INSV Mhadei and its crew members were given a cheerful reception by officials and fans as the boat reached here today upon completion of a long voyage of 17,000 nautical miles from Goa all the way to Brazil's Rio de Janeiro and back.
The boat and its brave crew was received by Adm (Retd) Arun Prakash.
INSV Mhadei had departed from Goa for South Africa's Cape Town in November of last year to take part in the 2014 edition of the prestigious and historic trans-Atlantic 'Cape2Rio' race.
According to a Navy release, the boat was skippered by Cdr Dilip Donde and sailed by a crew of three -- Cdr MVV Satish (trainee skipper), Cdr TGS Bedi and Lt Cdr Shweta Kapur.
After covering a distance of almost 5,000 nautical miles in a little over a month, the boat arrived at Cape Town just in time to get herself ready for the race.
'Cape2Rio' is a race sailed between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro, a distance of 3,300 nautical miles. The race is conducted by the Cape Town-based Royal Cape Yacht Club and is hosted by the Iate Club on the other side in Rio de Janeiro.
By the end of the exhausting race, Mhadei was the 16th boat to cross the finish line despite its handicap of sailing with an inexperienced crew.
Apart from its objective of competing in the gruelling race, the Navy also undertook the long voyage with the additional aim of training more crew members, including women officers, the release said.
"In the voyage from Goa to Rio de Janeiro and back, Navy not only managed to take part in the race, but also train three women officers in the art of long-distance ocean sailing, which is a first for the Indian Navy.
"With the arrival of the Mhadei in Goa, the Indian Navy has achieved all that it had set out to with this voyage," the release added.
