In a glittering ceremony, the Indian Navy announced the induction of its newest ocean-going sailboat. INSV Tarini is a distinguished addition to the Navy’s repertoire, as it will also be the mode of transport for their first Indian all-woman circumnavigation of the globe.
The all-woman crew will commence the historic journey in August 2017.
Image source: Indian Navy
The announcement was made by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at a ceremony on INS Mandovi, Goa, according to a press statement.
The six-member crew on board Tarini will be led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The rest of the crew comprises Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenant Aishwarya Boddapati, Lieutenant Patarapalli Swathi, Lieutenant Vijaya Devi and Lieutenant Payal Gupta.
Together, the all-woman team has logged over 10,000 nautical miles on INSV Mhadei, the precursor to Tarini. Their expeditions include a journey from India to Mauritius and back, and Goa to Cape Town, both in 2016. Their expeditions and feedback has also led to additional features and improvements on Tarini. The trials of the INSV Tarini were successfully completed on January 30 this year.
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INSV Tarini was designed in the Netherlands and built by Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa. Its keel was laid on 27 March 2016 at the Aquarius Shipyard. The ship’s hull is composed of wooden core fiberglass sandwich construction and a suite of six sails. A Raymarine navigation suite and advanced satellite communication systems enables the sailboat to be contacted anywhere across the globe.
Interestingly, the boat is inspired by Orissa’s renowned Tara-Tarini temple. The word Tarini means boat in Sanskrit; Tara-Tarini is a patron goddess for sailors and merchants, and she is often worshipped before a journey on sea.
The Indian Navy has, so far, launched four sailing vehicles capable of open ocean deployments —Tarangini, Sudarshini, Mhadei and Tarini. The Navy also plans to add four 40-feet open ocean racing sailboats to their repertoire.
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