All-Women Indian Navy Crew: Proving that “Girls Can”

Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi is leading an all-women crew comprising of Lieutenant P. Swathi, Lt B. Aishwarya, Lt Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Vijaya and SLt Payal Gupta. The boat was flagged off on this voyage by Rear Admiral KK Pandey on 24 May 2016 in Goa and arrived in Mauritius on June 14. Their goal is to circumnavigate the globe! There are many reasons behind embarking on this daring adventure, says Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The main one being that they are currently training to undertake a circumnavigation of the Globe in 2017. “The second good reason is that we can assure everyone that ‘Girls Can’ when asked to take up a challenge,” says Vartika Joshi. She is not at her first try, along with Lt Swathi, she was part of previous voyages by Mhadei crews. In 2014, she was part of the crew who took part in the Cape Town-Rio de Janeiro sailing competition. The current crew is expected to take part in the same competition in 2017. A question cropped up: How were crew members selected before undertaking this venture? To this the mariner explains: “All the women officers are keen sailors who took to the sport after joining the Indian Navy. They have undergone theoretical training in navigation, communication, meteorology and seamanship at the Navy’s Training Schools in Kochi.” They have been training under the able leadership of Commander Dilip Donde, India’s first circumnavigator, who undertook his voyage on the same boat, Mhadei, in 2008-2009. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19627","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-33865","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"571","height":"428","alt":"All-Women Indian Navy Crew"}}]] However, for next year’s circumnavigation of the Globe, the crew will get a new boat. The women sailors will undertake their daring adventure on board a new sailing vessel of the Navy that is currently under construction at the M/s Aquarius Shipyard of Goa. This boat has been named already. It is called the Tarini and is expected to be delivered by February 2017. The Indian Navy currently does not have the facilities to build such ships, thus, it had to have recourse to a private contractor. The Navy is in the process of setting up an Ocean Sailing Node at Goa to promote ocean sailing so as to encourage and foster a spirit of adventure among young naval officers and sailors. Mhadei and Tarini will both be based at this Node in Goa. The six Navy Women are alone in the open sea. So what, security measures have been implemented? “The sailing ship Mhadei is an all-modern sailing vessel equipped with the state of the art technology. I should add that our trip has been monitored closely to the minute by satellite watching at our base in Goa,” Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The trip to Mauritius, despite being scheduled during the treacherous weather conditions of the monsoon, has been more less a good one, says LtCdr Joshi. “We have been trained both physically and psychologically to face any hardship during our internship at the Indian Navy School.” The choice to effect the trip during the monsoon season was deliberate. “We knew it will be arduous as we are to travel through rough seas and heavy swells. It was deliberate as the voyage was meant to be a training period to expose the young crew to rough seas and weather that they could encounter during the circumnavigation in 2017,” says Lieutenant Commander. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19628","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-33866","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"522","height":"315","alt":"All-Women Indian Navy Crew"}}]] To deal with hardships during any such trip, says the mariner, having the right mindset is all sufficient to meet any physical challenges. “We are able to ply the sails when need be. We are convinced that having muscles is not the sole prerogative of men. We Girls, We Can! This is our message to the women folk of Mauritius. And this is what we told the Minister of Gender Equality, [Mrs Aurore Perraud] when she welcomed us in her office.” The crew were welcomed in Mauritian waters by the National Coast Guard. “This took us by surprise and gave us a cheer at the end of our trip to Mauritius. We thank the local authorities and the people of Mauritius for their warm welcome and greetings,” says Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. The Indian Navy crew are expect to head back to Goa this Friday 24 June.