Winds, foggy conditions delay Abhilash Tomy’s arrival in France, but smooth sailing for his records

PANAJI: Naval veteran Abhilash Tomy is on the cusp of history, barely 50 nautical miles from the finish line at France’s Les Sables d’Olonne. The Kirti Chakra recipient is expected to take second place when he reaches the finish line in the Golden Globe Race (GGR) 2022 on Saturday afternoon.
South African sailor and adventurer Kirsten Neuschafer emerged winner on Friday morning as she sailed into the same marina, which she and 15 other entrants had left 235 days earlier. Neuschafer is the first woman to win a round-the-world race by the three great capes, and the first South African sailor to win a round-the-world event.

When he crosses the GGR finish line, Tomy, a 44-year-old Dornier pilot, will become the first Indian and first Asian to complete the longest and slowest race on the planet.
Tomy was expected to arrive on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, but light winds, foggy conditions, the proximity of cargo ships and steering problems delayed his arrival.

“It is so silent, I can hear the sound of a ship’s engine at six miles,” said Tomy in a text to race officials.
Race officials expect wind conditions to improve by Saturday noon as Tomy makes his final approach to the finish line.
To celebrate Tomy’s audacious accomplishment, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club is organising an event at Colaba, Mumbai, to cheer the solo circumnavigator.
Tomy is India’s first solo, non-stop circumnavigator, and he is also winner of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award. He has spent 235 days at sea, all alone, with no contact with family and friends, while navigating around the world using nothing but a basic compass, a sextant, and a barometer.