Indian Navy’s sailing vessel, Mhadei, with an all-women crew was flagged off from here to Cape Town, South Africa — to participate in a yacht race — on Wednesday by Rear Admiral, and Commandant of Naval War College, Monty Khanna, in a ceremony at the Boat Pool of INS Mandovi, North Goa.
The vessel is scheduled to reach its destination on December 15, where it would participate in the “Cape to Rio Race” between Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, on December 26.
Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral Khanna said long distance ocean sailing is a good way to understand the ocean and learn the nuances of seamanship. “Sea faring is our profession. The [crew] has already sailed to Mauritius [during] the peak of monsoons and we are confident that the experience will hold them in good stead during the long voyage,” he said.
The Navy has identified four sets of crew to participate in four phases of INSV Mhadei’s voyage, with a view to prepare a larger base of adventure loving sea–farers.
The present phase, from Goa to Cape Town, is being undertaken by an all women crew, headed by Lt. Cdr. Vartika Joshi. The Rio race would be undertaken by a crew consisting both men and women, helmed by Captain Atool Sinha, an Asian Games silver medallist and also the officer-in-charge of the Navy’s recently established Ocean Sailing Node.
The Cape to Rio race is the longest continent to continent yacht race in the southern hemisphere, with a total length of 6500 kilometre across the South Atlantic Ocean.
