Two women officers of the Indian Navy, Lieutenant Commander Dilna K. and Lieutenant Commander Rupa A. will soon embark on the Sagar Parikrama expedition. They will circumnavigate the world by sea through INSV Tarini. Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said that both have been preparing for this expedition for three years. Sagar Parikrama will be a difficult journey. It requires extreme skills, physical fitness and mental alertness. For the journey of thousands of miles, both the officers are taking rigorous training from Golden Globe Race hero Commander Abhilash Tomy (retired). According to the Navy, Dilna and Rupa participated in the trans-oceanic expedition from Goa to Cape Town via Rio de Janeiro and back last year as part of a six-member team. Later, both the officers conducted a sailing expedition in double-handed mode from Goa to Port Blair. They have also traveled from Goa to Port Louis (Mauritius) in double-handed mode. Commander Vivek Madhwal said that the Navy is making efforts to revive the sailing tradition to preserve maritime heritage and promote seamanship skills. Sailing from sailing training ships INS Tarangini, Sudarshini, Mhadei and Tarini have played an important role in sea sailing expeditions.
