Titanium Tomy finally home, starts plans for next adventure

PANAJI: More than a year after he flew to France to participate in the Golden Globe Race 2022, Abhilash Tomy returned - triumphant and relieved - back to Goa and to his family. The retired naval commander may have just completed a treacherous race around the world, but is already preparing for his next escapade - if his wife lets him, that is.
Tomy braved 236 days out at sea, but the extended period of solitude, waves as high as a five-storey building, and lack of sleep, has done little to quench the 44-year-old's thirst for adventure. "I really don't know what next. GGR is the toughest single-handed circumnavigation that you can do. I don't know how successful it would be but I'm thinking of racing an Indian team or an Asian collaboration team and do either a trans-ocean race or a round-the-world race," said Tomy, when asked about his next plan.

Tomy could also play an advisory role in the Indian Navy's plans to send a woman officer on a solo circumnavigation voyage in coming years.
As per sources, the navy has broached the idea with him and given that he lives close to the Indian Navy's Ocean Sailing Node at INS Mandovi, Tomy's inputs will come in handy.
In a lighter vein, he joked about starting a weight loss program by taking people sailing.
Tomy landed at Goa International Airport, Dabolim, aboard an Air India flight on Friday, and was immediately swept into his wife’s tight embrace. The Indian Navy also welcomed him and felicitated him at the Naval Officers Institute. “I am absolutely overwhelmed to see him after almost a year. I will let him be home and find his way... it’s been a while,” said his wife Urmimala.
He is the second Indian to complete a solo circumnavigation and the first to do it without stopping. He is also the first Indian and Asian to complete the Golden Globe Race, a feat that he accomplished without modern navigation equipment. Tomy overcame a near fatal back injury, which he suffered during the GGR 2018 race, to bag the second position in the 2022 edition.“In GGR 2018, I came home in a wheelchair, and in GGR 2022, I’m coming home walking. That is a big, big difference,” Tomy said. The avid sailor and Dornier pilot credited the Indian Navy for his stupendous achievement, saying that his naval training had ingrained in him the ability to surmount challenges.
Funnily enough for someone who plans to build a sailing team for world races, Tomy says that he loves being alone. “It is very stressful if there is someone else with me on the boat. My crew has created more problems for me than the entire ocean in so many months,” he said with a laugh.
In amore serious tone, he confesses that GGR 2022 felt a bit incomplete as he missed the competitive spirit and camaraderie out at sea. “A sailing race has got a lot of elements to it, one of which is, you need to make tactical decisions purely based on the positions of other entrants. I found that missing and that was a bit upsetting. So yes, this race was a bit incomplete, but what really kept me going was all the problems and finding solutions,” said Tomy about his race experience.
Aside from the race, Tomy and his 36-foot yacht, Bayanat, have also contributed to scientific research. He collected water samples every day from all the oceans, and the water is now being studied in the UAE for 30 parameters, including microplastics. A spectrometry analysis of the sea using satellites that followed the Bayanat is being done, as is a study on the effect of prolonged isolation and his diet. Blood samples were collected for studies as soon as he completed the GGR 2022 race at Les Sables d’Olonne.