Indian Navy Sailing Vessel Mhadei sailed into Kochi Port after completing a grueling 5000 nautical mile odyssey to South East Asia.
The vessel skippered by Lieutenant Commander Abhilash Tomy , a Navy Pilot by profession, was on a voyage to provide off shore sailing experience to Navy personnel. Two Officers and four Sailors benefitted from the voyage.
Earlier, Mhadei started from Goa its base port on 17th March. Enroute it had touched Ezhimala, Kochi, Port Blair, Langkawi and Phuket. Lieutenant Commander Tomy said that the sailing was a good experience though they had to face the gathering monsoon winds on their return leg. The vessel will cast off from Kochi on 29th May to return to Goa. Mhadei had created history when Commander Dilip Donde of Indian Navy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo in May 2010.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , May 28, 2012; Image: Indian Navy