Commander Abhilash Tomy KC, NM, India’s first and only solo, non-stop circumnavigator delivered a special address at the Maritime Conclave 2024 organised by THE WEEK. The one-day event is being held at the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai on November 5.
The retired Indian Navy officer wowed the audience with experiences from his two successful solo circumnavigations and the one in September 2018 which saw him dismasted in the Southern Ocean, and very close to permanent paralysis. He also requested the audience to support sailing in through the Yachting Association of India.
The retired commander is now based in Abu Dhabi, where he works with Space42. Bayanat—the company that sponsored his entry into the Golden Globe Race 2022 with the eponymous Rustler 36 yacht—is now owned by Space42. Tomy had finished second after a gruelling, 235-day voyage. He became the first Asian to finish a Golden Globe Race.
Tomy’s address comes against the backdrop of India’s relatively unknown but crucial stake in solo circumnavigation. The first solo, non-stop circumnavigator ever, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, sailed the globe in a 32-foot, Mumbai-built Bermudan ketch—the Suhaili.
The impact of Tomy’s speech was reflected in Dr Sudarsahan Naidu’s request from the audience that the country or private initiatives should initiate an Abhilash Tomy Prize for Seafarers to encourage and acknowledge exceptional individuals in the maritime sector. Naidu, an expert in sociology and social development, was formerly with the World Bank and is now associated with the Asian Development Bank.