The Hindu : National : Back after "reinforcing bridges of friendship"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 09, 2005

National

National

Back after "reinforcing bridges of friendship"

Shyama Rajagopal

Sail ship was on a six-and-a-half-month voyage to Europe

PHOTO: H. VIBHU

THE HOMECOMING: INS Tarangini, the Navy's Sail Training Ship, in Kochi on Tuesday.

KOCHI: The Navy's Sail Training Ship, INS Tarangini, is back after a six-and-a-half-month voyage to Europe. Cadets perched on the three masts, the height of each about 30 metres and over, as the ship berthed at the Naval jetty.

The ship had set sail from here on April 21 2005, to participate in the Tall Ships races in Europe. This is its second voyage.

This time, the INS Tarangini had sailed with the aim of `Strengthening Bridges of Friendship Across the Seas' as it called on 16 ports in 13 countries during the voyage titled `Lokayan 05.' The 54-metre three-masted barque, as the ship is called in sailing parlance, is part of three ships of the First Training Squadron based here, under the Southern Naval Command.

"We reinforced the bridges of friendship and interacted with the Navies of different countries and also trained some of their personnel on our ship," said Commander Mukul Asthana, who led INS Tarangini on its voyage. Thirteen personnel from the navies of various countries such as Djibouti, Egypt, Chile, U.K., Ireland and Germany trained along with the Indian cadets. The ship covered 16,560 nautical miles, touching the ports of Djibouti, Port Suez in Egypt, Tunis (Tunisia), Lisbon (Portugal), Portsmouth (U.K.), Waterford (Ireland), Cherbourg (France), Newcastle-Gateshead and Fredrikstad (Norway) on the onward journey. On the return trip, the ship berthed at Bremerhaven (Germany), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Le Havre (France), Tangiers (Morocco), Cagliari (Italy), Port Said (Egypt) and called at Djibouti again.

The ship won the Smartest Crew Trophy at Newcastle. In the tall ship races, INS Tarangini was the first to cross the finish line in the first race from Waterford to Cherbourg. The second race was a tough one in the rough waters of the North Sea. "But we completed the race," said Commander Asthana. There were 86 ships in the race, of which about 60 dropped out, he added.

Commander Asthana said the International Fleet Review at Portsmouth where 135 warships and 35 sail ships participated was one of the best events. The event was organised by the Royal Navy and International Festival of the Sea to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Cadets passing out of the National Defence Academy and the Naval Academy join the ships of the First Training Squadron every June and December for their afloat training.

"We teach the cadets the basics of being at sea," Commander Asthana said. The 70-odd crew had a batch of 30-35 cadets at a time who would sail for two-three port destinations. In all, 185 cadets were trained during the voyage.

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