Two women naval officers to embark on grueling round-the-world sailing expedition next week

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Commanders Dilna K and Roopa A will embark on their extremely challenging sailing expedition to circumnavigate the globe next week, which will see the duo cross the equator at least twice and go round the three `great capes’ during their over 21,600 nautical miles voyage.

The “Navika Sagar Parikrama-II” of the two young women officers onboard the indigenously built 17-metre-long sailing vessel INSV Tarini will be flagged off from Goa on Oct 2, Navy vice chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan said on Monday.

Dilna and Roopa are all gung-ho about their grueling odyssey, which will require physical and mental strength of an extremely high order. “It will be an incredible journey, which will take around eight months. We have been training for almost three years and are well prepared,” Roopa, who hails from Pondicherry, said.

Dilna, who belongs to Calicut, in turn, said, “We will have to sail at least 21,600 nautical miles (40,100 km) without any external assistance, relying solely on wind power. The voyage will include going round the three great capes - Cape Leeuwin (Australia), Cape Horn (South America) and the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa).”

Vice Admiral Swaminathan described Navika Sagar Parikrama-II as a journey of “empowerment, innovation, and commitment to India's maritime heritage”, which will chart new paths for a brighter and empowered future.

The circumnavigation will underline the exceptional valour, courage and perseverance of the two officers, who will face rigours of the high seas and extreme weather conditions, pushing them to the limits of human endurance, he added.

The inaugural Navika Sagar Parikrama, the first ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all women crew of six officers, was successfully conducted in 2017. This time it will only be Roopa and Dilna, who have undergone rigorous training, notching up around 38,000 nautical miles of sailing experience.

They have also been mentored by ace circumnavigator and Golden Globe Race hero Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd), a Kirti Chakra and Nao Sena Medal awardee. The two women officers were part of the six-member crew that participated in a trans-oceanic expedition from Goa to Rio de Janeiro, via Cape Town, and back last year.

Thereafter, they undertook a sailing expedition from Goa to Port Blair and back in 'double-handed' mode’. Further, they successfully undertook a sortie from Goa to Port Louis in Mauritius again early this year.

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