“We thought we had sailed off course and lost our way. There was supposed to be no island but there was this mass in the distance...” We held our breath waiting for Lt Cdr P Swathy to finish her story. “It was a dead whale and it was so large that we mistook it for land.”
Chairperson of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), Coimbatore, Jayanthi Manohar and her team organised an amazing interaction with Swathi who (along with five other women from the Indian Navy), circumnavigated the globe. Just listening to Swathi share her experiences was inspiring and a refreshing change from the usual trite Women’s Day brouhaha. She encapsulated what Pinky Reddy (National President of FICCI FLO) said in her opening address, “Courage has a soul, no gender.”
The 27-year-old who is an Air Traffic Controller in the Indian Navy, gave a crisp account of the expedition — Navika Sagar Parikrama. “We started off from Goa on September 10, 2017, and and returned on 21 May, 2018.” The INSV Tarini was built entirely in Goa and Swathi and her colleagues, besides being trained intensively for their voyage, also witnessed the boat being built from scratch. Swathi’s fellow sailors were, Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi (skipper), Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, and Lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta.
- They had one and a half litres of water per day per person. So if it rained they grabbed their shampoos for a fresh water hair wash. “Sometimes, it would stop raining half way and we were left with soap still in our hair.”
- Even from their rationed water, the women tried to save a bit and collected that in another container. “It was like depositing money in the bank. Even now I find it difficult to use more water than this, even if I have it,” says Swathi.
Swathi’s PowerPoint presentation of the parikrama was exciting, but not more than conversation with her. “Honestly, I was not very fond of the water and neither did I know how to swim as a child. It was my mother who forced me to sail,” she says. Her mother is a civilian sailing coach with the Indian Navy and Swathi jokes that she brought her up like a son as her dad was disappointed that she (the youngest of three siblings) was also a daughter.
She spoke with emotion about Vice Admiral Awati (awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Vir Chakra), who was an inspiration for the voyage. Awati spearheaded the Sagar Parikrama project that was launched in 2007. “He wanted a circumnavigation of the globe by an all-woman team on an Indian-built sailboat. When we returned, he said, ‘Now I can die’, and he passed away soon after.
- Indian Navy and National Geographic have joined hands for a documentary on this incredible voyage, which will have rare footage from the on-ship cameras.
- It will be telecast at 9.00 pm on March 8 as an International Women’s Day special.
- It will also be available on Hotstar.
It was physically challenging for six women to spend time in such close proximity in a 17 metre-long boat! “We sailed for over 22,300 nautical miles over seven oceans, crossed the Equator twice, all longitudes and braved the three treacherous great capes — Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope. We sailed through temperatures ranging from 40° and plus to -5° Celsius, windspeeds up to 130 kmph and monstrous nine-metre waves.”
They wondered if they would make it alive and, at the same time, were rewarded with sightings of dolphins, sperm whales, killer whales, sharks and albatross. “Finding an insect on board was a cause of celebration. They were special guests, “ laughed Swathi. When the sailing was smooth, spending time was a problem. “Every hour seemed like a day and, if we did manage to send off messages home, we were jubilant. But birthdays, festivals, crossing the equator... we even baked a cake on board.”
The crew carried books, movies and music on board. Was there anything particular Swathi missed and would have liked to have? “A daily bath.”
