Crossing the Greenwich Meridian

TO THE ONES LEFT BEHIND

  

Date/Time: Day 61

Location: Greenwich Meridian

Distance Run: 6354 Nm

              As we finish two months of Lokayan 15, one can’t help but reminisce over the Grand Sendoff Ceremony organised for us on Berth S-1 at Kochi. While we bid adieu to families and friends, there in the crowd, were those few who had been a part of our preparation for Lokayan 15, over the last four months.

Departure Ceremony for Lokayan 15

It was Early December and we had just returned from a two month voyage to Oman, UAE and Bahrain. The ship had entered a Short Refit and the aim was to prepare her for an Eight month long voyage. The Defect Lists, thus, could in no way be all encompassing. The scope of work and the time available were, unrealistic, to say the least.

                           Dry Dock during Short Refit 15

                                      In the Gulf Of Aden

Two months have gone by and as we cross the Greenwich Meridian tonight, it is thanks to the hard work, toil and relentless support of those left behind that we sail on, towards the Atlantic.

                         Crossing the Greenwich Meridian

We celebrated the completion of Two months and crossing of Greenwich Meridian with an Intermast cultural evening followed by a Barakhana. The theme of the celebrations was dedicated to “The Ones Left Behind”.

We thus dedicate this evening to the likes of outgoing EXO (Lt Cdr Ashwath Mythreya) and sailors who knew that they would not be a part of this voyage but ensured that the ship was ready. We dedicate the evening to the Command Staff who have agreed to all the ship’s demands and always responded with an ever resounding YES. We dedicate the evening to those in the Yard because of whose efforts, after 6354 Nautical Miles (by Captain’s Log), we still sail Full and By.

 Today we dedicate the celebrations to those left behind. Because we realise that Lokayan 15 is not just about Tarangini and the 79 of us onboard.

Lokayan 15 is about each and every one from Delhi to Kochi who has been and is a part of this Voyage.

Lokayan 15 is about our ability to Prepare and Sustain a ship for an eight month and 17000 Nautical Miles voyage overseas.

For we truly are a Blue Water Navy today.



Stay at Malta

         Enter Harbour Valletta.   As always the preparation for entering a harbour for a sail ship like ours starts a day in advance, especially when the two days alongside are packed with activities. The ship entered Valletta Harbour and was berthed on Pinto Wharves 4/5 as first ship.

                                  Harbour Stow Of Sails Before Entering Malta

                                            Bird’s Eye View of Valletta Harbour  

            Reception Onboard.   A cocktail reception was hosted at the wharf at 1900 hrs with the ship in the backdrop. The ship was dressed overall and illuminated with fore and aft sails set for the occasion. The function was attended by Foreign Affairs Minister of Malta, Indian High Commissioner to Libya and Malta, Embassy staff, Defence Attaches of various countries, Port Officials and other dignitaries.

                                 Ship Dressed Overall with Fore & Aft Sails Set

              The Commanding Officer addressed the gathering and thanked the Maltese Government and the Navy for hosting the ship and the guests for attending. After this he gave a small brief on the ship and this voyage, this was accompanied by slide show depicting various activities. At “Five Minutes to Sunset” attention was drawn to the significance and history of the Sunset Ceremony. The gathering was suitably placed on the Jetty for them to watch, as the Officer Of the Day took charge and conducted the Ceremony while the ship’s Bugler played the ‘Last Post’.

                                                            Sunset Ceremony

              The highlight of the evening was the performance by the Ship’s bugler where he played Saare Jahan Se Accha and Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja from the Bridge Top. While he played, five “well positioned” Sea Trainees joined in as Chorus. The whole ceremony comprising of Last Post by the bugler followed by illumination at sunset and then a few deep baritone voices singing Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja was a memorable experience

                          Ship’s Bugler and Sea Trainees Performing at Reception

          Indian snacks served during the cocktail were highly appreciated by one and all. During the reception, in conjunction with International Yoga Day Celebrations on 21 Jun 15, pamphlets indicating the events for the celebrations and importance of Yoga in daily life were distributed to all the guests. All the guests were extremely happy with warm reception and were enthusiastic for taking part in International Yoga Day celebrations next day.  

Indian Delicacies At Malta

                      At The Helm Libyan And Maltese Diplomacy Mr Azhar Khan

International Yoga Day.   As part of International Yoga Day celebrations, the ship made concerted efforts to spread awareness about Yoga and to popularise the events being hosted by the ship on 21 Jun 15. Towards this a decorative pamphlet and Banner were designed by Lt Nandeesh Jolad of the ship, and the pamphlets were distributed among the local populace.

