Army's sailing expedition around Indian peninsula reaches Goa

Surviving Cyclone Gaja and several other challenges, Indian Army's first-ever Indian Peninsula Wind Sailing Expedition entered its final leg Thursday after reaching the Goa coast.

The voyage aboard 44-feet-long German-built SV Frama was kicked off on October 21 from Haldia Port near Kolkata, and will end on November 30.

From Goa, it will head for Porbandar in Gujarat, the final destination, said Major Sahil Dua, assistant leader of the expedition.

Speaking to reporters, Major Dua said it is the first sailing expedition to cover the entire peninsula.

Led by Major Alok Kumar Yadav, a team of 50 sailors has embarked on the expedition to spread awareness about ocean pollution. Along the route, participants are collecting evidence of seawater pollution.

The expedition was incident-free so far except when the boat's sail was torn while docking in Chennai, Major Dua said.

The team also encountered rough weather in the wake of Cyclone Gaja when they were at Mangalore on November 16, he said.

The basic principle of sailing is 'never fight nature', Major Dua said.

"So we took a break for a day and then continued," he said.

So far, the team has clocked 3,850 nautical miles over 31 days, sailing at an average speed of 120 nautical miles a day, he said.