Prahu Country

Like its counterparts in French Polynesia, Fiji and Vanuatu, Indonesia is a prahu, (boat), country. The 17,000 islands have necessitated sea travel and exploration since man set foot on these shores. The Australo-Melanesians who migrated to Indonesia generations ago, left prehistoric paintings featuring their boat dependent lives. The climate, with regular heavy monsoons and choppy seas, has dictated the nature of those boats. Two nights ago, we caught a water taxi to the Kokomo restaurant around the corner from the marina at Gili Gede (pronounced G’day) on a classic Indonesian Jakung.

The Jakung is a double outrigger dugout canoe. The outrigger construction significantly increases the stability of the boat. The solidly constructed vessels feel safe and secure. The interior of the boat is covered with a very low wooden roof, providing shade from the sun and protection from tropical downpours. The outrigger construction is classic Indonesian with curved lines, adding an artistic flourish. When the boats are moving towards you from afar, they look like giant ants marching across the ocean in a science fiction movie! We have experienced dozens at a time heading in from their overnight fishing expeditions in the early morning. It is hard to believe that there are enough fish in the sea for the many hundreds we have seen during our time here. At night the Jakung line up out to sea with lights blazing, like a well-lit ocean motorway. It is a fairy tale sight to behold. Some of the Jakung are equipped with crab claw sails. These sails are triangular with spars on the upper and lower edges of the sail, like crab pincers. The sails are usually gaudy and colourful, making the ant army look like a theatrical pageant. As the Jakung descend upon us, they specialize in the near miss! Rob has had many a near heart attack moment as he tries to guess the fishermen’s’ intentions. We suspect they are coming close to have a better look at the graceful Irene IV. With a wave and a smile, they wish us good morning and head on their way home.

The big Indonesian trading boats originally used to transport spices and other cargo are called Phinisi or Pinisi. The Phinisi is partly a copy of the western 2 masted schooner of the mid-nineteenth century, made of tropical Iron Wood, with beautifully crafted teak decks. It has a tall ketch rig with seven sails. We have seen Phinisi in virtually every port of call. They are used mostly as tourist boats nowadays. We also saw evidence in Labuan Bajo that they are sometimes used as houseboats.

We passed several very large fish farms on our way to Gili Gede, sailing along the northern coast of Lombok. It seems this is how the Indonesians feed their fish appetite.

We continue to be charmed by this island nation. Despite the beast that is the rubbish everywhere, we experience constant stunning beauty. Even now as we sit stern to at the Royal Bali Yacht Club in Sanur, we are surrounded by glorious mangrove shores, with a distant gargantuan statue of Vishnu (of Easter Island magnitude) and crashing reefs with surfers trying their luck (George included). Sadly, the lapping waters around the boat are filled with plastic debris mixed in with sticks, leaves and who knows what else.