Trishna (yacht)

• Comment: The topic is very much notable, we certainly should have an article about this boat. However, this draft is not at all written in the style of a Wikipedia article, but is written more like a magazine article. Phrases like "has been synonymous with adventure" and "The Cape had lived up to its reputation of being the “Cape of Storms”!" are simply not neutral, objective writing.
  My suggestions:
  * See the standardised ship guidelines at Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships/Guidelines
  * Take a look at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Ships#Featured_articles and get a feel for how a very good ship article is written (and you can always ask for advice at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Ships)
  * Carefully review your phrasing and language, and make sure every sentence is precise and concise, not "building a scene" or "adding emotion". An encyclopedia article is not an adventure tale, it's a simple and straightforward description of facts
  * Make sure you have a proper WP:Lead section. As it is right now you have more than a paragraph before you ever mention the ship, while a Wiki article has to specifically mention the topic in the first few words of an article.
  I'm declining the current draft, but with the above changes made this will be a very valuable addition to both our coverage of Indian military history and of sailing ships. MatthewVanitas (talk) 14:30, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

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Lead

History
IndiaIndia
Name	Trishna
Owner	Sapper Adventure Foundation
Operator	Indian Army Corps of Engineers
Port of registry	Mumbai, India
Builder	Nautor's Swan
Launched	1971
Christened	Guinevere of Sussex
Acquired	1984
In service	Yes
Renamed	Trishna
Homeport	Mumbai
General characteristics
Class and type	yacht
Type	SV
Tonnage	10 tonnes
Length	37 ft
Beam	10 ft
Draught	6 ft 1 in
Sail plan	Sloop
Crew	6

Trishna is a yacht which was sailed around the world during the years 1985 to 1987 by the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, a first of its kind achievement by any Indian crew.

Prelude

The Indian Army Corps of Engineers customarily encourages its membership to involve themselves in sports and adventure activities such as mountaineering, sailing, and hang gliding. This has lead to IACE involvement in such activities as the Himalayan Car Rally and the Indian Antarctic Program. The activities are coordinated by the Sapper Adventure Foundation, which was registered in 1979. On 28 September 1985, the IACE undertook India's first sailing expedition around, on the ship Trishna sailing from Mumbai with General A. S. Vadiya, then-Chief of the Army Staff (India)

The Team

The team consisted of ten members, with six on the boat at any one time, of which four were permanent crew. These were :

• Maj (now Retd. as Lt Gen) KS Rao, SC, SM, the Skipper
• Maj (now Retd) AK Singh, KC, SM
• Capt (now Col) S Shekhar, SC
• Capt (now Brig) C Bharti, SC
• Capt (now Maj Gen) R Bassi, SM
• Maj (now Retd. as Brig) AP Singh, SM(Bar), VSM - sailed from Mumbai to Trinidad.
• Lt (now Brig) N Ahuja, SM sailed from Trinidad to New Zealand;
• Col (now retd. as Brig) TPS Chowdhary, AVSM, the Team Manager, sailed from Panama to Sydney;
• Maj (now Retd as Lt Col) A Bhattacharya, SM and
• Maj (now Retd) SN Mathur, SM sailed from New Zealand and Sydney back to Mumbai respectively.

All the team members were accomplished sailors who had participated in many National/International Regattas and ocean cruising ventures. Col TPS Chowdhury, Maj KS Rao, Maj AP Singh, Maj AK Singh, Capt S Shekhar, Capt C Bharti and Capt MS Pillai had earlier sailed Trishna from the Gosport, UK to Mumbai, India after its purchase there – the first occasion for any Indian to successfully make a truly trans-oceanic passage in a yacht.

Maj AK Singh, a permanent member of the Expedition, was handicapped. His leg was amputated above the knee, and is the first handicapped sailor in the World to circumnavigate the globe in a yacht.

Around the World

The sailing expedition commenced from Mumbai, India on 28 Sept 1985 ["Yachting expedition flagged off". The Times of India. Bombay. 29 September 1985. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)]. Right from the time Trishna left harbour, she ran into the low pressure weather system of the receding monsoons. This was compounded by rough weather till Male and Mauritius, on account of the disastrous Andhra Pradesh cyclone which formed in the Bay of Bengal at the same time. The boat was hit by gales several times on 29 – 30 Sept, 01 – 12 Oct and 13 – 14 Oct 1985 which damaged the VHF and HF radio aerials and electrical systems on board. The crew resorted to makeshift repairs at sea to restore the communication and the navigation systems.

