Indian Navy Updates

Golden Globe Race: Voyage of mad men

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Abhilash Tomy, Golden Globe Race

Mains level: NA

golden globe

Central Idea

  • Abhilash Tomy, a former Commander in the Indian Navy, has achieved the remarkable feat of completing a solo circumnavigation worldwide by finishing second at the Golden Globe Race (GGR), 2022.
  • He achieved this record under even more challenging circumstances than his previous record-breaking feat of going worldwide on a sailboat solo and unassisted back in 2013.

golden globe

What is Golden Globe Race?

  • The Golden Globe Race is a non-stop, solo, unassisted yacht race around the world which was held for the first time in 1968-69.
  • The race requires contestants to use boats designed to prescribed premodern specifications and rely entirely on sextants and paper charts.
  • Satellite phones are available for extremely restricted use, and the use of modern navigational gear is not allowed.
  • The sailing would be along a stipulated route, rounding the three great capes (Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia, and Cape Horn in Chile).

His return to GGR

  • After several injuries, in 2021, Tomy began to look for sponsors and boats to participate in GGR-2022.
  • He announced his participation in the race on the Bayanat in March 2022, sponsored by a UAE-based company in the field of geospatial artificial intelligence.
  • However, just three weeks before the race, the boat collided with a ship and required massive repairs.

Significance of his achievement

  • Only three of the 11 contestants of GGR-2022 lasted the course of the race, with Kirsten Neuschafer becoming the first woman to win a solo around-the-world yacht race.
  • Tomy’s boat was the most ‘repaired’ boat in the race and it was all carried out by the sailor fighting unimaginable sea conditions and lack of sleep.
  • In the end, Tomy became the first Asian to complete the 30,000-mile GGR by finishing second after Neuschafer.

 

 

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