Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won in 1994 the second Jules Verne Trophy, for which they were also given the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards. In 2007, at the age of 67, he set a record as the oldest yachtsman to complete a round the world solo voyage in the Velux 5 Oceans Race.
Bernard Moitessier was a French sailor, most notable for his participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race. With the fastest circumnavigation time towards the end of the race, Moitessier was the likely winner for the fastest voyage, but he elected to continue on to Tahiti and not return to the start line in England, rejecting the idea of the commercialization of long distance sailing. He was a French national born and raised in Vietnam, then part of French Indochina.
The sport and practice of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember. The term usually refers to ocean and long-distance sailing and is used in competitive sailing and among cruisers.
The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first non-stop round-the-world yacht race. The race was controversial due to the failure of most competitors to finish the race and because of the apparent suicide of one entrant, Donald Crowhurst; however, it ultimately led to the founding of the BOC Challenge and Vendée Globe round-the-world races, both of which continue to be successful and popular.
INS Tarangini is a three-masted barque, commissioned in 1997 as a sail training ship for the Indian Navy. She is square rigged on the fore and main masts and fore-and-aft rigged on the mizzen mast. She was constructed in Goa to a design by the British naval architect Colin Mudie, and launched on 1 December 1995. In 2003–04, she became the first Indian naval ship to circumnavigate the globe.
Suhaili is the name of the 32-foot (9.8 m) Bermudan ketch sailed by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the first non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.
Laura Dekker is a New Zealand-born Dutch sailor. In 2009, she announced her plan to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed. A Dutch court stepped in, owing to the objections of the local authorities, and prevented Laura from departing while under shared custody of both her parents. In July 2010, a Dutch family court ended this custody arrangement, and the record-breaking attempt finally began on 21 August 2010. Dekker successfully completed the solo circumnavigation in a 12.4-metre (40 ft) two-masted ketch named Guppy, arriving in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, 518 days later at the age of 16.
The first Indian circumnavigation in a sail boat was undertaken in 1985-1987 by a team comprising officers of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers on yacht Trishna, a 1970-vintage Swan 37 sloop.
INSV Mhadei is a sail training boat of the Indian Navy. On 19 May 2010 as he sailed Mhadei into Mumbai harbour, Commander Dilip Donde became the first Indian national to complete a single-handed circumnavigation under sail, in an Indian-built boat. He sailed from Mumbai on 19 August 2009 and returned to Mumbai after four stops on 19 May 2010. It was later used by Abhilash Tomy for his own single-handed, unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation under sail.
INSV Tarini is the second sailboat of the Indian Navy. She was constructed at Aquarius Shipyard located in Goa. After undergoing extensive sea trials, she was commissioned to Indian Navy service on 18 February 2017.
The Mhadei class are ocean going sail training boats of the Indian Navy & include INSV Mhadei and INSV Tarini as the 2 sail boats of the class. On 19 May 2010 as he sailed Mhadei into Mumbai harbour, Commander Dilip Donde became the first Indian national to complete a single-handed circumnavigation under sail, in an Indian-built boat. He sailed from Mumbai on 19 August 2009 and returned to Mumbai after four stops on 19 May 2010. It was later used by Abhilash Tomy for his own single-handed, unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation under sail.
Commander Mahesh Ramchandran is a retired Indian Naval Officer. He is a graduate of the National Defence Academy, with a Bachelor of Science degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Mahesh was awarded the Arjuna Award on 29 August 2002 for the year 2001. This was conferred to him by the then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Navika Sagar Parikrama was a circumnavigation of the globe by female officers of the Indian Navy. The six-member all-woman team circumnavigated and managed the whole operation in their first-ever global journey, on INSV Tarini. The voyage lasted 254 days, from 10 September 2017 to 21 May 2018, with only 4 port calls, in Fremantle, Australia; Lyttelton, New Zealand; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; and Cape Town, South Africa, and a forced technical halt at Port Louis, Mauritius, crossing the equator twice and passing through 3 oceans. The voyage was originally set to start on September 5, 2017, but a 5-day delay happened so that Nirmala Sitharaman, who was recently appointed defense minister, could flag off the crew. The boat returned to INS Mandovi in Goa after travelling 21,600 nautical miles. The voyage was showcased in Tarini, a documentary jointly produced by National Geographic and the Indian Navy, premiering at an event at Lady Shri Ram College on 8 March to mark International Women's Day. The voyage prompted National Geographic to start the "Girls Who Sailed" campaign, to tell tales of "grit and determination".
The 2018 Golden Globe Race was an around-the-world sailing race founded by Australian adventurer and circumnavigator, Don McIntyre. The race started on 1 July 2018 from Les Sables-d'Olonne, France as the second edition and 50th anniversary celebration of the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. It featured yachts similar to those used at that time. Except for safety equipment, no modern technology was allowed.
Vice Admiral Manohar Prahlad Awati, PVSM, VrC was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was awarded the Vir Chakra for his command of the Arnala-class anti-submarine corvette INS Kamorta (P77). The admiral was also known as the "Father of the Indian Navy's Circumnavigation Adventures".
Commander Abhilash Tomy, KC, NM (Retd) is a retired Indian Navy officer, naval aviator and yachtsman. In 2013, he became the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world under sail. He also competed in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. In January 2021, he retired from military service to concentrate on the 2022 Golden Globe Race. He finished second in the race, becoming the only Asian skipper to win a podium finish in a round the world race.
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipients are honoured for their "outstanding achievement in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air" over the last three years. The lifetime achievement is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence and have devoted themselves in the promotion of adventure sports. As of 2020, the award comprises "a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay along with a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000)."
William Hatfield is an Australian retired engineer and fisherman who on 22 February 2020, at the age of 81, became the oldest person to have successfully sailed solo, non-stop and unassisted around the Earth.
Navika Sagar Parikrama II or Navika Sagar Parikrama 2 is an upcoming circumnavigation of the globe by female officers of the Indian Navy. Unlike previous edition that had a 6 women crew, this time only 2 women will attempt to circumnavigate the globe. They are Indian Navy women officers Lt Cdr Roopa A and Lt Cdr Dilna K, who will undertake the journey once again onboard INSV Tarini. The duo have been preparing themselves for this expedition for the last three years. The 2 officers were previously part of the six-member crew that had participated in trans-oceanic expedition from Goa to Rio de Janeiro via Cape Town and back in 2023. Then the 2 women officers undertook a sailing expedition from Goa to Sri Vijaya Puram and back in double-handed mode. They further honed their skill, by successfully undertaking a sortie from Goa to Port Louis, Mauritius again in dual-handed mode early in 2024. The two women officers have received their training and mentoring under various Indian Navy offers who have circumnavigated the globe, including ace circumnavigator and Golden Globe Race hero, Cdr Abhilash Tomy. Note that Indian Navy has been making efforts to enhance its ocean sailing skills through Sail Training Ships INS Tarangini and INS Sudarshini and circumnavigation onboard INSV Mhadei and INSV Tarini.
