Three lady Indian Navy officers, team members of the ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ (world sea voyage) which travelled over 21,000 nautical miles in 2017 and 18, interacted on Thursday with the students of the Sainik School Goalpara.
Lieutenants Payal Gupta, S Vijaya and Pratibha Jamwal, who were the team members of the ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’ world sea voyage which travelled over 21 thousand nautical miles in 2017 and 18, interacted on Thursday with the students of the Sainik School Goalpara.
Talking about the challenges they have faced, the team members revealed that proper training, self confidence and an unending endurance and tolerance made possible their voyage which is a first ever by any Indian women team.
“Things were difficult, but every great achievement has to be difficult,” said Lt. Payal. Encouraging the students, she further added, “If we are able to do it, I am sure all of you will be able to do the same. The difficult part is volunteering; once you volunteer, then the rest is easy.”
In reply to a question on gender bias, whether being women created any difficulties for them, Lieutenant S. Vijaya said, “Being a woman there was not much difference. Because the sea doesn’t know whether you are a man or woman but there there is always life threatening challenges before you in sea.”
Lieutenant Pratibha, on the other hand, narrated how their parents were first in double mind but once they themselves boarded the boat, their confidence level increased and they let their daughters sail in the vast sea.
Navika Sagar Parikrama is the name of an expedition for circumnavigation of the globe on INSV Tarini by Indian Navy’s Women Naval Officers.
The six-member all-woman team circumnavigated and managed the whole operation in their first ever global journey.
The voyage finished on May 21, 2018 when the crew returned to Goa, with only 4 port calls in Fremantle Australia; Lyttelton, New Zealand; Port Stanley, Falklands; and Cape Town, South Africa and a forced technical halt at Port Louis, Mauritius.