News & Pics: Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai (RD/SB)
 
Mumbai, Jan 13: No 6 Maharashtra Naval Unit organized an ocean sailing expedition to represent Maharashtra Directorate in Most Enterprising Naval Unit (MENU) competition by DG NCC for the year 2010-11.
 
The expedition was flagged off from Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC) Colaba, here recently by Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, chief of staff, Western Naval Command.
 

Fifty NCC cadets including 12 girls, drawn from various colleges of Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and Nasik along with NCC officers and other staff of N0 1 Maharashtra Naval Unit NCC are participating in the expedition. The expedition is being conducted in J-24 class ocean sailing boats for the first time, so as to expose the cadets to the vagaries of ocean sailing and to derive maximum training value for naval wing NCC cadets. This is also the first time NCC cadets from Maharashtra are venturing into the waters of north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast.
 
The expedition is intended to highlight the coastal security and to inculcate a spirit of adventure amongst the cadets and help them develop stamina, confidence, endurance, camaraderie and spirit-de-corps. The cadets will also have an opportunity to understand the diverse and varied culture and traditions of Maharashtra and Gujarat besides exposing them to various religious, historical, industrial and infrastructural sites and assets along the north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast.
 
The first phase includes halts at Madh Island, Saatpati, Daman and Valsad from January 10 to January 14, while the second phase halts will be at Dahanu, Tarapur, Hamla, Alibaug, and Khanderi before arriving in Mumbai on Wednesday January 20. During the expedition a distance of approximately 600 kilometers will be covered by the cadets. The expedition would make halts at 10 minor ports en-route in such a way that no minor port is visited twice during the entire expedition and the sailing will be during daylight hours.
 
During the halts en-route, educational visits to various places of interest and historical, religious, political importance are planned besides interacting with local populace and educate them about various procedures of enrolment in the Armed Forces. Local population will also be educated on social evils such as dowry, child marriage, female foeticide, alcoholism and drug abuse among others.