Goa boasts a state-of-the-art Shipbuilding industry
Today Goa stands tall in promoting the government’s initiative of ‘Make in India’. Having state-of-the-art infrastructure for shipbuilding, one homemade sea vessel seems all set to create circumnavigation history.
Set to accomplish history again with one more feather to its cap – The INSV Tarini, a sibling to INSV Mhadei, two special sea vessels built at Divar,(a small but famous island) by Aquarius Shipyard Pvt. Ltd.
The special vessel Mhadhei created history when sailed by Capt. Dilip Donde to solo-circumnavigate the globe in 2010. Later Captain Abhilash Tomy accomplished the same feat except he did it non-stop.
Mhadei is the only craft in the Indian Navy to have sailed 118,000 nautical miles unassisted and non-stop.
Besides, an all women’s six-member team that undertook a never-done-before trip to Mauritius in a sailboat, ‘INSV Mhadei ‘, a boat built in Goa. India’s first all-women crew ocean voyage covered a distance of over five thousand nautical miles through treacherous monsoon seas and heavy winds,” a Naval release stated.
INSV Madhei gets a sibling
INSV Tarini, also built by Aquarius shipyard, Divar, almost similar to INSV Madhei, has a larger capacity. The experience with building Mhadei enhanced the building of a more spacious INSV Tarini. The technology – 56 feet ‘Tonga’ design of Van De Stadt Design Bureau, The Netherlands. Both history-making boats built using the state-of-the-art wood core fibreglass technique of boat construction.
All-women team for circumnavigation
This time the INSV Tarini will be sailed by an all-women team of naval officers led by skipper Lt. Cdr. Vartika Joshi and her six-member team. Trained and tested by Captain Donde, the six-member team will sail around the globe in August this year.
The 56-foot sailing yacht can withstand rough seas. Captain Donde further explained that in the deep sea with waves up to 9 metres your boat is your only companion and it has to be the best to face the hardships one has to face while sailing. (as per an NT report)
“This will be the maiden circumnavigation under sail by an Indian all-women crew”, stated captain Dilip Donde (Retd.), the first Indian to have undertaken solo circumnavigation in 2010.
Tarini is named after one of Goa’s ancient boat goddesses
According to Donde, the successful construction of both the boats in Goa upholds the Government initiative of ‘Make in India’.
Information Credit: NT and TOI
