INSV Tarini is back home. The Indian Navy vessel, which sailed from Goa on 10 September 2017, returned home after successfully completing the circumnavigation of the globe in 254 days.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the vessel and its all-women crew as they reached Goa.
Some pics of #Tarini crew on crossing the line. Well Done. All eyes on Goa….. pic.twitter.com/g8MRuvx4Yj
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 6, 2018
#NavikaSagarParikrama Crew of #INSVTarini (Lt Payal Gupta) securing the foresail of …bracing up for a squall pic.twitter.com/j1mU8RrLDP
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 3, 2018
Sharing a recent pic of crew (Lt Pratibha Jamwal) standing watch at the wheel of #INSVTarini. Pse note the safety harness she is donning. This harness is tethered 2 the yacht 4 safety purposes @nsitharaman @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD @IAF_MCC @adgpi @MinistryWCD @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/7N63mgaStF
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) April 30, 2018
The vessel, which was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18 February 2017, has sailed over 21,600 nautical miles, visited five countries, sailed across four continents, three oceans, passed south of three capes and crossed the equator twice thus fulfilling all the conditions for a sailboat expedition to qualify as circumnavigation.
The six-member crew comprising skipper Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi, Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Cdr P Swathi, Lt Payal Gupta, Lt Aishwarya Boddapati and Lt Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi made four port calls.
Their first stop was the port of Fremantle in Western Australia on 23 October 2017. The second leg of their journey ended at Lyttelton in New Zealand on 29 November 2017. They successfully crossed the 180 degree longitude and reached Port Stanley in Falkland Island in South America on 21 January 2018.
Their fourth stop was Cape Town on 2 March 2018, where they celebrated the Indian festival of Holi with members of the Indian high commission and senior authorities of the South African city.
Throughout their journey, the crew braved rough seas, multiple storms, subzero temperatures and other hurdles related to navigation. They spent a total of 199 days at sea.
Prominent names took to Twitter to praise the success of the crew.
Congratulations to these daughters of our country. You are going to be an inspiration for so many of us out there waiting to break all shackles and cross all hurdles to fulfill our dreams & serve motherland. #WelcomeHomeTarini pic.twitter.com/MD8ZxDGnhM
— Daler Mehndi (@dalermehndi) May 21, 2018
विश्व की परिक्रमा करके लौट रही भारत की बहादुर बेटियों का गोवा समुद्र तट पर स्वयं रक्षा मंत्री श्रीमती @nsitharaman द्वारा स्वागत किया जा रहा है। #WelcomeHomeTarini
— Riti Pathak (@RitiPathakSidhi) May 21, 2018
The expedition aimed to promote Ocean Sailing and the spirit of adventure, the crew interacted extensively with the local PIOs at the various port halts. #WelcomeHomeTarini !
— Rajveer singh (@RajveersinghUP) May 21, 2018
199 days at sea. 254 days in all.
She completes her historic voyage today. Strength and character. #WelcomeHomeTarini pic.twitter.com/ZtjjPPj5Q6
— Ruchira Kamboj (@RuchiraKamboj) May 21, 2018