Okay, Robin, whenever you're ready.
The number of people who have circumnavigated the world
is fewer than the number of people
who have climbed Mount Everest.
Some people will be terrified. Some people rise above.
When anyone tells you they don't get frightened of the sea
they are either a bloody liar
or they are inhuman.
Hold on.
Vijaya, pull this sheet from that side.
Yes, and from that side, too.
Hold onto this here. From the other side as well.
Wind is still gusting till 40 knots and
it's a bit rough outside.
Everyone is getting ready for the fight.
A new video shared by the Indian Navy
reveals the all-woman crew
fiercely fighting the storm and rain.
Braving the choppy weather.
'She's moving ahead with a roar.'
'Tearing till the horizonal end.'
'The six women sailors have started off'
'holding the Indian flag high.'
'The rhythm of India and the Indians'
'echoed in all the directions.'
One thing is for sure
that none of us would have been here
if there was not something
in common in us.
So, definitely that something common
is the streak of adventure.
Everybody is here for some adventure.
Adventure.
A shared emotion
that single-handedly put together
the Navika Sagar Parikrama
the expedition of the Tarini
the 56 foot long
Indian Naval Sailing Vessel.
When she set sail in September 2017
with her crew of six
on a voyage around the globe
she was powered not just by the winds
but also the thirst for adventure.
The sea is a great tutor.
So, today
it's calm as a mirror.
Next moment
it's a howling demon
trying to smash you to bits.
In such a changing medium
if you learn to handle
a small open boat
you automatically become a person
who can develop
that great quality
called decision-making
courage
self-confidence
which all add up to build your character.
There comes a turning point in every sailor's life
one where they come face to face
with the perfect storm.
Will the brave six young women
all officers of the Indian Navy, aboard the Tarini
weather their perfect storm?
Let me tell you how it all started.
It started with me
picking up a book in London
roadside, on a footpath called
'Sailing Alone Around The World.'
The Indian Navy does not allow
its female force
on warships or in combat.
So, how could they prove their mettle?
Or effect a change in attitude?
It was Retd. Vice Admiral Awati
a doyen of Indian sailing
who convinced the Indian Navy
to get on board the ambitious plan.
An avid ecologist and a dedicated sailor
Admiral Awati was the force
behind this milestone.
Six young Indian women
on a boat across the world.
The first of its kind from the country.
So, way back in 2012
we gathered our first bevy
of young ladies
and out of these, we finally
selected these six.
I call them
my Serendipitous Six.
Tarini hoped to set a maritime record.
The first Indian all-woman crew
to circumnavigate the globe.
The first leg
from India to Australia
across the relatively calmer waters
of the Indian Ocean.
The second leg
across the gusty Tasman Sea to New Zealand
crossing over into the Pacific Ocean.
And then the third leg
and the longest haul
across the stormy South Pacific Ocean
around Cape Horn
to Falklands in South America.
And finally
the fourth leg
across the unpredictable Atlantic
to South Africa.
And from there
back to the starting point.
A voyage that would cover over 40,000 kilometres
across seas.
The journey actually began two whole years
before the team set sail from Goa
on the historic voyage.
When Captain Dilip Donde
the first Indian to solo circumnavigate
in 276 days
is hired to train and mentor the team.
The sea doesn't understand
cannot make out between a man and a woman
nor does the boat
the boat cannot make out between a man and a woman.
All they respect is competence.
And as long as you are competent, you can go.
So, over the two years
the team worked with experts in the field
goes on sailing sorties
and equips themselves with every trick in the book
to increase their chances of survival at sea.
Before they know it
D-day is right around the corner
and soon, they are saying their goodbyes.
For Vijaya and Swathi
who have spouses in the Navy
the farewells are no easier.
Until last time, we never realized
okay, it's going to be so tough.
And yesterday, we're like, okay, we are busy with all other stuff.
We never realized it. Only last night
we realized that this is the last time.
