HTLS 2019: Cdr Abhilash Tomy, hero’s journey around the world in five months
After sailing dinghies competitively for a few years, he started ocean sailing with a voyage on the Ericsson 1 from Kochi to Mumbai which was followed by a tenure with the Volvo Ocean Race as the Yacht Services Manager for its stopover at Kochi in 2008.
Cdr Abhilash Tomy is one of the most decorated sailors from India. An alumnus of the Naval Academy at Goa and a maritime reconnaissance pilot by specialisation with two tenures in operational squadrons, sailing interested him since his days at the academy.
After sailing dinghies competitively for a few years, he started ocean sailing with a voyage on the Ericsson 1 from Kochi to Mumbai which was followed by a tenure with the Volvo Ocean Race as the Yacht Services Manager for its stopover at Kochi in 2008. This was followed by a 600 mile voyage with Prof Radhakrishnan in the Gulf of Aden on the Eldemer, and a shore support for Sagar Parikrama I, the first single-handed circumnavigation by an Indian.
Cdr Tomy successfully completed a single handed and nonstop circumnavigation of the globe under sail in 2012-13. At the end of the five-month-long voyage, the President of India received the skipper and his boat at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. Cdr Tomy was awarded the country’s second-highest peace-time gallantry award, Kirti Chakra.
He was a special invitee to the 50th anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race in 2018. Conceptualised as a single-handed, non-stop race around the world with outdated technology, the GGR had 18 entrants. After 82 days at sea, Cdr Tomy was in the third position when a storm dismasted his boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean, leaving him with spinal injuries. Cdr Tomy was rescued, thanks to the combined effort of four nations, which became one of the biggest rescue missions of the century.
