HYDERABAD: City-based Navy officer Lt Aishwarya Boddapati who was part of the first all women's crew to circumnavigate the globe, won the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award for outstanding achievements in the field of adventure on land sea and air.
Conferred by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the award is the highest national recognition for adventure. She will be receiving the award from the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on September 25.
Secunderabad-resident Boddapati had sailed on INSV Tarini, an Indian naval sailing vessel, on the project Navika Sagar Parikrama along with six others. The voyage around the world took 254 days, out of which the team spent 199 days on the sea and the rest on port.
Recently at TedX Hyderabad, Bodapatti recounted her experiences. She had intially thought that the viyage would be a pleasure ride. However she realised what she had gotten herseld into, after a few days, she had said.
There were times when, in the middle of the ocean, she did not have water to drink. However the skies broke, it started raining and they collected the water in vessels for drinking. Bodapatti drew a parallel with Life of Pi, and recounted how they had made 'friends' with aquatic animals. Marine creatures would reportedly come very close to the boat and sail with them for a while.