The first sail ship of our modern Indian Navy INSV Varuna was commissioned in April 1981 and was berthed alongside INS Mysore our Training ship in Mumbai. The purpose of having a sail ship was to instil a spirit of adventure, to remain connected to our roots and to imbibe the fundamentals of sailing among Naval personnel. It was 110 ton , 29 meters long ship with 12 sails (six square and six fore and aft sails) . It also had a diesel propulsion with two engines . About 25 personnel could stay on board.
A few of us cadets would be tasked to be on board for
‘Cleanship’ and maintenance. We were
told early in our career that the biggest ship of the Navy was not Vikrant but
it was ‘Cleanship’ implying the highest priority accorded to cleanliness to
ensure a healthy environment.
One day we
learnt that the ship would be sailing to Goa on its maiden sailing and had asked for volunteers , about six of us opted because of the primary
attraction of seeing Goa! In our
excitement we did not foresee the perils
of handling a sailing ship ! A day prior
to our sailing we were informed that Vice Admiral M P Awati VrC, the Flag
Officer Commanding -in- Chief Western Naval Command would be embarking the ship
and sailing up-to Goa! All my happiness fizzled out and a certain nervousness
creeped in and I wanted to opt out but it was too late. I could imagine that in
the limited space of the ship I would be bouncing into Admiral frequently and
Admirals were all known to assess the learnings of cadets and would ask
questions which I was sure I would fumble! I was aware of world affairs and
current National affairs, Art and culture
as these were subjects of my interest
but these were all out of course!
Professional subjects were my waterloo ! At times they would ask the distance
of the nearby ship or the role of the ship or the speed of the wind and I knew
that on account of the very presence and
powerful personality of the C-in C I would freeze!
The day of our
sailing arrived and we were on board ready to receive the Admiral . Before that
about a dozen Sea Cadet Corps( S C C)
cadets embarked us along with their In- charge Mr Ahuja . The cadets
were mostly school going boys of varying seniority. Captain Contractor the
Commanding officer of Mysore was to command the ship . An Olympian sailor and a gentleman who treated us kindly. Young
and energetic Lt Cdr Anup Singh was the Navigating officer who would later rise
to be the C-in-C East ! A British Sailor perhaps a trainer also sailed with us.
The entire Command team was alongside to see us off . when the Admiral was
about to arrive we were ordered to climb up the sails and mast as a gesture
of welcome to the Admiral .The SCC cadets climbed like monkeys and In my
excitement I did climb up high and then
when I looked down I was horrified by the height and the movement of the ship
and the slowness of time and wait made me jittery and I was getting impatient
as my hands clinging to the mast resting on ropes started hurting!
Finally the ship cast off and we hurled down much to
my relief and quickly stood at various places
in attention as the nearby ships saluted and whistled the Admiral as his
Flag was flying up the mast !
Captain Contractor was on the wheels for some time and
then we cadets by rotation were doing duties . Other cadets were on duties at
various posts -some handling sails , some on look out etc. The sea was calm and quiet and I did not feel
sea sick . The sky was clear full of
stars and Lt Cdr Anup Singh very patiently showed us the ‘Sword of Orion’ the ‘Belt of Orion’ and others constellations
. Since Admiral was around the NO ( Navigating Officer) was taking ‘star sights’ with sextant
and updating the chart . We were near to the coast and could see the
lights and features and therefore visual navigation was possible. As we crossed
Murud -Janjira I could hear Admiral talking about the pirates who would be hiding there in earlier
times . He took keen interest in Maritime History and was patron of ‘Maritime
History Society ‘ after his retirement .
He pushed the case for manufacturing of sail boat ‘INSV Mhadei’ in Goa which
Captain Dilip Donde solo
circumnavigated the globe.
The SCC cadets were very active and professional and
their knowledge impressed me . There was a concrete ship named ‘Training Ship
Jawahar’ near Afghan Church where these SCC cadets were trained every Sunday .
The next day
was bright and beautiful and we were up about early for our PT and ‘cleanship’ as
the sun rose , which was fun . I felt good watching the many sea birds circling
our ship and I remembered only ‘sea gull’ and its family members . During the
breakfast I overheard Admiral saying that he preferred ‘honey and toast’ !
Captain and others were satisfied as the ship was making good speed with sails. We were expected to arrive
in Panjim next morning . It was spring
season and sea behaved as we faced no rough weather!
Early morning
as we were on deck an IL 38 aircraft with Navy written from INS Hansa ( Dabolim, Goa ) our air
base went past us a few times and we were told that it was saluting the Admiral! We all waved in
recognition! We entered the Panjim harbour and the Captain brought the
ship alongside smartly . Panjim was much
quieter and calmer and was not infested
by numerous large and ugly ‘Casino’
ships anchored all around ! I saw ‘Mughal Lines’ passenger liner which plied
between Mumbai – Goa berthed a little ahead of us . A grand reception party
consisting of senior officers from Goa Naval Area and local administration received
the ship and soon Admiral and
Captain were whisked away in official cars to Naval base in Vasco. We were thrilled to get
‘Liberty’ till 10 PM after the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ were read out and out of bounds
area were announced. A Navy bus was arranged for us . We Naval cadets went to
Calangute beach and spend the day there sipping beer and relishing ‘Fish Curry
and rice ’ which was my first encounter as by this time I had developed a taste
for sea fish! The remarkable thing about ‘Goan Fish curry’ is that it tastes
the same everywhere be it a multi-starred
Hotel or a thatched roof beach restaurant! A great leveller! I had
imagined Goa to be an exotic place but
it was hardly so with no remarkable features , but its beauty is intrinsic and
seeps slowly!
The next day morning we set sail to Mumbai. The
Admiral was to return in service
aircraft later. Captain Contractor was in Command . The British trainer gave us
instructions on some dining room manners
and how to arrange the dining table etc , otherwise the journey was uneventful
. We came alongside Mysore the next day evening after a few unsuccessful
attempts and there was a big crowd on board watching !
I look back to my only journey on a sail ship with much fondness though there was no
adventure but there was experience and I
assessed that how a mature and genial
Captain affects the environment . Captain Contractor’s presence was such!
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