VASCO: Commander Dilip Donde, the yachtsman who became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo by sailing INSV Mhadei, was felicitated for his historic feat at the hands of Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area, Vice Admiral Sudhir Pillai, NM in a function held at Hotel Bogmalo Beach Resort recently, in a programme titled ‘Welcome Home Sailor.’

The ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral (Retd) M P Awati, mentor of the project and Mr Ratnakar Dandekar, Director of Aquarius Fibreglas, Lt Cdr Abhilash Tomy and others, and was organised by the Aquarius Fibreglas Pvt Ltd who constructed INSV Mhadei.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Admiral Sudhir Pillai, quoted from an article on the website of the Association of Master Mariners of New Zealand, which mentioned that the Mhadei. "is extremely well constructed and has received much praise from the local boat builders."

Project Sagar Parikrama, which means circumnavigation by sea is the Indian Navy’s first solo circumnavigation venture.

The ambitious project was conceived and mentored by Vice Admiral (Retd) M P Awati, VrC, an avid yachtsman himself, and found active support from the Indian Navy and the Ministry of Defence. After studying various yacht designs, the Indian Navy zeroed in on the Van de Stadt Tonga 56, and awarded the contract for constructing her to Aquarius Fibreglas Pvt Ltd, Goa.

Thirteen months later, thanks to the efforts of the boat builder, Mr Ratnakar Dandekar with valuable guidance from Mr Johan Vels, representative of the design bureau, the boat was undergoing intensive sea trials in the waters of the Arabian Sea off Goa.

The boat proved to be, in the words of Sir Robin, without any "major flaws and a good boat to go around the world."

The Mhadei is a 56-foot Sloop with a displacement of 23 tonnes of wood core fiberglass construction and is fitted with all the necessary navigation and communication equipment to undertake a solo circumnavigation endeavor.

The boat has a suite of eight sails comprising two main sails, two genoas, one stay and storm gib each and two gennekars, and has facilities for paperless navigation and internet broadband and telephony anywhere in
the world.

During the voyage of more than 21000 miles, she touched only four ports - Fremantle, Christchurch, Falkland Islands and Cape Town.

She was well appreciated in all the ports for her strong and solid construction. Commander Dilip Donde is all praises for the boat. "You can think of sailing around the world only if you have a strong boat, and Mhadei more than lived up to expectations," he stated. 
Meanwhile, INSV Mhadei, was on public display at the Captain of Ports jetty at Panaji on June 20. Commander Donde, also interacted
with visitors.

Mr Dandekar the builder of the boat was also present and was surprised at the number of people who turned up to have a look at the boat. He said, "Going by the numbers in which Goans turned up, it is very evident that the people of Goa are well aware of their maritime history and traditions. I believe this boat will represent the coming of age of the Goan boat building industry. Mr Dandekar pointed that Goa holds a special significance for the boat and her crew, as she was constructed on Divar island, and also because she gets her name from the old name of the Mandovi river.