We just looked at each other, we just hugged each other.
That's what was more than enough for us.
It was a very painful situation for me at least
because I'm very much emotionally attached
to my family and my husband.
For Skipper, Vartika Joshi
it was much more than a goodbye.
Her mother had been diagnosed with cancer
and has to go in for a crucial surgery.
The outcome of which
she would only get to know at sea.
I just hugged my mother and
I just about managed to hide my tears.
I was aware of what had happened to her.
She was going to be hospitalized. I was also aware of that.
In such a situation, I don't know how Vartika
managed to leave under so much pressure.
And in such circumstances
I don't know how I managed to let her go.
Neither of us knew what lay ahead.
But she used to say
"Nothing is going to happen to you."
"Just watch, I will go triumph over the sea"
"you will be triumphant and live long."
Loading the boat is fraught with emotion
as the families join the crew
to see what would be their home in the months ahead.
I am feeling very emotional.
My daughter is going to be there for eight months.
So
it's a very emotional feeling.
Why are you getting emotional?
What is this?
Worries won't do anything.
We have to back them up and give courage.
That is the thing.
Come, Dad.
Is this a camera?
Yes, this camera is for recording.
For instance, when we leave from here
they will require our videos
and we will need to record as well.
So that's why they have installed it.
Meanwhile, a back-end team is gearing up to monitor
their journey across the globe.
As is a whole nation.
And finally, minutes before the voyage commences
the flagging off ceremony
led by the Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman.
It is a historic day for India
which will be marked in navigation history.
...all the way with them
and I'm sure
we will have them back here
after the voyage is successfully completed
only to happily receive them.
Once we cast off, there was a feeling
inside our thoughts
what lies ahead is mystery.
We have yet to encounter
whatever is going to come on our way.
September 10th, 2017
Tarini is on her way.
Her biggest test
merely months away.
Enchanting
dangerous
irresistible.
Ever since the dawn of civilisation
humankind has always been susceptible
to the charms of the seas.
No matter how dangerous
her inky depths.
16th Century AD.
The world's first attempt at circumnavigation
is a Spanish expedition
led by Ferdinand Magellan.
It begins with 5 ships
and 270 sailors.
When it ends in three years and one month
there are just 18 survivors.
Among those who didn't make it
is Magellan himself.
Two centuries later
the world gets its first woman circumnavigator.
She is Jeanne Barret
who joins the first ever
French expedition in the 18th century.
Since French ships did not allow
women on board at the time
she is disguised as a man.
It would be a couple hundred years
before the next woman
attempts a similar journey across the world.
And then in September 2017
an all-woman crew of the Indian Navy
leaves shore to join these illustrious names
in the annals of history.
So, this is the sleeping area
there are only four people sleeping in this boat.
So, two of them are in the watch outside
and that is how
the sleeping pattern works in this boat.
This is the main area where we work
and this is our Nav bench
where there are various
communication and navigation equipments.
INSV Tarini
is just 17 meters long
with 25 meters tall
custom-made mast and 5 sails.
She's made to a Dutch design.
The ship's hull is constructed from wood core
and fiberglass sandwich panel.
Having left her home in Goa, in India
Tarini is well on her way
to her first port of call in Australia.
Though the weeks spent on the sea are exciting
they have been uneventful.
Days and nights follow a well-established pattern.
Your day on the boat generally depends upon
on which watch you're put on.
Like, if you have a morning watch
which starts at like
probably 4:00 or sometimes at 6:00.
Hi! Good morning!
Hello from the rainbow also.
Every hour you have to keep track
of your fixes, you have to write
and then you have to make a position report at 8:00
which is generally done by the skipper.
It's Diwali and I'm calling home.
Talk to your family in the morning
and then if there's some repair works
and check for any loose screws and nuts, bolts.
So, that's majorly what we do in the morning.
and somebody gets up and makes breakfast.
Here we see pav bhaji in the making
and you can see Vartika ma'am having hot chocolate.
