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Golden Globe Race: Abhilash Tomy returns home to hero’s welcome
Abhilash Tomy finished second in the Golden Globe Race and became the first Indian and first Asian to do so
Commander Abhilash Tomy was given a hero’s welcome on Friday at the Naval Officers’ Institute in Goa’s Dabolim as the sailor was back home after having successfully completed the Golden Globe Race- a 30,000-mile solo, unassisted non-stop circumnavigation of the globe.
Tomy, a former Naval aviator, finished second in the race in which only a handful of those who started were able to finish. He completed the task in 236 days and became the first Indian and first Asian to complete the Golden Globe race.
The entrants in the race had to sail without modern technology or the benefit of satellite-based navigation aids. They had to use similar yachts, equipment and technology that were available to Sir Robin, the first person to complete single-handed and non-stop around the world sail between June 14, 1968, and April 22, 1969.
Tomy was the first Indian to solo circumnavigate the earth on a sailboat non-stop. Another Navyman Capt Dilip Dhond had earlier circumnavigated the earth unassisted but with stops.
In the previous 2018 edition of the Golden Globe Race, Tomy was nearly killed due to a storm. Speaking at Vasco da Gama on Friday evening, he said it was that failure that led him to embark on the challenge once again. “I was taught in the Navy to never give up,” said the former Naval aviator.
The toughest part of the race, according to Tomy, was rounding Cape Horn (tip of South America), where he encountered two storms, suffered two knockdowns and his boat, Bayanat, suffered physical damage. It was being blown towards shallow islands without any visual guidance and with a broken autopilot. Thankfully, he said he was able to fix his autopilot using a makeshift part.
