Round the world on Trishna-"First Handicap Person to Circumnavigate The Globe"

First Indian Sailing Expedition

Round The World

28 Sept 1985 – 10 Jan 1987

Yacht Trishna

‘Trishna’ is 36 feet 6 inches in length, 10 feet 9 inches in width, has a draught of 6feet 1 inch, and gross weight of 10.5 tons. It has been built by Nautor of Finland, and is designed by Sparkman and Stephen of USA. It has a sloop rig, has a long keel and a skeg hung rudder, making it very sea worthy in rough weather. The Swan class boat is respected by yachtsmen all over the world for being a very seaworthy craft. The yacht was renamed “TRISHNA” meaning an urge to attain and accomplish - a deep rooted desire. The boat has been fitted with all the basic cruising equipments, which include a depth sounder, wind instruments, speed log , radio direction finder, VHF and HF radio, satellite navigation system , a six man life raft, a rubber dinghy and other safety equipment. Her 50 gallon water capacity has been increased to 130 gallons. It has a 23 HP diesel inboard auxiliary engine with a 15 gallon fuel tank, which is used for entry and exit ports and for maneuvering in emergencies.

Route

Bombay-Maldives -Mauritus-St.Helena-Ascension –Natal-Belem-Paramaribo-Georgetown-Trinidad-Kingston-Panama-Galapagos-Marquises-Tahiti-Rarotanga-Fiji-Auckland-Brisbane-Cairns-T.island-Darwin-Kupang-Bali-Jakarta-Singapore-Penang-Nicobar island- Colombo-Bombay.

YACHT TRISHNA

A.K ON BOARD "TRISHNA"

SOUTHAMPTON –BOMBAY

After selecting and acquiring the 36 feet long, 14 year old ‘Guinevere of Sussex’ in the U.K. , and re-christening her as ‘Trishna of India’, the team sailed her from Southampton to Bombay, setting sail on 28th Oct and reaching Bombay on the 1st Feb 1984. They had earlier taken short courses in navigation and other nautical subjects; and in the U.K. , they had trained for a month - sailing the hazardous English Channel, and the various Channel Islands.

Their sail to India took them past the treacherous Bay of Biscay, where they encountered storms of over 110 kmph winds and 50 to 55 feet high waves; stopping at La Curruna (Spain) and Lisbon (Portugal). They sailed in dense fog for 2 ½ days, several times avoiding collision with fishing trawlers and ships. They passed through the Gibraltar Straits, stopping at Gibraltar, Ibiza, Malta, Kriti, and Port Suez, before traversing the Red Sea, on to Port Sudan. From Gibraltar all the way past Kriti, they had extremely rough weather again, being the Mediterranean winter weather, with following seas of over force 8 to 10 on the Beaufort scale, viz winds in excess of 100 kmph; and there was danger of broaching and rolling in case waves swamp the boat.

Northern half of the Red Sea passage was fast and comfortable- with following winds, but after Port Sudan, they sailed for 8 days and nights in stormy weather, with head winds upwards of 40 knots (70 kmph), forcing them to tack upwind in reefs and hidden rocks, with strong currents also against them, in the restricted channel of the Red Sea. There was grave danger of being shipwrecked and foundering, and also of being run over by the heavy shipping in the shipping lanes. From Aden, past Salala and Oman, on to Bombay, the passage was good sailing, with plenty of sea life : schools of over 9 whales at times, and hundreds of dolphins. One particular night, they were showered with hundreds of flying fish, hitting mast, sails and rigging, and falling on deck. They had to shield their eyes for protection.

The flying fish made excellent meal ! Trishna entered Bombay harbour on 1st Feb 1985, where she underwent thorough maintenance and repairs, carried out at the Naval Docks by the crew themselves, with all help from Navy, and was ready for the sail round the world by Sep 1985.

THE JOURNEY OF ROUND THE WORLD

The Corps of Engineers’ Yacht Trishna , which had sail from Bombay on 28 Sep 1985, on her 30,000 nautical miles voyage around the world , reached Bombay on 10th Jan 1987 and became the first Indian yacht to have sailed round the world.

The team having been flagged off by the then Chief of the Army Staff, Late General A.S. Vaidya, PVSM, MVC, AVSM, ADC on 28th September, 1985 From Bombay , she sailed to Maldives ,Mauritius , around the Cape of Good Hope, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Natal and Belem in Brazil, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica,, through the Panama canal, Galapagos Island, Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Bora-Bora, Rarotonga , Fiji, Auckland, Sydney, Cairns, Thursday Island, Darwin, Kupang, Waingapu, Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, Penang, Great Nicobar, Colombo and then back to Bombay

They met gales several times - on 29/30Sep,1/2Oct and 13/14 Oct 1985, damaging their VHF and HF aerials and electrical systems. The journey from Mauritius to Saint Helena Island around the Cape of Good Hope was one of the roughest and the longest non- stop journey of the Expedition , covering 4000 nautical miles in 33 days .

