KOCHI: It was around 7.30 pm on Friday when Retd Lt Commander VC Tomy received a call from Goa, informing that his son Commander Abhilash Tomy, the only Indian sailor participating in the prestigious Golden Globe Race, had suffered a back injury. His yacht got caught in a storm midway across the South Indian Ocean. It left Tomy and his wife Valsamma, who are staying at Udayamperoor near Kochi, confused.
Their son was all alone in the sea in a damaged yacht. The sea was rough tossing the yacht all around. He had suffered a back injury and was unable to stand up. The yacht was dismasted and his satellite phone was also not working. The couple got tensed and anxiety was creeping up as hours passed by. The couple heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday morning after the Navy conveyed the message that the Australian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre was able to establish contact with Abhilash and that he was safe. “We are sailors and are expected to be tough. I was a bit concerned as there was no communication links. But we know he is a tough man and can overcome any adversity. But we are sad he will not be able to complete the race, which could have been a remarkable feat,” V C Tomy told Express.
The Indian Navy was waiting for a pleasant news as Abhilash, who was in the third position, was expected to advance to the second spot before reaching Australia. The 39-year-old had been preparing for the Golden Globe race for the past one year and had personally overseen the building of his vessel Thuriya in Goa. Thuriya had evoked much interest globally as it was a replica of Suhaili, the yacht used by the first winner of Golden Globe Race Sir Robin Knox Johnston. Abhilash was one among the 18 participants and had sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the past 84 days in the race, which commenced on July 1, 2018.
“He was just 120 miles behind Cutch man Mark Slats, who was placed in the second spot. Tomy had achieved a rare feat the other day as his boat became the fastest boat covering 240 nautical miles on a single day. Mark Slats was also knocked down by the storm while Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin’s yacht was also dismasted. The storm triggered wind speeds of 130 kmph and waves rose to a height of 10 metres. Though he got weather warning two days ago, he didn’t get ample time to change course,” said Tomy. Though other competitors were asked to advance towards Tomy’s position, the weather conditions remained extreme.
Commander Tomy became the first Indian to have circumnavigated the globe in 2013 and is the only Indian participating in the solo race.
Rescue mission on
According to the Indian Navy, Abhilash is in the south Indian Ocean, approximately 1,900 nautical miles (3,000 km) off Perth, Australia, and 2,700 nm (approx 5,020 km) off Kanyakumari coast. The Indian Navy has deployed stealth frigate INS Satpura with a Chetak Helicopter and tanker INS Jyoti for the rescue mission. A P8I long range surveillance aircraft was launched from Arakkonam on Saturday. Abhilash is in contact with the Race Control in France through messages. Race control is relaying messages to Joint Rescue Coordination centre in Australia. He has requested for a stretcher as he cannot move on his own. Another contestant Gregor McGuckin - although suffered damage to his yacht - is heading towards Thuriya. Australian Fisheries vessel Osiris is also heading towards the loca-tion. Osiris has a medical officer and a one-bed infirmary on board. A Royal Australian Navy Ship is also likely to depart for location. A P8I aircraft will be deployed on Sunday, the Navy said in a release.