Name Abhilash Tomy
Born February 5th 1979 – Changanacherry, Kerala, India
Domicile Kerala, India
Country of entry India
Commander Abhilash Tomy, KC from India, is one of India’s most prominent sailors. A pilot in the Indian Navy, he has had the advantage, just as French sailing legend Eric Tabarly did, of spending much of his career sailing for his Country.
Abhilash has covered 52,000 miles under sail while in the Navy including a solo non-stop circumnavigation from Mumbai and back in 2012/13. He has also represented India in the 2011 Cape Town to Rio Race, the Spanish Copa del Rey Race in 2014 and the Korea Cup for two years in succession. He has been awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, the Kirti Chakra for valour and courageous action and Mac Gregor medal.
He says of the challenge ahead: “This event recreates in the closest way possible way, the magic of the original race. The emphasis is not on technology and its management, but on seamanship and a direct experience of sea. This spartan philosophy is in keeping with my own view that a lot can be achieved with very little.”
Name Thuriya
Type ERIC Suhaili replica Masthead ketch
Race No 5
Designer William Atkin
Builder Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Goa, India
LOA 32.00ft / 9.78m
LWL 27.50ft / 8.38m
Beam 11.00ft / 3.35m
Draft 5.50ft / 1.67m
Displacement 19545 lbs / 8865 kgs
Sail area 628sq ft / 58.34 m
To celebrate India’s heritage in building famous singlehanded yachts in the past (Suhaili and Lively Lady spring to mind) Abhilash will be racing a replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s original winner. Work began at the Aquarius shipyard on Goa in 2016, not with the rudimentary adze, bow drill and hand saw that shaped Suhaili in a Bombay shipyard five decades before, but with the latest CAD design and CNC cutting machinery to produce a much lighter wood epoxy composite replica. Thuriya was launched in August 2017 and Cdr.Tomy has been conducting sea trials in the Indian Ocean prior to shipping the yacht to Europe in March 2018.