I’m back: Indian sailor on UAE ship calls mum for first time in 236 days after returning to land – News

During the competition, competitors sail solo, non-stop, around the world, passing 5 large capes, and returning to the starting point, not allowed to use technology available after 1968

Abhilash Tomy on board his ship, sponsored by Bayanat, an Abu Dhabi-based provider of geospatial artificial intelligence solutions.Photo: Supplied

After circumnavigating the Earth alone in 236 days as part of the world’s toughest sailing race, the first thing Abhilash Tomy did when he set foot on land was to call his mother in India.

“I told her I’m back,” Abhilash told the Khaleej Times via Zoom from the terminus in the French town of Les Sables-d’Olonne. “I feel like the Terminator said that,” quotes Arnold Schwarzenegger’s blockbuster dialogue.

Participate in the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Abhilash completes the journey Aboard a boat sponsored by Abu Dhabi-based provider of geospatial artificial intelligence solutions, Bayanat, with the racing number ’71’ – a nod to the founding of the UAE in 1971.

Abhilash admitted, racing is one of the hardest things He’d never done it in his life, and had some challenges along the way. “Once, my sail tore and I had to mend it,” he said. “It rained heavily while sewing, so I took the sail in and started to mend it. It took a total of 26 hours to mend it.”

Abhilash spoke to Khaleej Times via Zoom after finishing the game.

During the competition, the contestants set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, and traveled solo directly around the world, passing through the five corners and returning to the starting point. The competition has unique requirements and stipulates that competitors can only use technology that was available when the original competition took place in 1968.

For Abhilash, the hardest part of the game was missing his family, including his wife and two sons. “I missed several milestones in the game,” he said. “My younger son started school during this time. I missed my older son’s 13th birthday, so I missed his teenage years. Also, my dad had surgery while I was away. My brother became Father. Traveling has happened a lot in my life.”

However, he said Bayanat’s team went out of their way to satisfy his cravings. “While I was in Cape Town, a team member passed by on a boat and held up his laptop,” he said. “About 50 meters away, I saw a video of my son’s first day at school, sitting on a school bench. That moment is dear to me.”

Abhilash battled violent storms and months of solitude while dealing with severe damage to his boat to complete a race that nearly claimed his life. In 2018, the professional maritime scout pilot ranked third after his ship was damaged in a storm for 82 days. He suffered life-threatening injuries, fractured his spine and nearly left him paralyzed.

“When I came home in a wheelchair in 2018, my wife was pregnant with our second child,” he said. “She has to take care of herself while taking care of me. It’s been a challenging time for me.”

Abhilash said he is grateful to his wife and mother for their willingness to bring him back to the game. “My wife said she would only let me back on the track if I had a good team and was well prepared,” he said. “By God’s grace, I was able to put together an amazing team and got a great sponsor at Bayanat.”

According to Abhilash, the trip boosted his confidence. “The first time I circled the Earth was in 2012,” he said. “In 2018, I tried and failed to reproduce that. This year, I can finally say that I am not a one-time miracle. I am a skilled and determined sailor.”

This is the third time Abilash has attempted to circumnavigate the world, and he says he saw strange things happening at sea. “I saw flying fish at 41 degrees south latitude,” he said. “That’s not where they’re supposed to be. I got sunburned in a place where it’s supposed to be cold. I saw an albatross too south. Warm currents are going where they shouldn’t be, affecting the environment in many ways.”

In Abhilash’s class, Bayanat has been doing important scientific work to advance marine research and environmental protection. He collected water samples from various oceans to analyze for the presence of microplastics and detect pollution.