Indian Navy gearing up for globe maiden solo

The Indian Navy is gearing up for the maiden solo circumnavigation through a yacht.
       
The journey exploring the globe through sea will begin on August 15, 2009 with Indian navy's commander Dilip Donde single handedly deciding to circumnavigate the globe.
  
The yacht built in Goa's Aquarius Fibreglas, ship building unit, was handed over to the Indian Navy on Thursday in the presence of chief of naval staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
       
"Project Sagar Parikrama aims at undertaking the maiden solo circumnavigation under sails by an Indian," rear admiral (Retd) MP Awati, who conceptualized the entire project, said here.
       
He said that the yacht inspired from Holland designed ship will be used for the mission.
       
Awati said that to meet the requirements of not passing through canals, a boat has to pass south of the continents of Australia, America and Africa.
       
The rear admiral said that a number of crewed boats have circular navigated under sails and no one keeps track of them.
       
"A solo circumnavigation presents an unique set of challenges and is often compared to climbing the Everest," he added.
       
The Indian navy will be tracking the boat all the time. "It is also true that when the boat is  a couple of thousands miles away from land, there is little that can be done to assist her. Hence the insistence on top quality construction, equipment and training," he said.