A full-fledged watermanship training centre will soon be set up under the Southern Naval Command to dole out training in watermanship, an essential component of naval training.
Announcing this here on Friday, Vice-Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Command, said the all-encompassing facility for training personnel in yachting, kayaking, windsurfing, parasailing and rowing would be set up on a budget of Rs. 31 crore.
Right now, a watermanship training centre is in operation at the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala.
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Earlier in the day, a joint team of personnel from the Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare School and Diving School pulled away to victory in the annual Kochi area boat-pulling regatta held in the Ernakulam channel. The race, in six different categories, was held over a course of 1.6 km with the Venduruthy-Vikrant Bridge as the starting point.
The team fielded by naval air station INS Garuda came second and a combined team led by INS Venduruthy bagged the third position. Vice-Admiral Soni gave away the prizes.
The keenly-fought contest was held using whalers — traditional 27-foot boats manned by a crew of five with a coxswain at the helm. The whaler-pulling contest is held at various places in the Navy as a test of strength, endurance and team spirit of its personnel.
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Ahead of the contest, a demonstration of water sports was held to the delight of the crowd that braved a humid and sultry weather to witness the event organised by the Navy’s Seamanship School. INS Venduruthy was awarded the Godavari Trophy for earning maximum points in the sporting activities for the year.
Training completedOn Thursday, 12 naval and two Coast Guard officers successfully completed their aeronautical specialisiation course over 52 weeks of training at the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT). Rear Admiral K Ravikiran, Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Ship Repair Yard in Kochi, reviewed their passing out parade. Lieutenant Commander Ankush Kumar Singh was awarded Director General Coast Guard Trophy for best all-rounder of the course.