Triumph on high seas: 2 women officers on sailboat complete an arduous circle around the globe

Eight months alone on the high seas for a duo on board a small sail boat circumnavigating the globe is not just a challenging adventure but an ultimate test of human grit, determination, endurance and seamanship. And this is where two women Indian Navy officers, Lt Cdr Roopa A and Lt Cdr Dilna K, undertaking the Navika Sagar Parikrama–II expedition have been triumphant.

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On May 29, the two officers, referred to as ‘DilRoo’, will dock in home waters in Goa, from where they had embarked on October 2, 2024, after completing a voyage of about 50,000 km across four continents, three oceans and three Great Capes, braving the vagaries of nature and relying only on sails and wind power.

What is Navika Sagar Parikrama?

Navika Sagar Parikrama is the name of expedition for circumnavigation the globe Indian Navy’s women officers on board the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) ‘Tarini’, a single mast sail boat. There have been two editions of this expedition so far.

The first edition lasted 254 days from September 10, 2017, to May 21, 2018, and comprised six officers led by Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi. The other crew members were Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Cdr Swati P, Lt Aishwarya Boddapati, Lt Vijaya Devi and Lt Payal Gupta. All six had trained for about a year under Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to successfully carry out solo-circumnavigation of the globe in 2009-10.

En route, they also collected and updated meteorological, ocean and wave data on a regular basis for assisting weather forecasts by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting and the Indian Meteorological Department, and reported marine pollution on the high seas. They had made five port calls at Fremantle in Australia; Lyttelton in New Zealand; Port Stanley in Falklands, Cape Town in South Africa and finally at Mauritius.

About the sail boat

The INSV Tarini is classified as a ‘sloop’, that is a small sea going sail boat with a single mast. It is the Indian’s Navy’s second sailboat of this category, the other being INSV ‘Mhadei’. The Tarini was constructed at the Aquarius Shipyard in Goa and was commissioned by the Indian Navy in February 2017 after extensive sea trials and some modifications.

The INSV is 56 feet long. In comparison, the INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s largest warship is 932 feet long. Its keel was laid by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in March 2016 and was named after the Tara Tarini temple located in Odisha.

Its hull is built of wood-core and fibreglass sandwich and is designed to sail in extreme conditions at sea and the boat is equipped with advanced features such as satellite communications, Raymarine navigation suite and a Monitor windvane equipped for emergency steering.

The second expedition

Setting from the Naval Ocean Sailing Node, Goa, the DilRoo team commenced their circumnavigation with port calls at Fremantle, Lyttleton, Port Stanley and Cape Town, similar to the course adopted by their predecessors.

The officers engaged in numerous diplomatic and outreach engagements, interacting with parliamentarians, Indian diaspora, schoolchildren, naval cadets and university faculty across the globe.

In a rare gesture, they were honoured as special invitees at the Western Australian Parliament in Canberra in November 2024 as a recognition of their achievements. Their accomplishments received accolades from local communities, international sailing bodies and foreign parliaments serving as a beacon of women empowerment, maritime excellence and national pride.

The crew encountered winds with speeds up to 95 kmph coupled with extremely cold temperatures during the journey. Though each leg of the expedition had its own challenges, the third leg of the journey from Lyttleton to Port Stanley was the most arduous, where they encountered three cyclones.

“In persistent rains, Sea State 5 (the roughest category), winds of about 75 kmph and waves more than five metres tall, Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A, recorded their names in the annals of history by successfully crossing the Cape Horn located at the southern tip of South America,” the Indian Navy had then said on its official X handle.

This passage takes the sailors through the Drake Passage, a treacherous waterway known for its extreme winds, towering waves and unpredictable weather. The conditions in this region test even the most experienced mariners, making their successful passage a significant achievement.

“Having braved these formidable waters, the officers have now earned themselves the esteemed title of being the “Cape Horners”, a designation traditionally given to the elite group of seafarers who have successfully navigated Cape Horn under sail,” the Navy had said.

Cape Horn is situated just over 800 kilometers from Antarctica, making it one of the closest land points to the icy continent. The journey through this region not only requires exceptional navigational expertise but also resilience to the harsh conditions characteristic of the Southern Ocean.

During the voyage, the crew had the opportunity to interact with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the eve of International Women’s Day. He congratulated the crew for their remarkable milestone and acknowledged the invaluable role of women in bolstering national security and reaffirmed India’s commitment to expanding opportunities for women in the defence sector.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi also interacted with the crew on various occasions and commended their exemplary skills, professionalism, camaraderie and teamwork during expedition that has been a defining chapter in India’s maritime history, a showcase of its professionalism and seafaring skills and an impetus to women empowerment.