Indian Naval Officer – rescued after a mishap

Commander Abhilash Tomy, is an Indian Naval Officer.

In 2013, he became the first Indian to do a solo, unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation under sail.

On July 1, 2018, Abhilash participated in the 2018 Golden Globe Race, which is a non-stop, 30,000-mile solo yachting competition that restricts the use of modern technology.

The 18 participants started their journey from Les Sables-d’Olonne, a seaside town in Western France.

On September 21st, 2018, his yacht ‘Thuriya’ dismasted in a mishap in the Indian Ocean. Apart from injuring him, this left him stranded 3,200 km off the coast of Western Australia. He had sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days and was at third place in the race. The mishap happened due to extremely rough weather and sea conditions, with 14 metre high waves and wind speed of 130 kmph. He had a serious back injury.

On Sunday, September 23rd, 2018, Tomy managed to get in touch with the race organisers in France through messages via satellite phone and he requested for a stretcher.

The Indian Navy’s P81 aircraft flew from Mauritius and located his broken boat. Commander Tomy responded by ping on radio device used to is a device alert rescuers in case of accidents at sea. However, he could only be rescued by naval vessels due to heavy rain and storm in the area.

Finally, after help from Australian, French and Indian Naval vessels and other yachts from the competition, Tomy was rescued on September 24th, 2018 by the French fishing vessel, Osiris. He was seriously injured but conscious and has been given medical attention.