Apart from races, the ship sails extensively across the Indian Ocean region for the purpose of providing sail training experience to the officer cadets of the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy believes that training on board these ships is the best method of instilling among the trainees the "indefinable 'sea-sense' and respect for elements of nature, which are inseparable from safe and successful seafaring". The Navy believes that sail training also serves to impart the values of courage, camaraderie, endurance and esprit-de-corps among budding naval officers.[3]
Service history
Tarangini started its first circumnavigation of the globe in 2003–04, with the theme of "building bridges of friendship across the oceans".[4] During the fifteen-month voyage, the ship covered 33,000 nautical miles (61,000km) and visited 36 ports in 18 countries. The ship was received by the president, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[5]
In 2003–04, she became the first Indian naval ship to circumnavigate the globe. Since then, Tarangini has sailed to the Great Lakes in Canada for races and has also participated in European tall ship races. Tarangini won the Royal Thames Yacht Club Challenge Trophy in 2005 at Europe and stood third in Youth Sailing Division in 2007 in the USA.[6]
The ship sailed to Europe in 2005 with the aim of ‘strengthening the bridges of friendship across the seas’. She called at 16 ports in 13 countries covering a distance of over 15,000 nautical miles. She participated in the International Fleet Review and International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth, tall ship races organized by Sail Training International, Sail Bremerhaven and the Sail Amsterdam Sea Festival before returning to India.
On 10 January 2007, Tarangini started another 10-month overseas voyage named "Lokayan 07", calling at 23 ports in 16 countries. The ship departed Kochi on 10 January 2007 and transited through the Suez Canal to reach the Atlantic Coast of North America. It participated in a series of tall ship events such as the World Peace Cup, Maritime Festival of Charleston, Sail Virginia, Sail Rhode Island and Sail Boston and returned to port in October 2007 after covering 22,000 nautical miles (41,000km).[7]
The ship also undertook the Chola Expedition organized by the Maritime History Society of India to retrace the path followed by the Chola Empireseafarers from January to March 2008. The ship called at the ports of Jakarta, Singapore and Phuket during the expedition.
Tarangini flew the Indian flag at the International Fleet Review during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Sri Lanka Navy in December 2010. She was the only tall ship to attend, and was the first ship to be reviewed by the Sri Lankan president. The ship stood out during the review with its yards manned by Indian naval cadets and midshipmen of the Sri Lanka Navy.
The value of sail training lies in its ability to foster the virtues of courage, camaraderie, esprit-de-corps and endurance—valued in the Indian Navy for character building. Sailing platforms are suitable for exposing young officers to the challenges at sea to imbibe "sea sense". Whilst under sail, cadets improve their appreciation of the elements to improve their practical experience.
During the last 15 years Tarangini has participated in 13 expeditions sailing over 188,000 nautical miles (348,000km; 216,000mi), remaining at sea for over 2,100 days, visiting 74 ports in 39 countries and transforming young naval cadets into mariners.
In 2012, INS Sudarshini, built to the same design, was commissioned by the Indian Navy.
Route map of INS Tarangini for Lokayan - 15.Lokayan 2018
In 2015, Tarangini began an eight-month voyage (4 May – 3 December 2015) to participate in the annual tall ship races and other events at Europe, organised under the aegis of Sail Training International. During these eight months, the ship traveled approximately 17,000 miles under sail through the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea. She visited 17 ports in 14 countries to showcase India to the world, and demonstrate the Indian Navy's global reach. The theme for the voyage, codenamed LOKAYAN-15, was chosen as "tacking for a broader reach". The tall ship races were conducted primarily off the coast of United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Tarangini also participated in the tall ship race from Kristiansand, Norway to Aalborg, Denmark. She also participated in associated sail events such as Sail Rostock, Sail Bremerhaven in Germany and Sail Amsterdam in the Netherlands.[8]
In 2018, Tarangini sailed for a seven months sailing expedition Lokayan 2018 from 10 April 18 to 30 October, wherein she participated in ‘Three Festival Tall Ships Regatta’ at Bordeaux (France) and thereafter participated in ‘Tall Ships Races Europe 2018’ from Sunderland (UK) to Esbjerg (Denmark) and Stavanger (Norway) to Harlingen (NL). The ship sailed with a theme ‘Sailing through Different Oceans…Uniting Nations’, covering a distance of about 22,000 Nm spanning over 15 ports across 13 Countries in 3 Continents showcased India to the World, demonstrating Indian Navy's global reach. The ship also sailed for ‘Tall Ships Sail Together’, a joint sailing expedition with her sister ship Sudarshini and Royal Omani Naval Sailing Ship ‘Zinat-al-Bihar’ from Kochi to Muscat as part of 10th anniversary of IONS in November 2018.
Since commissioning Tarangini has sailed extensively in the oceans of the world, undertaking 16 Sailing Expeditions and steaming over 225,000 nautical miles (417,000 kilometres; 259,000 miles) in last 22 years. Over the years, the ship has undertaken major expeditions such as Circumnavigation Voyage (2003–04), four LOKAYAN voyages (2005, 2007, 2015 and 2018) and IONS Sailing Expedition 2018. The ship with this illustrious past, has led by example and still strives to imbibe the spirit of adventure and sailing amongst trainees.
