Indian Naval officer Commander Abhilash Tomy has been selected to participate in the prestigious Golden Globe Race (GGR), which commenced from Les Sables d’Olonne harbour in France on July 1, 2018.
The GGR requires all the participants to sail around the world, single-handed and non-stop. Abhilash Tomy is the only invitee from Asia to participate in the prestigious and unique voyage.
Significance
The uniqueness of the race is that it forbids the use of boat designs and technology newer than 1968.
Hence, use of Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite communication and navigational aids would not be permitted.
About Abhilash Tomy
• Commander Abhilash Tomy is one of India’s most prominent sailors.
• He has covered 53,000 nautical miles under sail, including a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 2012-13 onboard Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei.
• He is also a recipient of the Kirti Chakra, Mac Gregor and Tenzing Norgay awards.
• The officer would be sailing on an indigenously built sailing vessel -‘Thuriya’, which has been built by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Ltd at Goa.
• The boat showcases India’s boat building capability on the world forum and promotes the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• Thuriya stands for pure consciousness and is the background that transcends the three common states of consciousness, namely waking consciousness, dreaming and dreamless sleep.
The Golden Globe Race is being conducted by Sir Robin Knox Johnston of the UK to commemorate the completion of 50 years of the world's first solo non-stop circumnavigation undertaken by him in 1968-69 on board the Indian built boat, Suhaili.
The race includes a total of 18 sailors, who are expected to cover 30,000 miles non-stop, single-handedly and with no outside assistance.
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The race is expected to complete at Les Sables d’Olonne in April 2019. The progress of the race can be viewed on the official GGR website - http://www.goldengloberace.com.
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