And then, after four hours our watch gets over
and then you probably go
and take rest for a while.
Come back. It's done. Come back.
Hey, it's the 31st day
and we are at
32 degree latitude
and it's very cold right here.
It's about 15 degree temperature
and morning
7 o'clock.
Nothing much because there's hardly any wind.
Yesterday we were stranded at a place
about 31 degree latitude
so, today we are hoping
that we will get some wind at least
so that we can move.
The familiar waters of the Indian Ocean are comforting
but not easy to sail in.
We didn't have much winds and we knew about it
because Indian Ocean is typical in that particular time
and it was like post-monsoon and the sea had subsided
and there were no winds actually.
Generally, we cross the Equator in 7 days
and the first leg, it took us 15 days.
And then, well into that first leg of the voyage
on what begins as a typical day at sea
the team hit a snag.
When we were about to reach
probably 10 days or so before that
we ran out of water. Our RO plant gave up.
Tarini was still a few thousand miles from Fremantle
on the West Australian coast.
It could be a good week or two before they see land
and fresh water.
There was no choice now, but to dip into their reserves.
I knew that I have to keep managing the water from now.
So that's why we started distributing the water.
Each, like, 1-1.5 litres per person per day.
To add to their troubles
as they painfully inched towards the equator
the winds drop, temperature rises.
And Tarini is well and thoroughly trapped in the doldrums.
The question now was
will they reach port before water runs out?
A human body can survive three to seven days
without drinking water.
But at sea, these odds don't hold.
Salt is a champion dehydrator.
They would not survive the week.
What are you doing?
I'm trying to fix the RO.
Actually
I don't know what things in the pipe has gone bad
and I'm trying to replace the pipe.
Today is maintenance day.
So we're cleaning the bilges. The boat will be cleaned
and we're going to look after her today.
So, our day is dedicated. - Since we are in doldrums
so we have nothing much to do. - Yes.
When there's, like.. - Sea state must be zero.
And wind is like 7 knots. - Yes, 7 knots
but we are doing 5 knots speed.
That's the good part. - Yes.
A broken RO plant
depleting water supplies and the dreaded doldrums.
A colloquial term
for low pressure areas near the equator
doldrums is a word that can unsettle
the most seasoned sailor.
The calm in these regions can be highly deceptive.
Because it is this calm
this lack of wind that traps mariners
for days and weeks in its death grip.
The weather pattern here also has heightened heat and humidity.
In olden times
sailors are known to have run out of food and water
and perished in the doldrums
while waiting for a whiff of wind in their sails.
Back on the boat
Tarini languishes in the stillness of the sea.
And the crew try to keep up their spirits.
We just finished playing Scrabble.
We learnt it for the first time. - She won.
I won by chance.
I did not know what I was doing. So I know more words!
Though behind schedule
they were still inching their way forward to Australia
the first port of call on meagre winds.
Yes, we are just about
0.7 miles
and about to cross the equator as you can see.
A true circumnavigation of the Earth
must start and finish at the same point
travelling in one general direction
reach two antipodes
that is two diametrically opposite places on Earth
which essentially means
that one must cross all longitudes
cover a minimum of 40,000 kilometres
and cross the equator.
Crossing the equator is indeed a milestone.
Hence, in spite of the water problem
a celebration is planned.
I was carrying walnuts
so we had a choco-walnut cake.
And I've drawn a line on the cake in the centre
saying it's 0 degrees
that's what equator we are crossing.
Here comes the equator.
Here, actually..
Come, come, come. - Okay. - 5, 4
3, 2, 1! - Blow the candle!
Happy Equator Crossing!
She gets the first.
Happy birthday..
Cheers! - Cheers! - Happy Equator Crossing!
And as they cross the equator over to the Southern Hemisphere
things start looking up.
Hey, guys, you can see the rainbow.
It's raining. It's drizzling a little bit.