The boat set sail from Port Louis, Mauritius on 30 October 1985. The sail to St Helena (South Atlantic Ocean) around the Cape of Good Hope was very rough and the longest non-stop voyage, taking 33 days. On 05 – 06 Nov and 12 – 13 Nov 85, when the boat was south of Madagascar off the South African coast, the boat was hit by severe gales. Towering waves repeatedly hit the stern of the boat, making steering of the boat extremely dangerous due to chances of broaching and consequent capsize. On one occasion a monstrous wave broke over Trishna from the stern swamping her completely. In the ensuing struggle to regain control, the horseshoe buoy and Dan buoy were lost at sea. To ensure that the crew members on watch were not washed off the deck, they had to be secured to the boat with the help of safety harness and lifelines. The worst weather was encountered while rounding the dreaded Cape of Good Hope, when Trishna was hit by gales with wind speeds exceeding 65 knots (120 kmph) – the wind instrument on board could record only up to 65 knots. Wave heights encountered were 45 to 55 feet – the height of the mast was 54 feet. She lost her safety equipment on board including the second horseshoe buoy despite their being lashed securely. The radio set was also damaged and the antenna broke off. Communication with Mumbai and other ports was cut-off. Trishna reached St Helena on 02 December 1985.

It was only at St Helena that message of the boat having survived the crossing the Cape could be conveyed to anxious relatives and the Army Headquarters back in India. Since no repair facilities or spares were available at either St Helena or Ascension Island, our next short halt which was reached on 15 December 1985; the crew had to improvise till they reached Brazil. Staying ashore or mooring on the island at Ascension Island was not permitted and Trishna had to tie up alongside the tanker Mearsk Ascension which is permanently anchored off the island. [Pal, Samir (15 February 1996). "Trishna yacht is close to midway". The Hindustan Times. India. p. 24.]

The sail across the South Atlantic Ocean thereafter was relatively peaceful till the Caribbean Sea. For a large part of this leg, the wind was South-Easterly and hence from the stern. But this leg had its moments of anxiety. On one occasion all of a sudden the crew on duty spotted a whale lying on the surface of the water about 25 to 30 meters ahead of the boat. Since the boat was heading directly for it, there was panic stations on board and the spinnaker boom had to be quickly removed and the yacht jibed around just in time avoid a collision. By the time the crew recovered from the maneuver, only the giant tail was visible lazily flapping for the last time before the whale disappeared underwater with water spouting from its nostrils.

The first port of call on the continent of South America was at the coastal town of Natal. The crew ushered in the New Year of 1986 here with their hosts, the Brazilian Navy. From there, the sail was along the coast and then up the Para River to the port of Belem, Brazil. Trishna had to sail upstream on this tributary of the mighty Amazon River for 70 nautical miles against strong currents, keeping an eye for huge logs which floated downstream. This was dangerous, especially at night and a continuous watch had to be maintained to avoid a collision.

The next halt was at the port of Paramaribo, Suriname. The country has a large Indian origin population and programs in Hindi were broadcast on the local radio station. A short hop from there to Georgetown, Guyana. The crew received a enthusiastic reception from the large Indian-origin population here. The Guyana Defence Force arranged a visit to the world-famous Kaieteur Falls during the short stay there. Trishna then proceeded to the Caribbean Sea with the first halt at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago for the first crew change of the voyage. Capt R Bassi left the boat there and was replaced by Lt Navin Ahuja. The boat then sailed to Bridgetown, Barbados and then to Kingstown, Jamaica. The boat encountered occasional rough weather in the Caribbean Sea with winds in excess of 30 knots. The boat then crossed the Panama Canal through its numerous locks and in the company of huge ships, which was a novel experience.

At Panama City, the boat was taken out of the water and overhauled at the local US Naval Base. Minor repairs were carried out, barnacles removed and the hull was given a fresh coat of anti-fouling paint. The voyage in the northern Pacific Ocean was relatively calm. With good winds Trishna sailed the 3,200 nautical miles – from Galapagos to Marquesas Islands non-stop in 23 days. This was her fastest passage so far. Galapagos is amongst the most beautiful islands in the world with a plethora of sea and animal life. The crew saw many sea-lions, marine and land iguanas, whale, small penguins, giant tortoises, blue and red-footed boobies, pink flamingos, frigates, pelicans and birds of different species.

