Solo sailor in pirate waters,Navy on watch

The Navy is keeping a close watch on one of its more famous sailors,Commander Dilip Donde,the first Indian attempting a solo around-the-world sail.

The Navy is keeping a close watch on one of its more famous sailors,Commander Dilip Donde,the first Indian attempting a solo around-the-world sail,as he passes through pirate-infested waters on the final leg home.

Donde,who is less than 1,000 nautical miles from creating history,is currently sailing west of the Maldives waters where piracy has been on the upswing following the crackdown by international forces near Somali coast. With the sailor on the final leg he is expected to reach Mumbai on May 22 the Navy is not taking any chances and a warship deployed in the vicinity is keeping a watch on him to ensure nothing comes in his way.

A similar watch was kept as he passed close to the Seychelles and Mauritius,also considered unsafe as far as piracy is concerned,and a warship had been monitoring the progress of the Mhadei,as his boat is called.

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While a grand reception has been planned for his arrival in Mumbai,the final leg from Cape Town has also been the most challenging for the Navy officer as he struggled to catch favourable winds just south of the equator. The break came last Thursday after he re-entered the northern hemisphere and is now fast progressing towards Indian mainland.

The heat,besides thunderstorms and strong winds,has also made matters difficult as Donde is concentrating energies on getting Mhadei home in time. All the water that evaporates from the sea during the hot day comes down at night as thunder showers with strong gusty winds and sheets of rain! So we are settling into an interesting routine of staying awake during the night,controlling the boat and unable to sleep during the day due to the heat! he noted in a recent blog entry.

Dondes biggest worry right now is dinner. Just weeks away from his goal,he discovered that his gas cylinder has gone empty,putting a full stop to any cooking. For the last few weeks,the sailor will need to survive on canned food before he makes his appearance in the Mumbai harbour.

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Maldives

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