It's started raining heavily.
We've made the best use out of it.
It's good that we have sails
because the water collected in the sails
and we took the water in buckets.
All of us took showers that day.
I think, all six of us were outside
collecting water, and, you know, to last.
And it actually lasted for the next entire duration
of the voyage.
And with their water problem partially solved
soon they get wind in their sails!
This time, they are the ones chasing the storm!
When we crossed the equator
and we entered the Southern Hemisphere
where the winds are stronger and steady
they just rose
to up to 45 knots
when they actually came.
That entire stretch of the Southern Hemisphere
was quite rough all the way.
The winds were as high as 90 kilometres per hour
and the waves
also were 5 to 6 metres high.
As they say, "When it rains, it pours."
Because soon, the RO plant was back in action!
For about 10 to 12 days, we were not able to repair it.
So, I just went around and checked all the filters
and at that point of time, we came to know
that one of the filters had the polythene
which was a cover, was intact in there only
so, because of that polythene
it was not able to filter and the pressure was increasing.
So, we removed that filter, we put the new one
and it started working.
It's the 35th day
and we are heading towards Australia.
So we are left with
1,000 nautical miles more to go.
But the sea is really, really rough.
You can see the huge waves.
This is the big one.
With the dreaded doldrums and water problem behind them
the crew get a breather.
But the weather outside is unpredictable and trying.
It's raining very heavily right now. It's the..
There's a big patch coming from.. - Big patch is coming.
An unlikely visitor, however
tells them that land is not too far.
So, there's a bird sitting inside the boat right here
and it's flown quite a distance
to be here today.
And just like that, one day, suddenly
Fremantle is on the horizon!
Tarini has completed the first leg of her journey.
And finally after a struggle of 43 days we arrived at Fremantle.
Ready. You're on, you're on.
Hi!
Thank you Western Australia for so many things.
Especially for the curry. - She's gone mad, it's okay.
You can understand after 43 days of sailing and being at land
so that was difficult for her.
Hip Hip. - Hurray! - Hip Hip. - Hurray!
Bharat Mata ki.. - Jai!
It is a well-stocked ship and six well rested souls..
Bye, guys. - ...that set sail for New Zealand
crossing the Tasman Sea that would take them
from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
Tarini had embarked on the second leg of her voyage.
After an uneventful start
and just as the crew settle into smooth sailing
snap!
A rope gives way in the mast rigging.
So now easy stow is required to hold the sail
so, we could not just let it go.
And when we were anticipating such rough weathers
we did not want the sail to be falling down
and, you know, come in our way
when we want other important things to be taken care of.
This was a problem that could only be fixed
by climbing the 25 metres tall mast.
Approximately 8 floors high, in land terms.
When you go up, you are moving three dimensional
front, back, sidewards
upwards, downwards, everything
and you are only held up by one rope.
Clearly, it was a job for the most experienced hand.
And though the weather is not bad
it is still a task that is difficult at sea.
I wouldn't prefer climbing it when it was very rough
because there are chances.. If something fails
if my harness doesn't hold
I will just drop down in water and I'll be vanished.
So, I waited for some time for the sea to calm down
and then I slowly did that thing.
Up, up!
She was quite tired by the time she came down
and we made her rest for a good amount of time
before she could go about her routine of the day.
You would have been in a bad condition
the way you were hung up there for an hour.
That sorted
the crew take stock and a moment.
We had the good fortune
of witnessing a lot of marine life as well.
School of pilot whales, sperm whales.
So, that was fantastic
and we had not witnessed such a thing before.
It is a journey that gives them no indication
of what was to come.
Tarini had now crossed over
from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
She is now on her third leg of her voyage.
Next stop, the Falklands, in South America.
This part of the journey would take them across
the tricky South Pacific Ocean.
With few land masses around
help would be slow to come by in this region
in case of a crisis.
I must say that leg three
was the most toughest.
The more South we went
we were more lonely out there at sea.