List of Commanding Officers - INS Tarangini
Cdr HD Motivala, SC 11 Nov 97 to 07 Jul 99
Cdr SM Kulkarni 10 Aug 99 to 25 Apr 01
Cdr S Shaukat Ali 26 Apr 01 to 31 Aug 03
Cdr PK Garg 01 Sep 03 to 11 Feb 04
Cdr Mukul Asthana 12 Feb 04 to 17 Jul 06
Cdr Sunil Balakrishnan 18 Jul 06 to 05 Nov 07
Cdr Abhimanyu Patankar 06 Nov 07 to 31 Jan 10
Cdr Manish Sain 01 Feb 10 to 07 Dec 11
Cdr Ashwin Arvind 08 Dec 11 to 10 Aug 12
Cdr T Sugreev 11 Aug 12 to 29 Dec 13
Cdr Gaurav Gautam 30 Dec 14 to 17 Oct 15
Cdr Deepak K Subramanian 18 Oct 15 to 28 Dec 16
Cdr Vidur Chenji 29 Dec 16 to 28 Dec 17
Cdr Rahul Mehta 29 Dec 17 to 21 Jan 19
Cdr Dalpat Singh Bhati 22 Jan 19 to 21 Jan 20
Cdr Rajesh Nag 22 Jan 20 to until date
Gallery
With the crew in the yardarms, Taragini slips along the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada waterfront in 2007.
USCGC Eagle (WIX-327), formerly the Horst Wessel and also known as the Barque Eagle, is a 295-foot (90 m) barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She is one of only two active commissioned sailing vessels in the United States military today, along with USS Constitution which is ported in Boston Harbor. She is the seventh Coast Guard cutter to bear the name in a line dating back to 1792, including the Revenue Cutter Eagle.
Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a three-masted barque rigged sail training vessel owned and operated by the Statsraad Lehmkuhl Foundation. It is based in Bergen, Norway and contracted out for various purposes, including serving as a school ship for the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Alexander von Humboldt is a German sailing ship originally built in 1906 by the German shipyard AG Weser at Bremen as the lightship Reserve Sonderburg. She was operated throughout the North and Baltic Seas until being retired in 1986. Subsequently, she was converted into a three masted barque by the German shipyard Motorwerke Bremerhaven and was re-launched in 1988 as Alexander von Humboldt. In 2011 the ship was taken off sail-training and sent to the Caribbean for the charter business, then she was converted to a botel.
ARM Cuauhtémoc is a sail training vessel of the Mexican Navy, named for the last Mexica Hueyi Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc who was captured and executed in 1525.
STS Sedov, formerly Magdalene Vinnen II (1921–1936) and Kommodore Johnsen (–1948), is a four-masted steel barque that for almost 80 years was the largest traditional sailing ship in operation. Originally built as a German cargo ship, Sedov is today a sail training vessel, training cadets from the universities of Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg and Astrakhan. She participates regularly in the big maritime international events as a privileged host and has also been a regular participant in The Tall Ships' Races.
Juan Sebastián de Elcano is a training ship of the Spanish Navy. It is a four-masted topsail, steel-hulled barquentine. At 113 metres (371 ft) long, it is the third-largest tall ship in the world, and is the sailing vessel that has sailed the furthest, covering more than 2,000,000 nautical miles in its lifetime.
STS Young Endeavour is an Australian tall ship. Built by Brooke Marine, Young Endeavour was given to Australia by the British government in 1988, as a gift to celebrate Australian Bicentenary. Although operated and maintained by the Royal Australian Navy, Young Endeavour delivers up to twenty youth development sail training voyages to young Australians aged 16 – 23 each year. Navy personnel staff the ship and the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme coordinate the voyage program.
ARA Libertad (Q-2) is a steel-hulled, full-rigged, class "A" sailing ship that serves as a school vessel in the Argentine Navy. One of the largest and fastest tall ships in the world, holder of several speed records, she was designed and built in the 1950s by the Río Santiago Shipyard, Ensenada, Argentina. Her maiden voyage was in 1961, and she continues to be a training ship with yearly instruction trips for the graduating naval cadets as well as a traveling goodwill ambassador, having covered more than 800,000 nautical miles (1,500,000 km) across all seas, visited about 500 ports in more than 60 countries, and trained more than 11,000 navy graduates.
Guayas is a sail training ship of the Ecuadorian Navy. Launched in 1976, it was named in jointly in honor of Chief Guayas, the Guayas river, and Guayas, the first steamship that was constructed in South America in 1841, and is displayed on the Ecuadorian coat of arms. The ship's home base is Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships". The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and consists of two racing legs of several hundred nautical miles, and a "cruise in company" between the legs. Over one half of the crew of each ship participating in the races must consist of young people.
KLD Tunas Samudera is a two-masted schooner, or brigantine, of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Tunas Samudera was built by Brooke Yachts in Lowestoft, United Kingdom. She was laid down in 1988, launched in 1989, and christened by Queen Elizabeth II and the King of Malaysia. Tunas Samudera is a sail training ship with the Royal Malaysian Navy.
INS Sudarshini is a sail training ship built by Goa Shipyard for the Indian Navy. The ship is a sister ship of INS Tarangini which was commissioned in 1997. "Sudarshini" means "beautiful lady Sundari" after the younger half-sister of Buddha. The ship was designed by Colin Mudie, a naval architect and yacht designer from the United Kingdom.
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.
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".
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.
Captain Dilip Donde is a retired Indian Naval officer and the first Indian to complete a solo, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe under sail. From April 2006 to May 2010 he planned and executed Project 'Sagar Parikrama' which involved constructing a sailboat in India and then sailing it around the world. He was the hundred and ninetieth person to complete the journey solo.
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