Trishna encountered rough weather again from Tahiti onwards and was hit by gales till it reached Raratonga and then beyond to Suva, Fiji. The weather remained adverse on the leg from Fiji to Auckland with winds blowing over 60 knots (100 k mph) with 30 to 40 foot waves. During this stormy leg, both the main and jib sails were ripped apart. The spare sails that were hoisted were also ripped apart by the strong winds. The crew had to resort to hand stitching the sails on two occasions to enable them to reach Auckland. Winter had already set in the Southern Hemisphere by this time and the sail was extremely punishing for the crew in the wet and cold conditions, with big waves continuously breaking over the boat.

Trishna again had a perilous encounter with some whales between Raratonga and Fiji. On three occasions whales came within 10 to 15 meters of the yacht, dived underneath and swam nearby flipping their huge tails.

One of the worst journeys of the voyage was the passage from Auckland to Sydney across the Tasman Sea. This crossing in winter has a reputation rivaling that of the Bay of Biscay and the Cape of Good Hope. The leg was sailed from 03 to 17 Aug 1986 – in peak southern winter. Trishna was hit by a gale for five days continuously, with winds over 60 knots accompanied by 40 foot waves. The sails got ripped off again and for the first time in the whole expedition the ‘hove-to’ drill was carried out to ensure that the boat did not suffer any major damage. No progress was made for two days during which the boat weathered the storm. The same storm meanwhile struck Sydney, causing the worst inundation of the city in the century. The crew were fully exhausted by the time the boat limped into Sydney harbour.

The leg from Sydney to Brisbane also encountered rough weather, as expected in the winter months. Storm winds up to 50 knots raged during this leg. Bad weather continued from Brisbane to Cairns and then further to Thursday Island making these legs also very difficult – though spectacular – owing to the sail along the Great Barrier Reef. Navigation was critical while sailing through numerous reefs in the area and on one occasion the boat ran aground on a moving sandbar. Luckily there was no damage and the crew had to wait till the next high tide to sail the boat off. This was the only such incident during the whole voyage. The sail through Torres Straits again caused many anxious moments. At places the Strait is only about a mile wide and it was a challenge navigating through this narrow passage. From Thursday Island to Darwin was a pleasant sail and the crew finally got some respite from adverse weather conditions. This gave the crew opportunity to catch fresh fish for the first time and work on the communication equipment to re-establish radio communications with India through the HAM network. Right since rounding the Cape of Good Hope, there had been no direct communication between the boat and India. Maj SN Mathur was an expert HAM operator and established a regular link to India.

Trishna left Darwin, North Australia on 13 October 1986 for Kupang, Timor. The weather was bad for the initial three days of this leg but thereafter it was a calm sail. From Kupang the boat sailed to Waingapu in Sumba, and then to Bali, Indonesia. En-route the crew got their largest catch of a eight-kilogram Tuna fish. Good ‘following’ winds helped Trishna reach Bali on 22 October 1986. Bali has many Hindu temples, with local dances being enacted based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The boat had arrived at the appropriate time and the crew celebrated one of the main Hindu festivals Diwali, the festival of lights, with the locals. The atmosphere was nostalgic as this was the third Diwali celebrated by the crew away from home.

The yacht set sail from Bali on 02 November 1986, reaching Jakarta on 09 November; then via Singapore and Penang, Trishna made it's first landfall on Indian shores at Campbell Bay, Nicobar in December 1986. It was a momentous occasion and was celebrated with gusto with the whole crew present on the occasion. Maj KS Rao, the Skipper, also received his long delayed promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel here.

The home run via Colombo, Sri Lanka was uneventful, except for a scare given by Capt Bharti when Trishna was off the Malabar coast. He had been running high fever of over 105 degrees continuously for a few days. All the ‘medical’ knowledge on board was unable to lower the temperature. Expert medical advice on the radio was also of no avail. Finally he had to be treated by a passing Indian Navy ship which was called in. He had apparently caught malaria at Nicobar.

Trishna received a rousing welcome at the Gateway of India, Mumbai on her arrival there on 10 January 1987 where she was received by General K Sundarji, the Chief of the Army Staff accompanied by a large gathering of sailors, Service officers, friends and relatives. A commemorative postage stamp was also released by India Post on the occasion.

Flora and Fauna

Sea-life was observed in plenty during the voyage. One of the prettiest sights at sea was the flocks of dolphins and porpoises following the boat for hours, and giving their display of acrobatics in water and out of it. On occasions it appeared that the whole sea was covered with them till the horizon.