The weather started getting colder.
We were on constant vigil all the time.
There was a lot going on in everyone's mind.
They say it takes but a second for fortune to change
and change it did for Tarini.
You don't know how it looks like
you can't even imagine how it looks like.
A storm is in the offing
and they are squarely in its way.
Right since the afternoon the winds were about 30-35 knots
about 70 kilometres per hour.
First time in the entire voyage
the winds had picked up to that extent.
We were starting to prepare our life jackets
our tethers, everything.
We were only preparing the boat so that nothing breaks.
And soon, it is upon them.
We saw that the storm, the eye of the storm
was progressing Northeast.
We thought we'll go South and West
so that we will avoid the storm
but then we got into the tail of the storm.
With the deftness of a cowboy wielding a lasso
the storm had caught them
just as they thought they had escaped nature's fury.
Now all they could do was face their perfect storm
and put up the fight of their lives.
Expecting it to increase to at least 55-60 knots
and since last 2-3 days
we have been watching it very closely
almost every two hours.
And now when finally it's there, let's see how it goes.
Tonight is going to be a long night.
Back home, an anxious nation follows the progress
of the little boat in a vast angry ocean.
We're not even getting network.
Vijaya, pull this sheet from that side.
Yes, and from that side, too.
Hold onto this here. From the other side as well.
Wind is still gusting till 40 knots, and
it's a bit rough outside.
Everyone is
getting ready for the fight.
The wind had almost picked up to 60-65 knots.
The kind of sea that we had seen that time
we had never even witnessed it.
We had only seen that in the movies.
A little boat and six souls.
Three inside holding fort
and three outside manning the deck.
The crew split up to face the full fury of an angry ocean
and then, they finally meet the storm head-on.
There's this huge, big wave
that comes and hits us from behind.
There was no place safe enough.
Not on the boat, not at sea.
Outside, the waves raged.
It was to be a merciless battle.
Payal flew from one side to the other side of the boat
and she was blank for almost 2 minutes.
My first instinct was to rush to Payal.
It's very lucky that she hit her head
and nothing happened to her.
We could see that wave passing on top of me
and at one point I was inside the wave.
As soon as I saw outside
I couldn't see anybody on the wheel.
For about 10 to 15 seconds
I found myself inside the water
and I was wondering where am I.
I step outside, I see Pratibha and Vijaya
crawling towards the wheel
and Vartika ma'am was nowhere to be seen.
When the wave actually subsided, I come out of water and I see
that I was actually holding on to the steering
though I was lying on the deck.
Probably, if I was not wearing my tether
I would probably have been washed off-board.
It is a night none of them would ever forget.
It was their perfect storm.
But as dawn broke
they knew they had survived the worst.
The storm started subsiding
somewhere around 8 o'clock.
Then the sun comes out.
I think I am going to remember that morning
for the rest of my life.
Some supreme power has come
and, you know
it's telling, "You can relax now."
"You know, it's going to be all right."
Battered, but triumphant
Tarini rounds Cape Horn.
But she is still not out of the woods.
The storm has blown out her engine.
For circumnavigation we really don't need an engine.
But we were about to enter Falkland Islands, thereafter.
For entering a harbour, you really need an engine.
And if you don't have wind
then there is no manoeuvrability.
The brave, as they say, are indeed blessed.
For, as they draw closer to the Falklands
the tide turns
quite literally.
The favourable tide and a light breeze
guides Tarini gently into harbour.
We are just about to enter Falklands.
In the background you can see.
All six of us are outside.
The storm has taken its toll.
Both boat and crew are in need of repair.
But now, only one ocean, the Atlantic
stands between Tarini and the making of history.
Fortune, they say, favours the brave.
Their perfect storm behind them, it's smooth sailing for Tarini
to her last port of call across the South Atlantic Ocean.
Now, only South Africa
stands between her and home.
I think we both are coming back to Falklands.
