This incredible woman shared her journey working on the high seas in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA).
India Syms showcases a unique look at her life on board and the important work she does to support Britain’s naval operations and global allies.
Her role involves keeping Britain and her allies Navy’s and militaries supplied whilst deployed abroad.
She said: “After I left school, I started working as a dinghy sailikeep Britain’s and her allies’ Navy and militaries supplied while they areng instructor and loved the water!
“I looked into sailing careers and stumbled across the RFA and have never looked back!”
India’s journey started with in 2019 after a long selection process that saw her undergo rigorous physical and mental testing.
From there she began her 3-and-a-half-year training process to finally see herself become qualified as a deck officer in the RFA.
She took a year’s break to compete in a year’s sailing race around the world before returning to work on the ship.
India is a third deck officer on the ship and is responsible for two lookouts when she is on watch.
Her duties include the safe navigation of the ship, ensuring all the safety equipment is kept safe on the ship, filling in the logbooks, and watching the weather to make sure of safe sailing.
During her time in the RFA, she spends 4 months on and 4 months off the ship, meaning she has to spend long periods away from her friends and family.
However, she doesn’t let this get her down and loves the ability the job gives her to see new places and to be out on the water so often.
On the ship, India is the only female officer, and the crew mainly contains men.
However, she has not let this stop her and she has a great relationship with the crew onboard the ship., meaning she is not overly bothered by the lack of women.
Although she does love to see other women around the ship when she can.
India believes firmly that a career at sea is a great opportunity for people and is looking forward to spending more time at sea and is hopeful of continuing her career through promotions.
She said: “After I left school I started working as a dinghy sailing instructor and loved the water!
“I looked into sailing careers and stumbled across the RFA and have never looked back!
“Joining the RFA was not something I always wanted to do, everyone wanted to go to university, so naturally I thought I was going to go to university.”
India added: “On the whole it’s very fulfilling, but you can have long days, and you work away from home, so you miss a lot of celebrations.
“It doesn’t bother me that it’s a traditionally male role, although you do sometimes just need a girls chat.
“I am the only female officer on the ship, there are other women around and it’s always nice to them, but on the whole, I get on really well with my crew.
“I think a career at sea in general is very fulfilling.
“We get to have some really cool experiences and see some really cool places whilst at sea.
“At the moment I am very much a junior officer, so I want to get as much sea time as I can and work towards getting more qualifications.”