A team of over hundred personnel of the Eastern Naval Command undertook a 660 km-long sailing expedition recently on the Godavari river followed by a sea-sailing off north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The expedition, named Jal Yatra, was conducted for the second successive year to instill a spirit of adventure, endurance and camaraderie apart from honing the skills of sailing amongst the naval personnel.

Seven whaler boats with a crew of two officers and eight sailors drawn from the ships of the Eastern Fleet and Local Flotilla, submarines and naval establishments, INS Circars and Kalinga, participated in the expedition.

The 480 km long river phase of the expedition commenced from Talaparuvu village, 50 km north of Bhadrachalam in Khammam district, and sailed through down-stream of the river Godavari which was characterised by strong currents and whirl-pools. The team members negotiated steep rapids at Dummagudem and Papikonda before reaching Dhavaleswaram where the boats were shifted across the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage. The river phase of the expedition continued up to Kakinada after sailing through Kotipalli and Yanam.

The sea phase of the expedition from Kakinada to Visakhapatnam with a halt at Pudimadaka village was successfully completed braving unfavourable weather and current conditions of the open sea. Two faculty members of Andhra University also joined the naval contingent in the expedition.