Indian Navy's all-women crew yacht sets out for Mauritius

INSV Mhadei, the Indian Navy's sail boat with an all-women's crew, which set sail for Mauritius last month, will reach its destination on Tuesday, the navy said.

 

The vessel, commanded by Lt. Cdr. Vartika Joshi, set sail on May 24 on a training voyage for the all-women's team which will circumnavigate the globe next year.

 

The crew, comprising Lt. P Swathi, Lt. B Aishwarya, Lt. Pratibha Jamwal, Lt. Vijaya and Lt. Payal Gupta, undertook the arduous voyage through rough seas and heavy weather brought by monsoon winds in the Arabian Sea.

 

All the women officers on board are keen sailors who took to the sport after being inducted into the Indian Navy.

 

The boat is expected to return to Goa by early July.

 

Joshi and Swathi have also been part of Mhadei crew on earlier voyages.

 

The crew has been trained by Commander Dilip Donde, India's first sailor to complete solo circumnavigation of the the globe on INSV Mhadei in 2008-09.

 

The vessel on which the team would go around the globe is presently under-construction in Goa.

 

The yet-to-be-named boat is expected to be delivered to the Navy by February 2017. - IANS