Competitions/regatta´s

Although the pinisi culture is still very much alive in Indonesia, there are strangely enough no competitions for these ships. One expert we talked to said that the reason might be that modern built replicas of original pinisi cannot sail very well anymore, partly due to their shorter masts and partly due to the fading sailing skills of Indonesian sailors themselves.

There is however another famous boat race in Indonesia. Although it does not use pinisi we can not skip it when giving information on traditional boats in Indonesia. The annual and famous ,Sandeq Race´ is using outriggers. It is held in the South Sulawesi Mandar area. This is to our knowledge the only traditional sailing competition race in the country. And every year the Sail Indonesia Festival is organised, but pinisi are not part of it.

Outrigger, Senggigi Beach, Lombok, 2008 © Nature Explorer