Kochi, Oct 23 (PTI) The Indian Navy will conduct an Offshore Sailing Regatta from Kochi to Goa under the aegis of Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA), to commemorate the 75th year of country"s independence. Six Indian Naval Sailing Vessels (INSVs)--Mhadei, Tarini, Bulbul, Neelkanth, Kadalpura and Hariyal will be participating in the race which is scheduled to start on October 24 for a tentative duration of five days and would cover an approximate distance of 360 nm between the start point at the Naval Base in Kochi to Goa, Navy officials said. The expedition is aimed at fostering the spirit of adventure and ocean sailing for the participating crew, Rear Admiral, T V N Prasanna, Chief Staff Officer (Training) said. "It has the participation of almost 36 officers from various commands of Indian Navy. This will not only rejuvenate the sailing part but brings out the essence of adventure and togetherness and also commemorate the 75th year of independence," Prasanna told the media. The yachters have been undergoing rigorous training for the event over the last one month. Each of the six INSVs - four 40 footers and two 56 footers, would be manned by six naval personnel drawn from three Commands of Navy, the ANC and IHQ MoD (Navy). In addition, Ocean Yachts from Yachting Association of India (YAI) affiliated civilian clubs would also be participating in the event. Captain Atool Sinha, skipper of INS Kadalpura told PTI that they expect to reach Goa by October 28 and the major challenge would the unpredictable weather. "We expect to reach Goa on October 28. The event is being represented by various commands and they come with their boats. The team of qualified yachters are trained by the western naval command over the last couple of years and last month we have done some intense training. The challenges we are gonna face is essentially bad weather or no wind at all. It can oscillate between zero wind to 25 to 30 knots. We will have to battle all these conditions and this boat will be our life saver," Sinha said. The Two 56-footers participating in this Regatta have already made history in the Indian Navy by participating in circumnavigation, a release by the Navy said. Navy said the crew are selected from volunteers with adequate sea sailing experience. "Ocean sailing is an extremely tough adventure sport and through this, Indian Navy inculcates the spirit of adventure, enhancing risk taking abilities whilst honing essential seamanship skills including navigation, communication, technical operations of engines and onboard machinery, operation of Inmarsat equipment, logistics planning etc," it added. PTI RRT ROH ROH