The gales off Madagascar coast, and several storms lasting over 18 hours at times , with winds over 120 kmph and waves 40-50 feet high around the treacherous Cape of Good Hope were encountered , when the boat was overtaken by waves and a lot of safety equipment was lost. The sail there- after was relatively comfortable except the tricky entry to Belem, with a 70 nautical miles up the River Rio Para with strong currents and floating tree logs, apart from crocodiles etc. Weather again got rough in the Caribbean Sea, but the journey through the Panama Canal was an unique experience.

At Port Balboa in Panama, Trishna was taken out of the water, cleaned, dried, repainted and all the systems overhauled for the oncoming journey across the Pacific Ocean. On 5 Apr’86, Trishna left Balboa for Galapagos Islands. Then began the second longest non-stop passage to Marquesas Island, covering over 3200 nautical miles in 23 days, and doing as much as 180 nautical miles per day- one of the fastest passages of the entire journey. AK’s artificial limb-being corroded through by the sea, broke at Tahiti, and needed to be welded and repaired before sailing on. Weather deteriorated thereafter, and they were hit by gales from Tahiti to Rarotonga, and on to Fiji , and from Fiji to Auckland , during which passage both their main sail as well as jib sail were ripped apart. The reserve mail sail met the same fate during this storm, and at one stage they were sailing only with storm sails. The artificial limb broke again at Cook Islands, and was attended to at a professional limb centre at Auckland.

The worst journey during the entire voyage was the crossing of the Tasman sea, from Auckland to Sydney - from 3 to17 Aug’86.They ran into gales and storms lasting over 12 days, including a five day storm with winds over 100 kmph and waves over 40 feet high. Once again their sails got torn, and crew had to follow the special storm drill of “hove-to” - to avoid damage to the hull, and help the crew to regain from exhaustion by letting the boat ride out the storm on its own. This journey left all the crew members completely exhausted, with a complete loss of appetite. AK’s artificial limb broke irreparably during this storm. He carried on after lashing it using metal and cordage, to get a replacement limb at Sydney.

The spell of storms continued when they ran into another storms from Sydney to Brisbane which lasted over 20 hours. Sailing from Brisbane to Cairns and Thursday Island was difficult navigation, as there were many reefs in narrow Great Barrier Reef area, which are a great navigational hazard, apart from the constant danger of being run down by heavy shipping traffic. Sailing through the narrow Torres Straits caused some anxious moments to the crew. Thereafter the sailing was pleasant till Penang, except for some thunder storms encountered en-route. Very fast passages were made from Penang to Great Nicobar and from Great Nicobar to Colombo, averaging 160 nautical miles per day. The journey from Colombo to Bombay was also a pleasant and fast one.

Close encounters with schools of whales took place after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, from Bora-Bora to Rarotonga , to Fiji and near Sri Lanka. Whales from 40-50 feet in length and 10-15 meters close to the boat , were sighted causing very anxious moments to the crew. A swish of the tail of the whale would have been enough to damage and probably sink the boat. Hundreds of fish and dolphins were seen en-route. Synchronized swimming of the schools of hundreds of dolphins were a treat to watch, when they moved in several pairs in perfect unison.

Hundreds of flying fish skimming on the sea-surface, were attracted by the lights on the boat, hit the crew members on the duty and fell in the cockpit. They made delicious eating. Many fish were caught en- route, including prize catches of 8 kgs and 20 kgs Tuna fish. The glow and phosphorescence of the Plankton particles in the wake of the boat at sea, were an unique and mesmerizing sight.

Galapagos Island were one of the most beautiful Island with plenty of sea life and animal life. Hundreds of sea-lions, marine and land Iguanas, whales, small Penguins, giant tortoises, blue and red footed boobies, pink flamingoes, beautiful red pouched frigate birds, pelicans and birds of many species, were seen. No wonder Darwin propounded his theory of evolution after his visit to these Islands.

The journey round the world on yacht “Trishna” was indeed a wonderful and a life enriching.

Dr Asha Singh (wife) Akshi & Aditi (Daughters)

10th January 1987

Major AK Singh became the first physically handicapped person to sail round the world.

http://www.prideofindia.net/world.html

http://www.hindu.com//03/15/storie2005s/2005031502412100.htm

videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m0fbzfRoG0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc20d-xZlaU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6pBHmu_3Ho&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IffRa1UmHmk&feature=related