Yes, we are. But by flight. - Yes. By flight.
Happy birthday to you.
Soon enough, Cape Town is on the horizon
and a surprise awaits the crew.
Tarini sets sail from South Africa
for the finish line in Goa
where history awaits them.
You know, the dolphins
the fishes, all these sunrises, sunsets
the moonlight over the seas
all these wonders of the nature that we witnessed at sea
it's like nature's telling us, you have better things to look at
than, you know, feeling miserable and lonely.
With their last port of call
Cape Town, behind them
Tarini is steadily navigating her way home
And soon, it was clear, that it would not be an easy ride.
Nearly 4,000 kilometres from Goa
their final destination, disaster strikes.
Tarini and the six Indian women naval officers on board
were inching closer to making history.
181 days
and over 36,000 kilometres at sea later
they were merely 4,000 kilometres from home
Goa, their final destination
and then, disaster strikes.
When we were on our return
like, from Cape Town, we hear a noise.
I went to the wheel and when I realized the wheel is free.
It was free as if just a normal ring or a bangle.
Now you see it from inside
whether the arms are holding, everything is okay down there.
Yes, it's in midship.
What is the condition here? - It's midships.
Yes. The problem is on this starboard side. - Yes.
And we need to check what the problem is exactly.
We're just trying to check
what's the reason that the engine is not starting.
So, basically, we did not have any connection
between the steering wheel
which is used to rotate the rudder of the boat
and the rudder itself.
Tarini was rudderless.
With no mechanism to steer in any particular direction
the boat is at the mercy of the sea.
And another storm is brewing close by.
The crew quickly take precautions and bring down the sails.
The on-ground team back home is alerted.
The end connectors of the links had broken
so we made them into one and we are steering with one
only one connecting rod.
The navy is consulted and soon, there is a plan.
It would require an unscheduled stop
but a necessary one.
The delay sets them back by nearly a week.
And home is so close yet so far.
Good evening, sir. Capt. Atool Sinha speaking, sir.
Yes, sir, we have been monitoring Tarini
minute by minute and she is heading
on a port tack towards Mauritius
she should be there in about two days.
When Tarini finally reaches Mauritius
a team is waiting to do the necessary repairs.
Parts have been flown in from India and in eight days
she is back at sea again.
This is on the 26th of April
at 9:30 in the morning
we are leaving Mauritius. This is the beautiful Port Louis.
By now, the crew is impatient.
Home could not be close enough!
Four Continents, three Capes
three oceans, eight months
199 days at sea
and 254 days since they sailed
for the first time from Goa
Tarini had finally sailed home
and into history.
Tarini has been my home
my friend, my companion.
She has been throughout my voyage
taught me lots of things
as a child, as a mature person
as a mother taking care of us when we were afraid.
So, she's the companion
that I will be missing throughout my life.
And so, the first Indian all-woman crew
to circumnavigate the globe comes home
to a ceremonial flypast, a welcoming flotilla
and at the pier, the man who started it all.
The "woman power" in India
is not something to only talk about
but we can actually do it.
And we have done it. It's historic.
I do not know how
words can be sufficiently used to praise
the great grit, the commitment
the hard work, hope.
They never gave up hope for a minute.
Navika Sagar Parikrama
is something which all of us
can be proud about for generations to come.
Yes.
She used to say, "Nothing will happen to you."
"Just watch, I will go triumph over the sea"
"you will be triumphant and live."
For generations to come, in India, you know
probably everybody will remember Admiral Awati
as a great visionary
and, you know, a man who brought ocean sailing to our country.
Completing this voyage successfully
was the only way that we could say thank you to him.
Maybe in 2019, the same Tarini will carry
one of the six on a solo circumnavigation.
And then, I'm ready to die.
'We aren't helpless, we are like the clouds.'
'We are filled with enthusiasm.'
'Storms, you better take rest'
'the boat is not far now.'
'Tarini, the saviour, blows like the wind.'