Rally ventures through remote island life in Indonesia, sees dragons!

by Sail-World Cruising on 2 Aug 2011 Of the 109 yachts that left Darwin for Kupang in the Sail Indonesia Rally on July 25, 83 have continued as a rally. They are now sailing through remote natural villages of tropical islands, experiencing life as islanders have lived it for many hundreds of years, and getting ready to enter the haunts of the Komodo dragon, one of the fiercest predators on earth.

Their route will take them to exotic destinations through East Nusatenggara, sailing around Timor, Flores, Sumba, and Komodo, taking 40 easy days sailing for the rally.

Of the other 26 yachts some have opted for the northern route, sailing to Ambon and Wakatobi, but will join the Nusatenggara fleet at Labuan Bajo between September 5-7 to visit the Komodo dragons, then all will continue the journey together to Lombok and Bali.

The majority of the yachts arrived at Kupang on the island of Timor on July 26, with a couple of the faster boats having arrived earlier.

Sail East Nusatenggara, also known as Sail Flobamora, has two courses: the northern passage that follows the route from Alor to Lembata (Lamalera), Larantuka, Sikka, Nagakeo, Bajawa, and Labuan Bajo, and the southern passage that goes from Rote, Ndao, Sabu Raijua, East Sumba, Southwest Sumba, and Labuan Bajo, the port to call before entering the Komodo National Park.

Obviously excited about the prospect, all yachts in Sail Indonesia have decided to visit the last habitat of the prehistoric Komodo dragons, one of the fiercest predators on Earth.

The total number of crews and participants on board the vessels have yet to be reported, but it is estimated that there are about 300 crew in the event.

Every vessel is expected to stop for about 2-4 days at every destination, depending on preparations and tourism attractions found in the area. Meanwhile, each district visited has prepared welcoming ceremonies, cultural attractions, local handicrafts exhibitions, and other programs.

And that's not all - participants can also call in to Singapore before joining Sail Malaysia which will take them from Danga Bay located just north of Singapore up the west coast of Malaysia again in a series of linked events finishing at the island of Langkawi in the second week of December. What an experience!