Army sailing trip makes brief halt at Goa

PANAJI

: Dodging three cyclones, an Indian Army sailing expedition made a port of call at Goa as part of an attempt to sail around the Indian peninsula, from Haldia in Kolkata to Porbandar in Gujarat.

The expedition is aimed at spreading awareness about ocean pollution.

“This is the first time the complete Indian peninsula has been attempted to be covered on a sail boat,” crew leader Major Alok Kumar Yadav, said. “We had to plan meticulously to avoid bad weather. Since we set sail, we have avoided three cyclones.”

In October, cyclone Titli wreaked havoc in the Bay of Bengal area, followed by Gaja in November. A further deep depression was noticed in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea after cyclone Gaja.

The expedition crew comprises 55 sailors, including 25 officers of which five are women. The crew are rotated at each port of call, with just eight members on the vessel. After the departure from Haldia on October 21, stopovers were made at Vishakapatnam, Chennai, Trivandrum,

Kochi

, Mangaluru and recently, Goa. The crew departed for Mumbai from Dona Paula on Thursday.

“We want to promote sailing. We want to make people aware about saving the ocean. We have seen polluted water, plastic floating around. We want to create awareness about the sanctity of the Indian Ocean and the integrity of the Indian coastline,” Yadav said.