All-women crew steers INSV Mhadei to Mauritius

Panaji: Charting new waters for the Indian Navy, an all-women crew led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi aboard the Indian Navy's yacht INSV Mhadei sailed into Port Louis, Mauritius, on Tuesday. The voyage marked the first leg for the women who are preparing to complete a circumnavigation of the earth in 2017.
INSV Mhadei set sail from INS Mandovi on May 24 and completed the 2,100 nautical mile journey in 20 days with six women officers on board.Lieutenant commander Joshi, a naval architect, is the first woman skipper of Mhadei. The vessel is crewed by Lieutenants P Swathi, Pratibha Jamwal (air traffic control specialists), Vijaya Devi, Sub-Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a naval architect.
This is the first open ocean voyage by an all-women crew on any vessel of the Indian Navy.
Given the onset of monsoons, the seas were rough, whipped by the southwest monsoon. The timing of the voyage was intentionally chosen to expose the crew to rough weather that they are likely to encounter during circumnavigation in 2017, naval officials said.
The crew and INSV Mhadei encountered winds of up to 35 knots with swells of up to five metres while sailing from Goa to Mauritius. The strenuous journey also provided the crew with an opportunity to consolidate their theoretical and practical training thus far, naval officials said.
Mhadei was received by the Mauritian Coast Guard vessel Retriever outside the Port Louis harbor. The crew will meet the president of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and other dignitaries of the Mauritius government during their port call.
The crew will slip Mhadei away from her moorings on June 24 for the return journey from Port Louis to Goa and the vessel is expected to arrive in the state early July 16.