The all women expedition made waves across the globe when Navy women sailed the entire globe in this small boat but do you really know the features of the boat
INSV Tarini Specs
INSV Tarini is the second ocean going sailboat that was built for the Indian Navy. Tarini was built in Goa by Aquarius Shipyard. The sailboat has all the modern facilities and has been highly appreciated by all who have visited this sailboat. It has an advanced Raymarine navigation suite.
The boat also has a number of sophisticated satellite communication systems that helped the boat to navigate safely to any part of the world. It has a very efficient RO plant that can provide up to thirty litres of drinking water in an hour. The boat has a 130hp Volvo penta D5 engine that can give auxiliary power to the boat. It also has an Inmarsat network system. There is a super wind generator on board. There is one wind driven auto pilot and a Raymarine electric autopilot on the boat.
There is a search and a rescue transponder. There is an emergency position indicating radio beacon. The boat also has a HF/VHF radio with a digital selective calling system. When it was handed over to navy it was decided that INSV Tarini will go down in history as it would be used by six women who will complete an all-women expedition of the globe using this sailboat.
The Voyage
The vessel was taken into navy in February 2017. The all woman expedition started on 10th September 2017 and the voyage was sucessfully completed by 21st May 2018. It was delayed by a month due to some technical problems in the boat.
The crew consisted of six female navy officers namely
Lt Commander Vartika Joshi
Lt Commander Swathi Patarpalli
Lt SH Vijaya Devi
Lt Payal Gupta
Lt Aishwarya Bodapatti
Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal
This was a part of Indian navy’s parikrama project. An all woman crew that went around the globe. It indeed created history by taking these women around the world. A true and exceptional example of women empowerment. It was called Navika sagar parikrama meaning women naval officers going on a sea expedition. These six brave women were not only the first Indian women to take up this challenge; they were also the first Asian women to be a part of an expedition like this.
How long at sea
The crew of these six women was led by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi. The whole voyage lasted for 254 days. Of these 199 days were at the sea. It covered 21600 nautical miles. The expedition was not easy. These women had to face rough sea, extremely cold temparatures, huge storms and many other challenging situations. The crew was also assigned with some jobs that they successfully completed.
These included collecting various types of data. It reported the level of marine pollution on high seas. They collected and updated ocean wave data and meteorological data that was used by the IMD (Indian meteorological department) for accurate weather forecast. The women crew also ensured that during their halts they promote the spirit of sailing among the kids. Encourage the children to understand the adventure of becoming a sailor.
The 55 foot vessel was built completely in India. It is one of the projects that were done under the make in India initiative. It encouraged the use of environmentally friendly and non-conventional energy resources as the ship harness wind which is a renewable energy.
The boat has six sails and they are storm sail, downwind sail, Genoa sail and stay sail, main sail and head sail. The boat was named after a famous temple in Odisha that is called Tara-Tarini temple. The word tarini means a boat and also a saviour in Sanskrit. Tara-Tarini has been worshipped since ancient times. She is a diety who protects the sailors and the boats that go to the sea. She was worshipped not only by the silors but also the merchents whose fortunes were at the mercy of the sea.
Other details
The crew visited totally five countries and they crossed equator twice. It also sailed across the great capes namely – Horn, good hope and Leeuwin. They also crossed three oceans. The expedition was planned in such a way that it would be complete in four legs. However, the fifth stop over was taken because the steering gear was damaged and had to be repaired. The last and unplanned stop over was Port Louis. The expedition had totally five stopovers that included Port Stanley (Flankland Isalnds), Cape Town (South Africa), Port Louis (Mauritius), Fremantle (Australia) and Lyttleton (New Zealand).
These six brave women received a grand welcome once they returned to India in May 2018. They docked in Goa. It was a moment of celebration for all. Many celebrities congratulated the crew names included that of Amitabh Bachchan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the crew. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman was present in Goa to congratulate the crew.
The crew was facilitated by Narendra Modi on 23rd March. They were also awarded the prestigious Nari Shakti award for 2017. This award is given every year on women’s day that is 8th March. The cash award is for 1 lakh. These awards are being given since 1991. It is given by the ministry of women and child development. This is a national level award. It is given to individuals as well as institutions who have contributed to women empowerment.
This was indeed a bold step by the Indian Navy that they decided to send a all woman crew into the high sea. They had to face a lot of challenges and they were finally able to prove themselves. They complete the route without any assistance and within nine months as planned. It is not only an example for the world but also for the future generations.
A huge step indeed to encourage more women to enter into navy. A country where women are still considered inferior and are killed at birth this is a huge step towards woman empowerment. Navy is still not a career that is very popular with women, but we hope that more examples like these will encourage women to enter this field that has been traditionally dominated by men.
We hope that navika sagar parikrama does not remain as a one-time event but is repeated every year so that it does not lose its purpose and importance.
INSV Tarini,