                                                        ‘International Yoga Day’

                                  Pamphlets Distributed to Popularise Yoga Camp

         Yoga Workshop.   The first event for the day was a Yoga Workshop organised in the premises of the Indian Embassy, Libya and Malta at 0800hrs on 21 Jun 15. The event was attended by Officers, sailors and Sea Trainees from the ship. The workshop covered topics related to Evolution of Yoga, Yoga and India, practical demonstration of all basic ‘Yoga Asanas’, Importance of Yoga in daily life, and benefits of Yoga.    

International Yoga Day At Malta

                       Dancers Performing for the International Yoga Day At Malta

           Yoga Camp.   A Yoga Camp was conducted by ship’s staff for the local populace at Pinto wharves 4/5 at 2000 hrs on 21 Jun 15, where the ship was berthed. The ship was dressed overall and was used as backdrop for the event.  The camp was attended by Indian High Commissioner to Libya and Malta, Defence Attaches and Embassy staff. A live telecast of the same was broadcast on Maltese National channel. The event gained much popularity among the local populace.

                                Yoga Camp Conducted By The Ship at Pinto Wharf

                           International Yoga Day Celebration at Malta 21 Jun 15

           Visit to Valletta.   A guided tour of Valletta city was organised for the Sea Trainees commencing from 1400 hrs to 1800 hrs on 21 Jun 15. The tour comprised of visit to places of historical importance, general interests, shopping avenues and local market. Valletta war museum gave a great insight of the struggle of the people of Malta over the years of conflict and during the world wars. It serves as an icon for the bravery and heroism of the “Knights of Malta”.

Oraganised Visit Of Sea Trainees At Malta

National War Museum

               Tour of the beautiful Malta National Aquarium was a treat indeed. It was a very well maintained depiction of marine life around the Islands.

Oraganised Visit Of Sea Trainees At Fish Aquarium Malta

The personnel also visited the city square and the Upper Barakha gardens which provide an eagle view of the entire city.

Beach at Malta

Times Of Malta 22 Jun 15

International Yoga Day At Malta - 21 Jun 15

Sail Setting Stations in Rough Weather

New Addition to Tarangini Family on 15 Jun 15

  

          Lt Cdr Tanmoy Mukherjee and Ms Mukherjee blessed with a baby girl at 1020 Hrs On 15 Jun 15 local time (GMT+0200). Till the time her formal name is being decided she has been named Tarangini Mukherjee by the team.

Passing Through Suez

Today as we enter Suez and visit the country of the Pharoahs and the city of Alexander we realise that the white sands on either side of Suez hold a history only comparable to our own.

Taller than the Tall Ship (Transcontinental Highway)

The ship encountered a mini Sand Storm during our passage through the Suez Canal. It turned out to be a good exercise for the Blind Pilotage team as we steered about 10 degrees from the planned track to maintain in the centre of this narrow Canal.



CAPTAIN’S Blog - Living a Dream

While at Salalah I had the honour of addressing boys of class 11 and 12 from the Indian International School. The event was organised at the request of the Principal to enlighten the students about Indian Navy as a career option. Their hearty welcome and applause was indeed an indicator of the admiration the Expat community has in all the ports that we visit. After addressing them for about ten minutes the floor was thrown open for questions. This gathering of about 200 students participated enthusiastically with well informed questions about the ship and our voyage. After having boasted for about half an hour, about the life in the Navy, the last question summed up my interaction with them. One of the Prefects asked me a simple and short question, “Why Navy, Why not anything else? Because all that I had told could be found elsewhere also.

To this I told them ,” As a young kid every boy likes to play with ships, guns, trucks, GI Joes and pretends to be a part of them. With time you graduate to video games on the same ships, guns, trucks and GI Joes….. As years pass, most boys grow up and get on with their lives,

We in the Navy, however, are still living our childhood dream. And to add to all that, we are getting paid handsomely for it.”

As the auditorium rose to a resounding applause, I saw my Navigator, Lt Varun Barthwal who had accompanied me on this visit, sitting in the front row smiling and looking might pleased. On the way back as we sat silently in the car I asked the Varun what he thought of the visit. To this he replied,” Sir I don’t know about the students but I have certainly revisited my childhood dream. And by the way Sir, where did you get that line from.”

Having assured him that it was all mine I realised that for most of us may not realise that what we live today must be a dream. Sailing on this fine ship while crossing Suez one can’t help but notice the number of times a crew of a passing boat or a ship takes out their Smart Phones and Cameras to take our pictures. It must be a dream because what we do is admired by all and accomplished by few. It must be a dream because however sun tanned and weather hardened you look, once in your uniform nothing else matters. It must be a dream because you draw the same awe from a child as you draw from a grown up or an elderly.

This leg of the voyage is thus dedicated to all those who get to live this dream.

