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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1273703,curpg-1.cms

Destination Goa for 4 men in a boat
[ Tuesday, October 25, 2005 01:36:35 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

MUMBAI: Their home for the next 72 hours is on the Arabian Sea, between
Maharashtra and Kerala, on a boat measuring just 21.5 ft by six ft. The
four occupants have to survive in this cramped confine, with no toilet,
no cabin, no kitchen. There is no cover for their floating home and, in
the afternoons, they have to bear the onslaught of the sun.  

They have enough food and water to last for three days, when they reach
Goa. The four sailors are hardened adventure buffs from the College of
Military Engineering at Kirkee near Pune, taking part in the Indian
Army's sailing expedition from Mumbai to Kochi via Goa. In all, they
will cover a distance of 2,200 km. 

There are two sailing boats participating in the expedition, and in each
there are four members. The first group of eight which left Mumbai on
Monday afternoon will reach Goa on Thursday, assuming there is no
weather-related delays. At Goa, another team will take over and sail on
to Kochi. The process will be reversed during the return leg. 

In all, 21 people will participate in the expedition. Incidentally, it
is the first major sailing expedition of the Indian army organised after
a gap of 18 years. Said a team member: "It is a very challenging
experience. It is really a case of survival of the fittest." They have
to be careful while eating because the turbulent water induces nausea. 

"Past experiences have shown that, if one person starts vomiting, it has
a cascading psychological effect on other team members," a team member
added. The boats are wind-powered. General officer commanding-in chief,
southern command, Lieutenant General B S Thakar, who flagged off the
expedition told newsmen that to sail such a boat calls for the "highest
standards of leadership, seamanship, endurance and perseverance." 

He said that the boats are equipped with navigational aids which will
help the crew to communicate with the ground stations at Mumbai, Goa and
Kochi. Asked why there was a gap of 18 years between the last big
sailing expedition and this, Thakar said: "All these years the army was
involved with other activities. 

As a result sports went into the background. Now, with peacetime
activities on the rise, we will once again concentrate on extra
curricular activities like sailing." "The aim of the Indian army is to
win a gold medal in the next Olympics and we are now seriously working
towards this goal," he added.


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