'Borobudur' crew greeted with top state medals

'Borobudur' crew greeted with top state medals

Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Cheers and praise greeted a group of intrepid sailors returning
on Friday from an epic six-month voyage tracing the Cinnamon
Route from the archipelago to Africa onboard the Samudraraksa, a
traditional sailing vessel.

After eight of them had Satya Lencana medals for culture
conferred upon them by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the
adventurers received certificates of recognition from State
Minister for Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika in Jakarta later in
the day.

"The success of this expedition proves that the ancestors of
Indonesians were great sailors," the proud minister said.
The ship, designed based on reliefs found in the Borobudur temple
in Magelang, Central Java, is wind-propelled, has no iron or
nails and was built using wood and coconut fibers.

The Samudraraksa, meaning a ship that can protect and secure
the waters of the archipelago, is 18.29 meters long and 4.5
meters wide. It has two rectangular sails and two outriggers on
its sides.

Navy Captain I Gusti Putu Ngurah Sedana led the crew, which
included 10 civilians specially selected for the mission, three
carpenters, as well as promoter Philip Beale, to complete four
legs of journey.

They ship set out from Jakarta on Aug. 15, 2003, and sailed
past the Seychelles, Madagascar, Capetown, and St. Helena, and
finally arriving at the port of Accra in Ghana on Feb. 23 of this
year.

"It was a mission impossible," said the captain with a laugh.
In the first three weeks, he said, seasickness had been a major
problem.

Nevertheless, the voyage should serve to rekindle again the
love of the sea in the hearts of Indonesians, apparent in
minister Ardika's hope that "once again we can become a maritime
nation that rules the waves."

Beale, formerly of the Royal Navy, initiated the construction
of the ship and the expedition that followed. The vessel was
built by a crew under seasoned traditional shipbuilder As'ad
Abdullah with the help of an Australian maritime adviser, Nick
Burningham, in the Kangean islands, some 60 miles north of Bali.

During the award presentation ceremony, Beale officially
handed over the vessel to the Indonesian government to be
preserved in a museum to be built at Borobudur temple in Central
Java.

"The ship is still in Ghana but is already on a cargo ship,"
said Sudana. "It will take approximately one month for the ship
to reach Semarang and be transferred to the Borobudur complex."