       Jeddah to Gulf of Suez – Red Sea at its Best

Smooth Seas Never Make a Skillful Sailor

Stay at Jeddah - The Day Of Calls

            The last day at Jeddah was also the only working day for Saudi Arabia during our stay here. All the Calls were thus planned on 31^st May. First one being the Call on Director General Jeddah Islamic Port. Trade relations between the two nations, growing importance of commercial ports in Red Sea and IOR region and ever-increasing implication of sea trade were discussed during the Call on.

This was followed by a Call on Director Coast Guard. Issues pertaining to strengthening of Indo - Saudi defense relations, increasing importance of coastal surveillance and conduct of bilateral exercises were discussed.

As Jeddah is also home to the Western Fleet of Royal Saudi Naval Force, next visit was to the Head Quarters of Western Fleet followed by a meeting with the Fleet Commander. During the interaction, the involvement of RSNF and IN ships in strife torn YEMEN, the role and importance of sail training ships and India’s growing ship building capability were discussed. 

The Commanding Officer, Navigating Officer and Engineer Officer along with some of the crew visited HMS Al Hafof.

The Commanding Officer along with two officers and five sailors visited Naval Technical Centre at the Naval School. A brief about the organisation, training facilities and training methods was presented. The crew was shown Maritime warfare and Helo controller simulators and various training facilities at the school.

The Crew, thereafter, visited Naval Professional School. A brief about the organisation, training facilities and training methods was presented.

             In addition, a delegation of 15 RSNF Officers headed by Director of Operations Western Fleet visited the ship on 31 May 15. Lt Kshitij Sharma, the Rigging Officer of the ship took them around the ship and briefed them about the role and importance of the Sail training ships.

               The ship was open to school children from 1000 to 1130 hrs. A total of 180 school children of Class X along with six teachers from Indian International School visited the ship. The children were shown around by Mast In Charges followed by a sail setting demo. The students enthusiastically participated in all the activities and were keen to find out how they could join as a crew of this ship.

The Calls and visits concluded with a Lunch in the sprawling and elegant Officers’ Club. Senior Officer Frigate Squadron alongwith Commanding Officers of Al Hafof and Al Riyadh hosted the event. Sumptuous Saudi cuisine was spell binding for most. Because, while the vegetarians (NO, EO and Sea I Chauhan) had to make do with some pita bread and salad, the non veg section saw minimal conversation. There was also this somebody senior from the crew whose fondness for Homus came to light as he was seen adding it to everything but Kahwa.

Stay at Jeddah

            The 12 days from Salalah to Jeddah were good for this Tall Ship. We had good to fair wind throughout. While in the Traffic Separation Schemes off Bab el Mandeb we were clipping a decent 7.5 – 8 knots. Traffic had been decent in the gulf and heavy in the TSSs. Last two days were thus used to spruce up the ship’s side and the much awaited culmination of Inter Mast Competitions. On request of some divers and some wannabes onboard EXO organized a Push Up and Sit Up competition. Long discussions were held to finalise the rules and finally both masts mustered on foxle to cheer for their team. To everybody’s surprise the so called studs were toppled by the unassuming. So much so that the Sit Up competition was won by the MainMast by a margin of six hundred Sit Ups. This was all thanx to Seaman I Pawan Chauhan, LEMR Anuj Sharma, EAP 4 Nirmal Raj and Lt Arjun Radha Krishnan who had to be stopped at a count of 300 sit ups to facilitate dinner for Last Dog Watch. Who knows how long they would have continued if we hadn’t stopped them.

  

           The ship came alongside port side to on berth no. 35 at 0930 hrs on 29 May 15. The tugs were kept on standby as this long jetty with enough sea room to maneuver was a comfortable approach. Reception Committee included a contingent of Five Royal Saudi Naval Force Officers, the Defense Attache and the ship shandlers. While the DA and RSNF officers were ushered into the wardroom for a refreshment and other formalities, EXO caught hold of the Ship Handler to commence stocking up for the voyage ahead. After having tied up for everything the ship shifted ashore leaving the duty watch to top up on water.

            The Charge D’ Affaire and officiating Ambassador Mr Hemant Kotalwar and Counsel General along with their families visited the ship at 1200 hrs on 30 May 15. They were conducted by the  Commandin Officer and our ever enthusiastic demonstrated Mast drill and yardsman aloft for stowing of sails. Walk around of the ship was undertaken towards the end of the visit.

 

          A Press conference was held onboard at 1730 hrs on 30 May 15 with Commanding Officer, Charge D’ Affairs, Counsel General and Defence Attache. A total of 17 media personnel representing 14 newspaper and TV channels participated in the event. The ship was dressed overall with dressing line and all fore and aft sails set for the press conference.

           This was followed by a Reception and dinner that was hosted onboard post press conference. The function was attended by Embassy staff, Media personnel and Senior Royal Saudi Navy Officers. Sumptuous Indian cuisine was served during the dinner, the highlight of the reception being the Dosa stall, which was highly appreciated by everyone.