6 days ago
- copy link
N. Raghuraman, Management Guru
Today, as you and I read this newspaper (depending on when we pick up the paper), two women set off from Goa as the first Indian couple to sail around the world on their sailing yacht. She may have been there or may have already left on her 55 foot yacht.
Both are from South India, Dilna K (30) is from Kozhikode and Roopa A (32) is from Puducherry. Interestingly, Dilna’s father was in the Army and Rupa’s father was in the Air Force. And both are Navy officers and hold the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
The Navy is all set to embark on a mission to circumnavigate the globe covering a distance of more than 21,600 nautical miles (about 40 thousand km) without any external assistance and these two women will be able to circumnavigate the globe by relying only on the power of wind power. Will cross some of the most brutal sea areas. She will remain in water for the next eight months!
Circling the Earth is a journey of a lifetime and only the brave can take up this challenge. All eyes are on INSV Tarini, the indigenous yacht built by Aquarius Shipyard Goa and named after the Tara-Tarini temple of Odisha. It has many state-of-the-art features like satellite communication, ray navigation which helps in emergency steering.
The expedition promotes environmental protection as it promotes renewable energy resources and its crew will monitor and report on pollution in the high seas, besides showcasing ‘girl power’ on the global stage.
Roopa and Dilna, selected by the Navy, have been given intensive training in navigation, repair, maintenance, medical care, seamanship skills. Being a sailor, she has already covered 38 thousand nautical miles in her career and is now really comfortable at sea. Both have ample supplies of home-made pickles, banana-sago chips, halwa and other food items.
The Defense Food Research Laboratory has ensured that both have no dearth of variety to eat, including a good biryani to be enjoyed on a sunny day, while the idli-dosa mix will last till May 2025, when they Will come back.
Since there are very few sailing yacht owners in India who go to any global competition, awareness of the marine sport is also limited. If you go by train to any part of America, especially from New York to Boston, you will see thousands of yachts parked on various waterways. Water sports are very common in this part of the world.
After reading such news, the first question that would come in the minds of those who are away from water sports would be that how will these two women face the huge waves without any fear, where sometimes there will be dark nights too. Even Rupa admits, ‘We will not say that we are not afraid.’ But they have been trained to navigate this merciless sea, but they are going to lose sleep over it.
It’s a test of how you work beyond your limits and demonstrate mental and physical agility in the face of bad weather or ups and downs. Fear is natural.
When fear arises in someone’s mind, it also tries to help that person, helping him to survive. But when it crosses the threshold, it can paralyze anyone. Therefore such sailors are trained to keep these emotions under control so that their fear helps them and does not hinder their missions.
The bottom line is that If you do something adventurous, fear should not paralyze you, but should help you face it. Remember, Gandhiji had to face many such situations, which we are remembering with full respect today.