FWD: Sandeq Race 2006

[Waruno Mahdi]

Apologies to all those of you who, like me, usually feel
irritated by horsetrader-style touristics hype, but the
following, I thought, belonged on this list too just the
same (and its really not horsetrader-style).
Please respond exclusively to:

      Horst H. Liebner <khmail at indosat.net.id>

Aloha,  Waruno

---------------------------------------------------------------
FWD follows:

Sandeq Race 2006 : A serious plead on behalve of Sulawesi's traditional
  fishermen and sailors!


Hello Everybody -

Below here: Racin' sailin' boats, by the hundreds - an ages old
tradition of all sailors all over the world, and a big industry for
western sportsmen and their commercial partners.

But, in this case, all will take place in August and September 2006 in
Sulawesi, and employ what commonly is called 'traditional vessels' and
'traditional sailors' - right those people which normally don't get
neither the credits for nor the profits of being the true heirs to the
World's longest maritime traditions.  Hence, an event which should be a
must for anyone who is -and be it only a little bit- interested in
Austronesian maritime culture and history.

So, why do I send this mail to you?  Because we will need any help we
can get to realise this event.  First of all, sure, I'd like to ask you
to spread the news around to anyone you know who could be interested in
researching and/or volunteering for this project - I, e.g., am
convinced, that these events open a wide field for studies in various
aspects of Sulawesi's increasingly vanishing maritime culture.

But, more important, please help us finding volunteers for the
organisational team, participants on the boats and sponsors for the
events!  As most of you know from the former projects we did here, all
this is done as non-profit undertakings (and therefore transparent,
accountable and not expensive), but -and now a word for possible
sponsors- receives an adequate media coverage: Thus, an event where
commercial, non-commercial and private donors and volunteers not only
help indigenous fishermen and sailors, but, too, harvest recognition in
national and international media.

As, e.g., this year's Sandeq Race.  Truly the World's largest and
hardest challenge for traditional sailing vessels, it is not only an
unique chance for studying genuine and authentic maritime traditions,
but will be covered by national and international TV and press: We
already have an OK by Studio UMI, Japan's foremost production house for
maritime documentaries (some of you might have seen their series
'Bahari' and 'Vasco da Gama'), for TV coverage in Nippon, and serious
interest by German's Mare TV-Radio-Magazine group and several
documentary filmmakers from Europe - not to talk about the sailing
sports and boating magazines allover SE-Asia and Australia and
Indonesian TV stations, magazines and papers (Kompas and Media Indonesia
are our main media partners).  But, despite this world-stretching
interest, sponsoring a participating boat with placement of a logo or
slogan of your choice on her sail costs only Rp.25.000.000.-/~US$2.700.-!

Please, hear our pleading: Help to realise this event - and mobilise
your students, business partners, colleagues and friends to join us in
pulling off an occasion which will be most beneficial and advantageous
for Sulawesi's 'traditional' sailors and fishermen as well as for you,
our possible research partners, volunteers in the organising committee,
participants in the races, and -maybe- donators!
----------

After an unlucky break in 2005: The Sandeq Race is back - and even
bigger and better in 2006, as now there is Sandeq 2006

The background:

- As Indonesia doesn't yet have own attractive annual events in marine
sports and tourism, in this year as much as possible of the existing
events will be concentrated between August 18 (i.e., in relation to the
National Independence Day) and September 09/10 (International [?] Day of
Youth and Sports) and placed in Makassar as the only big Indonesian City
with a waterfront esplanade.

- At the same time the Indonesian Tourism Market 'Time' will be held in
Makassar, with its main theme being Marine Tourism.

- A whole array of additional possible eventments have been identified
and planned to produce a first Indonesian Maritime Festival which should
positively exceed the usual governmental activities.

- Time schedules of the main events were planned to accomodate the
itinerary of Sail Indonesia, the yearly 'sailing in company' from Darwin
to Langkawi for western yachts, which in 2006 goes for its 5th
anniversary with a projected 100+ participants.  The main highlights of
the Festival on August 26/27 will be witnessed by the President of RI
and a couple of ministers.

The tentative (i.e., now 90% fixed) schedule runs as follows:

August 18-20, Soft Opening

National Jetski competition; events on shore

August 17-24, Sandeq Race 2006

After not having been much of an event since handed over to the
provincial government of South Sulawesi in 2003, this singular race for
traditional fishermen and their magnificent blue-water outrigger craft
will be expanded into the what surely is 'The World's Largest, Longest,
Fastest and Hardest Race for Traditional Fishing Vessels', with a race
course of about 300nm and 50 participating sandeq.  Here the itinerary:

... and our usual informational blurb:

West Sulawesi, Indonesia - Eagerly awaited by Indonesia's traditional
fishermen as well as the international sail sports community, the 9th
annual race for traditional sandeq outrigger sailing boats will start on
August 17, 2004 in Mamuju and end on the 24th in Makassar.  For the
participants this world-class 300 miles sailing race is the most
important event of the year: Winning The Race is the dream of many a
sandeq sailor.

