8 women officers 'sail into' history BY HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 4 - They have made history, eight women who dared to sail non-stop from Mumbai to Goa in six days. All of them young officers of the Corps of Engineers, Indian Army were seen on two Seabirds "Seagull" and " Skua" as they docked at the INS Mandovi at Verem this evening. To sail a harbour sailing boat, which carries four sailors and is entirely wind powered with no inbuilt navigation aids and no cabin, calls for the highest standards of leadership, seamanship, endurance and perseverance. But the ladies seemed to handle the winds and the waves well.
"We lived each day and enjoyed the ups and downs of the expeditions," said Capt Bhavana KC, the expedition leader. But times were tough. "We would get frustrated with no winds at times and then there would be winds," she said. Then off course there was the seasickness. "But the girls stood their ground, helped each other and have done a wonderful job," she said. It was only after much hesitation that Lt Gen B S Dhaliwal, AVSM, VSM, Commandant College of Military Engineering and Commodores of Corps of Engineers gave the women a green signal to sail. Lt Dhaliwal today said that only the leader of the expedition has some experience in sailing but the other seven are novices sailing in a boat for the first time." They had to undergo an intensive training for 40 days at the HBTC Marve, Naval Training Team, NDA and the E Composite Signal Regiment, Pune. Being trained in all aspects of seamanship, boat handling, on-board drills, navigation and communication, the ladies were set to sail the 450 kms stretch from Mumbai to Goa. The training made them sea worthy sailors said Lt Dhaliwal. The expedition was flagged off on January 30 from the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre, Colaba, Mumbai. This is for the first time in the history of sailing in India that an all woman crew undertook an offshore sailing expedition. The crew comprising of Capt Bhavana KC, Lt Smita Gaikwad, Capt Kavita M, Capt Dhivya Roopha, Capt Sudha KV, Capt Elsie D'Costa, Lt Susan Roy and Lt Indu P were greeted and congratulated by all the officers present at the INS Mandovi. They "deserve all the kudos" said Lt Dhaliwal.
