India’s Abhilash Tomy took part in the Golden Globe Race 2022 on the Bayanat and made us all proud. Many people in the country and around the world are not aware of the ‘F1 race of the seas’ that requires its participants to use rudimentary devices like sextants and paper charts for navigation. Sailors are confined to boats measuring 32 to 36 feet. For food and water, they completely rely on rationed supplies and techniques such as rainwater harvesting.
This gruelling competition is coming to an epic conclusion and the Kerala-born retired Naval officer, Abhilash Tomy is expected to finish the race on Saturday morning by arriving at Les Sables-d’Olonne. Currently, Kirsten Neuschafer from South Africa has scripted a new record as she leads the race and arrived at the port.
Abhilash Tomy: Sailor, naval officer, inspiration
What makes Abhilash’s solo circumventing even more inspiring is an accident that happened four years ago. In 2018, Abhilash took part in the race as an invitee but failed to complete the journey after his boat got damaged in a storm and he suffered a severe injury to his spine.
On September 21, around 80 days after the race started, Commander Abhilash Tomy and his yacht were swept up by a storm. “My boat was dismasted and destroyed, and I suffered a huge fall which left me with multiple spine fractures,” Tomy later recounted in a Facebook post. His legs, like his boat, were functionless.
Abhilash Tomy was exactly between Australia, South Africa, and South India. The nearest continent was Antarctica. An international search-and-rescue (SAR) operation was launched comprising Indian and Australian navies. Abhilash’s damaged yacht was later spotted by an Indian Navy maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
It was the French boat, a fisheries patrol vehicle called Osiris, that reached Commander Tomy first. On September 24, the crew of Osiris sailed alongside Tomy’s Thuriya in a rescue boat and pulled the Navy officer out.
All eyes are on the Naval hero
Four years after his near-death experience, Abhilash returned to complete his voyage in the 2022 edition of the race.
Abhilash is currently at number two and as per predictions made by the race organisers, he is likely to cross the finish line on the morning of April 29, a day behind current race leader Kirsten Neuschafer of South Africa.
“Expect to finish the race in two or three days. Right now, I am having a sleepless night. There are a lot of ships here, and the visibility is poor due to the presence of mist. Therefore, I am carefully steering the yacht. I reduced the speed due to issues with the steering,” he said via a satellite phone on Wednesday.
People who are following the 2022-23 Golden Globe Race are waiting for Navy veteran Abhilash’s feat with bated breath. Tomy has been out at sea for 234 days and counting. He has traversed all major oceans, crossed all the major capes and the Equator (thrice), bearing the brunt of world climatology that too with limited resources.
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