Panaji, Aug 11: The Indian Navy's solo round-the-world sailing mission kicks off from Aug 19 with the state-of-the-art Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei attempting to make history.

The yacht, manned by Commander Dilip Donde, Monday left its port of manufacture in Goa for Mumbai, from where it will set off on its 21,600 nautical mile journey.

Speaking to reporters at the Goa Shipyard Limited jetty Monday, from where the INSV Mhadei set sail, Vice Admiral (retd) M.P. Avati, who has been lobbying for the Rs.6.5 crore project, said it was being funded by the defence ministry, right from building the yacht from scratch to working out navigational details.

"When he comes back in April or May 2010, Commander Dilip Donde will become the first Indian to have circumnavigated the world single-handed. There have been several such attempts made by sailors from European nations though," Avati added.

"Commander Donde will be sailing south of the three capes - namely Cape Australia, Cape Horn (South America) and the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). The INSV Mhadei will make brief halts along the way to replenish its supplies," Avati said.

These halts will be at Freemantle (Australia), Christchurch (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands Islands) and Cape Town (South Africa).

Speaking about the possible challenges that could confront Dhonde on his nearly year-long adventure, Avati said the seas in the southern hemisphere were very unstable and choppy, with waves rising to more than 30 to 40 feet.

"There is also the grave issue of icebergs from the Antarctica floating northwards in summer. They could be lethal if the boat comes in contact with one such chunk of ice," he pointed out.

INSV Mhadei is 56 feet long with a set of six sails that can be used in different combinations for speeds of up to 10 knots.

According to Avati, this is the first time that a boat of such specifications and calibre has been built in the country.

"We had hired consultants from Holland to come up with an appropriate design and it took us about a year to fabricate the vessel from scratch," he said.