First Indian circumnavigation

[2] The country's first voyage in a sailboat to foreign shores was conducted on the 20-foot Seabird 'Albatross' in 1977 by the Indian Army Engineers as a trial for the ultimate goal of circumnavigating the globe.

The 68-day 7,000 km Seabird voyage to the Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas, Iran, was one of the early major ventures by the Corps.

[4] The team consisted of ten members, with six on the boat at any one time, of which four were permanent crew:[4] The sailing expedition commenced from Bombay, India on 28 Sept 1985.

[5] Right from the time Trishna left harbour, she ran into the low pressure weather system of the receding monsoons which accompanied her till her first port of call at Male and thereafter to Mauritius on 25 October 1985.

The sail to Saint Helena, South Atlantic Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope was rough and the longest non-stop leg of the trip, taking 33 days.

The country has a large East Indian origin population and programs in Hindi were broadcast by the local radio station.

[16] Minor repairs were carried out, barnacles removed and the hull was given a fresh coat of anti-fouling paint by the crew.

With good winds Trishna sailed the 3,200 nautical miles – from Galapagos to Marquesas Islands non-stop in 23 days.

Winter had already set in the Southern Hemisphere by this time and the sail was extremely punishing for the crew in the wet and cold conditions.

On three occasions whales came within 10 to 15 meters of the yacht, dived underneath and swam nearby flipping their huge tails.

The sails were ripped off and for the first time in the expedition, the 'hove-to' drill was carried out to ensure that the boat did not suffer major damages.

[19][20] The leg Sydney - Brisbane - Cairns - Thursday Island continued in rough weather, as predicted during the winter months.

Navigation was critical while sailing through the numerous reefs and on one occasion the boat ran aground on a moving sandbar.

A commemorative postage stamp was released by India Post on the arrival of the boat back in Bombay on 10 January 1987.

[25][26] The crew of Trishna was also honoured with the Order of Merit by the Ocean Cruising Club which recognised the voyage as the first circumnavigation by an Indian yacht.

[28] The Trishna crew were awarded the "Admiral RH Tahiliani Trophy" for the Yachtsman of the Year 1987[29] Maj AK Singh became the first disabled sailor to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat.

The book named 'Trishna' was published by Perennial Press Mumbai and was released on 10 March 1988 at a glittering function held at the College of Military Engineering, Pune.