Abhilash Tomy

Commander Abhilash Tomy (born 5 Feb 1979) is an Indian Naval Officer. He is the first Indian, second Asian, and seventy-ninth person to complete a solo, unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation under sail.

The voyage was a part of the Indian Navy's project Sagar Parikrama, initiated by Vice-Admiral (retd.) M.P. Awati. The first stage of the project involved a solo circumnavigation under sail which would not be non-stop. This was accomplished by Commander Dilip Donde, a clearance diver of the Indian Navy. Cdr. Donde completed his trip on 19 May 2010, sailing over a period of nine months. Tomy was Donde's shore support during this journey which included four stops. The second phase of the project, called Sagar Parikrama-II, was Tomy's non-stop circumnavigation. His preparations included training voyages with a crew, and a first solo sailing expedition from Cape Town, South Africa to Goa. Preparations for the journey included food supplies of specially-packed freeze dry food, and a consignment from the Defence Food Research Laboratory in Mysore.

The boat used in both circumnavigations of the Sagar Parikrama project was the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel INSV Mhadei, custom built by the Indian Navy. The sloop is 56 feet long, and was built under Donde's supervision, by Ratnakar Dandekar at the boat yard of M/s Aquarius Fiberglas Pvt Ltd at Divar. The vessel was handed over to the Indian Navy in February 2009. The yacht was christened INSV Mhadei, the river Mhadei being the origin of the Mandovi River in Goa.

Tomy began his journey in Mumbai, from the Gateway of India, on 1 November 2012. He crossed, from West to East, the Indian, Pacific, Southern and Atlantic Oceans, covering 23,100 nautical miles, rounding Cape Leeuwin in Australia, Cape Horn in South America and Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The journey took 151 days and was completed on 31 March 2013. On 6 April 2013, a ceremony was held in his honour, where he was officially received by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Mukherjee stated, "I am sure that this achievement of Lt Cmdr Abhilash Tomy will continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations of young seafarers. His epic voyage has placed our nation into the ranks of a few select countries whose citizens have been successful in braving such an arduous voyage." Tomy became the first Indian and second Asian after Minoru Saito to complete such a journey.

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