Flying-fish were also observed in their hundreds, skimming over the surface of the water. At night they were attracted to the yacht by its lights. This resulted in their landing on deck and hitting the duty crew on occasions. They made delicious dishes.

The Expedition was a experience of a lifetime. There were many joyous as well as anxious and dangerous moments when the crews were close to the jaws of death. One of the major factors responsible in their being able to overcome these hazardous moments was the discipline and determination instilled within them by virtue of their training and Service background. The various sea and land life were sheer wonder; as also was their meeting with many different people across the world. It would be a mistake to underestimate the contribution of the sacrifices made by the family members of the crew during their long absences in such unpredictable circumstances, without any news till the next port. Success in such a venture cannot be achieved without this support.

Ten officers of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers in a sailboat girdled the globe – 30,000 nautical miles – in less than 16 months creating Indian maritime history. They are the first Indians to circumnavigate the globe in a yacht. No words can describe the hazards faced by the intrepid sailors on board the Trishna, so that they may fulfill the ‘thirst’ – which is the Sanskrit meaning of Trishna – of sailing around the world.

The sea is a great mistress; she is really a magnificent lady of great stature. But as I have found out, you must treat her with enormous respect; for, she is incline, if you do not do so, to suddenly smack you with a back-hander – if ever you get too familiar with her – which can be quite disastrous. You must now be crossing the Pacific, and that would be your greatest hurdle, for that ocean can be imperious and very unrelenting. It is quite an uncharitable bit of water but I am quite sure, the whole world will be watching you and praying for you, and so you must come through.

Admiral RL Pereira

Former Chief of the Naval Staff in a letter to a crew member, from Bangalore; dated 18 March 1986

Honours and Awards

Trishna was given the singular honour of thereafter being transported to New Delhi and displayed on a tableau as pert of the Republic Day Parade, 1987 along the Raj Path. This in itself was a herculean effort as the boat had reached Mumbai on 10 Jan 1987 itself and to participate in the Republic Day Parade on 26th, the boat had to be transported to New Delhi, the tableau to be fabricated to the exacting standards of the Ministry of Defence and cleared by their internal committee well before the rehearsals commenced. It seemed a impossible task, but with the concerted efforts of all those involved, the Indian Railways provided the carriage, Naval Dockyard Mumbai fabricated the boat stand on the railway carriage overnight and then again the Railways moved it at express speed, literally, to New Delhi. The Bengal Engineer Group Roorkee sent their team and achieved the impossible of fabricating the float at Vijay Chowk itself since the boat with its 54 ft high mast could not be transported anywhere else in the capital.

The crew of Trishna was also honoured with the Order of Merit by the Ocean Cruising Club which recognised the voyage as the first circumnavigation by an Indian yacht (at Ser. 182)

Celebrated author, Dom Moraes volunteered to write an account of the historic voyage and the book named Trishna was published by Perennial Press Mumbai in 1987.

The Government acknowledged the singular achievement by declaring awards to the whole crew on Republic Day, 1987. UNI (26 January 1987). "Trishna sailors honoured". The Times of India. Bombay. p. 3.

Maj AK Singh became the first disabled sailor to circumnavigate the world in a sail boat and this was recorded in the Limca Book of Records(under topic: WR: First Circumnavigation By Disabled Sailor)

Voyages by Trishna

• Gosport, U.K. to Mumbai in Sept 1984 to Feb 1985
• Mumbai-Kochi-Galle-Campbell Bay (Nicobar Islands)-Penang-Singapore-Port Kelang-Phuket-Port Blair-Goa-Mumbai in 1994-1995
• Mumbai-Dubai-Muscat-Seychelles-Maldives-Sri Lanka-Kochi-Mumbai in 1996-1997
• Millennium Expedition: Mumbai-Kochi-Galle-Campbell Bay (Nicobar Islands)-Penang-Singapore-Port Kelang-Phuket-Port Blair-Goa-Mumbai in 1999-2000

Celebrating the Silver Jubilee Anniversary

The Indian Army Corps of Engineers celebrated the silver jubilee of the historic event of the successful completion of the First Indian Sailing Expedition Around the World on 10 Jan 2012 by again sailing Trishna across Mumbai harbour to the Naval Sailing Club, Colaba, Mumbai, the place from where she had set off its epic voyage in 1985.