Two-member women team of Indian Navy returns after sailing around globe

Panaji: "The world of the sea is the same planet but a whole different world," said Lt Cdr Roopa A of the Indian Navy on Thursday as she and her partner Lt Cdr Dilna K returned to Goa after successfully circumnavigating the globe in a sailing boat.

The duo, with back-up support from the Navy, covered more than 25,600 nautical miles in 238 days in INSV Tarini, their sailing boat. It was the first circumnavigation of the globe in a sailing vessel by Indian women in `double-handed' mode, said a Navy spokesperson.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed the two intrepid women and their vessel upon the completion of the eight-month `Navika Sagar Parikrama II (NSP II)' expedition at Mormugao Port Authority in Vasco. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, who had flagged off the expedition on October 2 last year, was also present.

The whole country was proud of the achievement of the two women officers, Singh said.

"You have not just gone around Earth but you have also made a place in the heart of every Indian," he said, calling them "the country's brave daughters". "After meeting you both today, I feel as if a father is meeting his two daughters," the minister added.

Women have played a pivotal role in the Indian Defence system since gaining entry, and women officers played an important role in aerial attacks on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir during Operation Sindoor, he said.

Admiral Tripathi said Navika Sagar Parikrama II was a historic milestone for the Navy. The defence minister's interaction with the crew during the expedition gave them moral support, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Cdr Dilna K said, "Yes, we made it.

"On October 2, we left Goa with lot of hope and courage....Today, we stand here alive and strong together," she said.

They flew the national flag and the Indian Navy flag across the globe, she said, adding, "Wherever we landed, we were cheered. We proudly represented India in this journey of lifetime." The expedition was a promise she had made to her father, Dilna said, adding, "He is no more with me, but I felt his presence throughout the journey. My mother and my husband held me really strong. And you let me fly. I wish everyone get a husband like mine." Talking about her experiences, Lt Cdr Roopa A said she felt like she lived all her seven lives in these eight months.

"The world of the sea is the same planet but whole different world," she said.

Referring to her partner Dilna, Roopa said, "In this voyage I found a friend in you and a friend in myself whom I can trust lifelong." Her family has been her "spine" throughout her life as she made unconventional choices, she said, adding, "I dedicate this journey to you all (family) but this is not going to be my last. There was no end to the earth or challenges in this journey." Talking about some of the more difficult moments in the voyage, she recalled a night when they had a navigation panel "black-out".

"It took us three hours, but felt like an eternity to get back the control," she added.

They saw different moods of the ocean. "(At times) The waves were 20 feet high. We also had the days when sea was calm, we felt sea was heavenly. We lived in the cold which froze us. Even today when we were approaching the coast, the monsoon kept us on the toes," she said.

The journey showed the world what Indian women are made of, Roopa said, adding that there was a point during the journey when they realised "this is an Indian dream which we were breathing and living." The expedition was flagged off on October 2, 2024 by Admiral Tripathi from the Boat pool of INS Mandovi in Goa.

After 39 days of non-stop voyage across the Indian Ocean, INSV Tarini made her first land-fall at Fremantle, Australia, on November 9, the Navy spokesperson said.

"In their second stop, having traversed 4,450 nautical miles after crossing the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, they arrived at Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch, New Zealand, on December 22, 2024," the spokesperson said.

Subsequently, marking the "most demanding and dramatic leg" of the expedition, the crew arrived at Port Stanley on February 18, 2025.

"One of the most significant achievement of this leg was that Tarini became the first sail ship to cross Point Nemo in South Pacific, often referred to as the Oceanic Pole of inaccessibility, on January 30," the spokesperson said.

Having traversed 3,896 nautical miles and crossing the Prime Meridian and braving the `Roaring Forties', the Tarini reached Cape Town, South Africa on March 31, 2025, and then started its homeward journey.