An all-women crew leading the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini docked at a port in Cape Town in South Africa on Friday, in the last phase of its maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe.
The expedition is being covered in five legs, with stop-overs at Fremantle in Australia, Lyttleton in New Zealand, Port Stanley in Falklands, and Cape Town.
The crew encountered rough seas and extremely cold temperatures, coupled with stormy weather conditions, making the circumnavigation highly daunting, the Navy said in a statement. The vessel’s passage through the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans so far has witnessed winds in excess of 60 knots and waves up to 7 metres high.
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This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew. 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.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had flagged-off the expedition from Goa on September 10.
The vessel has covered 1,75,00 nautical miles from Goa.
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The indigenously-built INSV Tarini , a 56-foot sailing vessel, was inducted into the Navy earlier this year