A century old-tradition, these fast blue-water outrigger vessels have
been competing in local races in the Mandar area of South Sulawesi,
about 300km to the north of Makassar, the peninsula's capital; only
after the first Majene-Makassar race was held in 1995 did these
spectacular sailing events came to the notice of the broader public.
Today, the Sandeq Race is one of the Archipelago's main nautical events:
A full 10 days of racing and cultural events attracts tens of thousands
of people all along the coastal course of the race, including yearly
increasing numbers of tourists, academics and international sailing
professionals who follow The Race as spectators, researchers or
participants.  Not surprisingly, the Sandeq Race meanwhile became topic
of dozens of reports, features, articles and films in national and
international printed and electronic media.

Since 1998, the race has been held annually, and since 2000 became one
of the yearly activities of Indonesia's Ministry of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries in promoting new development strategies for the Archipelago's
'traditional' fishermen: Main objective behind organising world-class
boat racing as a development project for traditional fishermen is
'sensitising' the public to the wealth of possibilities that lie in a
bottom-up development policy based on the traditional knowledge and the
actual needs of her 'objects'.  Our goal is to help 'small' fishermen,
and placing them into the focus of TV cameras on one hand is an
effective approach to draw attention onto their needs - on the other
hand it emancipates villagers to articulate their own demands: Public
awareness and recognition plus personal pride and cultural dignity of
the involved people are much stronger a driving force for sustainable
and appropriate development than any million-dollar-'project'.

August 18-25, Star Race for Traditional Charter Vessels

August/September, Trade and Speed Race, baqgoq Traders

[baqgoq are the last original Bugis sailing trading vessels, with some
200 ships operating between Sulawesi, Kalimantan and Jawa.  During the
last decade this very last Indonesian fleet of sailing traders has been
motorised, so the speed race will be a combined steam and wind one ....]

August 26, Sail Makassar Parade

    [pls remember, that this is more or less true scaling: the average
sandeq is 11m long, carrying a 14m mast and 100+ sqm of sail]

Friendship Challenge: The participating yachts of Sail Indonesia and the
participants of the Sandeq Race 2006 are asked to run a fun race of some
10nm - who is faster, actually, a sandeq or a yacht?  We know, the
sandeq are - and will invite them all to switch some of their crews
beforehand!  This could turn out to be the biggest 'race' in Asian
waters, with 50 sandeq and up to 80 yachts competing for fun and
friendship in an unclassed run for the line honours.

Parade, participating about 100 ships and boats: Escort vessels of
Sandeq Race (50 traditional motorised fishing vessels will do water
ballet); baggoq leaving for Trade Race; charter vessels and Indonesian
navy (one or two navy tallships, 5-10 men-o'-war); all PLM
('pinisi'-traders) gathered in the Port of Makassar during the preceding
10 days leaving in company for their usual trade runs.

First round of races for local boats: Pete-pete world championship.  120
small racing flys, competing over two-three days in a knock-out race in
the harbour.  50+ Mandar dugout paddling race over 2.5nm.  Traditional
longboat paddling race.  Lopi-lopi (sandeq model replicas) race, an
ancient tradition of Mandar sailors).

Parades of drumbands, cultural groups, vintage motorbikes, barongsai
etcetc, a seafood restaurant of 2km length along the beach, stages on
sea in front of esplanade and several smaller stages along the
waterfront with music and cultural shows, exhibitions and numerous other
events will entertain those who have to stay on shore.

The next two weekends: More races for local boats, more cultural events
on shore, with another parade on sea and the Open Class World
Championship for joloroq (10m longboats with up to 60hp inboard engines)
closing the event on September 09/10.



Sure we hope to see you all in Makassar!

Sallanta battu ri Mangkassaraq mange ri Katte ['May Regards from
Makassar walk to You'] -

Horst H. Liebner
khmail at indosat.net.id

+62.(0)411.50.50.30.7; +62.(0)81.51.09.17.33.1
PO Box 1245, Makassar 90012, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia

   Pusat Riset Wilyah Laut dan Sumber Daya Non Hayati - Research Centre
for Sea Territories and Non-Living Resources
   Badan Riset Kelautan dan Perikanan, Dep. Kelautan dan Perikanan RI -
Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research, Dep. of Marine Affairs and
Fisheries RI
   Jl. Letjen M.T. Hartono Kav. 52-53, Jakarta 12770, Indonesia
   +62.(0)21.791.80.303 ext 4032; (fax) +62.(0)21.791.80.458/9
   PO Box 4130 JKP 10041, Indonesia

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