AROUND THE WORLD IN 238 DAYS

Lieutenant Commanders Dilna K. and Roopa Alagirisamy—the first Indian women to circumnavigate the globe in a double-handed (two-person) sailing mode—say the distance we must travel now is not geographic, but social

- BY ANJULY MATHAI

The bioluminescence lighting up the water like a Christmas tree; pods of dolphins swimming alongside your boat—curious, playful, offering company on long stretches of solitude; signing off each day with stunning, mystical sunsets; miles and miles of glittering sea without beginning or end; seagulls wheeling in the distant horizon; a comet seen only once in 80,000 years, streaking across the sky as though late for an appointment.

... For circumnavigators Dilna K. and Roopa Alagirisamy, nature put on a grand show. Still, was it worth the heartache, the loneliness, the fear and the danger?

We posed this question to the women, who embarked on an epic eight-month journey of 25,600 nautical miles last October. They were mentored by Abhilash Tomy, the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo, nonstop. Aboard the INSV Tarini, they crossed the equator twice and rounded the three major capes—Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn. There were four scheduled stops at Fremantle, Australia, where they were honoured by the Western Australian Parliament; Lyttelton in New Zealand, where they were welcomed with Maori traditional rituals; Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands and Cape Town in South Africa. They shared their experience at THE WEEK Maritime Conclave 2025.

Adventure, they said, had always been in their blood. Both the naval officers' fathers had been in the defence forces and they say it had always been their ambition to follow in their footsteps. Dilna used to stick pictures of officers in uniform on the walls of her room and Roopa was inspired by astronauts like Rakesh Sharma who had a defence background.