Sayan Chatterjee
NEW DELHI: 39-year-old CDR. Abhilash Tomy, who is the only Indian among 18 skippers to participate in the race, is not new to circumnavigating the globe, and, set sails on a unique voyage on Sunday as the only invitee from Asia to participate in the Golden Globe Race (GGR).
It is the first time that India is participating in the race which commenced from Les Sables d’Olonne harbour in France and is expected to complete at the same location in April 2019. According to an official statement from the Indian Navy, the participants are required to sail around the world, single-handed and non-stop.
“The uniqueness of the race is that boat designs and technology newer than 1968 is not permitted, hence use of Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite communication, navigational aids, etc is forbidden,” as reported while the race is on.
The GGR is being conducted by Sir Robin Knox Johnston of UK to commemorate 50 years since the world’s first solo non-stop circumnavigation was undertaken by him in 1968 on-board the Indian built boat, Suhaili.
One of India’s most well-known sailors, CDR Tomy will be sailing on the indigenously built sailing vessel ‘Thuriya’ (in Sanskrit, it means the fourth state of the consciousness) which is an exact replica of ‘Suhaili’ too had an India connection. It was built in Colaba. “The boat showcases India’s boat building capability on the world forum and promotes the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” as expressed by Indian Navy official.
CDR Tomy has covered 53,000 nautical miles under sail, including a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 2012-13 on-board Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei in five months while covering 23,000 nautical miles later and sailing south of the five Great Capes of the Southern Hemisphere. The first Indian and the second Asian to have achieved this feat, he was honoured with a ceremonial Presidential Reception at the Gateway of India, then at that time.
Sir Robin took 312 days to complete the voyage, and Tomy has set his eyes for 311 days. “This event recreates, in the closest possible way, the magic of the original race. The emphasis is not on technology and its management but on seamanship and a direct experience of the seas. This Spartan philosophy is in line with my own view that a lot can be achieved with very little,” Tomy said. He is also a recipient of the Kirti Chakra, MacGregor and Tenzing Norgay awards.
Born on the 5th of February 1979 in Kerala to a naval officer, Tomy had developed love for sailing after he graduated from the Naval Academy in Goa in 1999. He was drafted in to be Commander Dilip Donde’s assistant for his circumnavigation, Sagar Parikrama 1. He has several feathers in his cap in the following years.
Tomy’s, 8-tonner Thuriya will brave the most demanding of the weather conditions and choppy waters which test even thousand-tonner-ships during the voyage. The skippers will have to be alert round the clock and also ensure their ships are on the right direction. There is no GPS-enabled navigation and the skippers will have to depend on celestial movements, which will be used to first plot their location on a map, and then chart the way ahead. On the return, all the notings will have to be shown to qualify as a finish.
Thuriya embodies the spirit of ‘less is more’. Every inch is utilized for a specific purpose and objects like a plotting table for navigation, a micro-kitchen, a toilet and a small bed that he calls his ‘winter palace’ dominate. The ‘summer palace’ is out on the deck, Tomy expressed on a lighter note.
There are also the essentials like four gas cylinders, water and dry food to last the voyage. To be sure, the organisers have allowed the participants to carry satellite phones, but only for medical emergencies. Tomy started preparations for the GGR in 2016, starting with the boat design, launched the boat a year later, practiced in the Indian waters and navigated through the complex Indian laws before sending her to a yard in the Netherlands for final fitments and sailed into Falmouth, England–the start point of the first GGR–earlier this month.
The skippers will sail South into the Atlantic Ocean to round the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, then head East to pass through the Cape Agulhas in Australia, cross the international dateline, and finally go round the Cape Horn in South America to re-enter the Atlantic Ocean for sailing back Northwards to the start point.
On the other hand, CDR Tomy acknowledged, that the Thuriya may not be the fastest of the boats, as it’s modelled on an old design, but for him, the GGR is more a race for survival than speed.
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