Indian navy's all women crew leaves for Mauritius

New Delhi: All women crew of the Indian Navy sailed from Goa to Mauritius on board vessel Mhadei in their first open ocean voyage on Tuesday.

Skippered by Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi ( a naval Constructor),the crew of Mhadei are currently training to undertake a circumnavigation of the globe next year.

• The crew includes Lt P Swathi, Lt B Aishwarya, Lt Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Vijaya and Lt Payal Gupta.
• This arduous voyage will undergo through rough seas.
• Heavy weather are expected during the monsoons in the Arabian Sea.

According to Navy statement,"This is a training voyage to expose the young crew to weather that will be faced by them during the circumnavigation in 2017".

• All women officers are keen sailors who took to sports after joining Navy.
• The officers have undergone theoretical training in navigation, communication, meteorology and seamanship at the Navy's training schools in Kochi.
• Since then, the officers have been training under Cdr Dilip Donde, India's first circumnavigator, who undertook his voyage on the same boat in 2008-09.
• The yet-to-be-named boat is expected to be delivered to the Navy by February next year.
• At Goa, The Navy is in the process of setting up an Ocean Sailing node to promote ocean sailing and a spirit of adventure amongst young naval officers and sailors.
• Mhadei and her sister vessel would be based at this node in Goa.
• Officials said that the exploits of this all-women crew on board Mhadei, along with accounts of their voyage and photographs, can be followed on the Facebook page.