineer Lt Payal Gupta, apart from Lt B Aishwarya.
