2 women officers part of INSV Tarini crew headed for Cape to Rio Race 2023 in South Africa

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

Two women officers of the Indian Navy are part of a five-member team that embarked on an epic expedition to Cape Town. Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini has set sail for Cape Town, South Africa to participate in the 50th edition of the Cape to Rio Race 2023.

Cape to Rio Race 2023, one of the most prestigious Trans-Atlantic Ocean races will be flagged off from Cape Town on 2 Jan 2023 and will culminate at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The race is. The expedition is being undertaken by an Indian Navy crew of five officers including the two women officers.

INSV Tarini circumnavigated the globe with an all-women officer crew in an expedition titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ in 2017. In the present expedition, the vessel is being skippered by Capt Atool Sinha with Lt Cdr Ashutosh Sharma, Lt Cdr Dilna K, Lt Cdr Roopa A, and SLt Aviral Keshav as the crew.

During this ongoing expedition, a crew turnaround is planned at Rio de Janeiro for the return leg to India. Post the crew turnaround Cdr Nikhil P Hegde will be taking over as skipper with Cdr MA Zulfikar, Cdr Divya Purohit, and Cdr Abhishek Doke as crew.

Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A will be part of the crew for both legs of the expedition as they are being trained for solo circumnavigation of the globe by a woman officer.  Under the same training curriculum, these women officers also participated in the recent expedition to Mauritius.

“The expedition is meant to train the crew onboard, in essential seamanship skills including navigation, communication, technical, planning, etc. The expedition is an important milestone in training of the two women officers onboard for undertaking a solo circumnavigation sailing expedition around the globe,” said the Ministry of Defense in a statement.

During this expedition whilst transiting from Goa to Rio de Janeiro via Cape Town and back, INSV Tarini would be covering a distance of almost 17000 nautical miles (approx. 30000 km). The crew, over a period of 5-6 months in this trans-oceanic voyage, is expected to face extreme weather and rough sea conditions in the Indian, Atlantic, and Southern oceans.

“Ocean sailing is an extremely tough adventure sport. These Ocean Sailing expeditions help inculcate the spirit of adventure, and risk-taking abilities and also enhance the Indian Navy’s ability to mark its presence across the globe. The Indian Navy regularly participates in sailing expeditions like Sagar Parikrama, IONS 10th anniversary, and Bay of Bengal sailing expeditions,” said an official of the Ministry of Defense.

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