Tall Ship race

In August I took part in the Sail Indonesia, '95 Tall Ship race in my Tall Ship Golden Hawk. We were not fortunate enough to win but did creditably well enough to finish fourth in our division and ninth overall.

However, that is not the point of this letter, rather, it is to express my thanks to the organizers for the splendid job they did and to the people we met in Jakarta who made us welcome and entertained us in a way none of us expected.

I participated in the Tall Ships, '88 in Australia and so, have a good idea of the amount of work and time it takes to organize such an event. Considering it was the first time for Indonesia, the success achieved was even more remarkable.

Apart from the Tall Ship race and the Yacht Race there was the Gun Salute and the Fleet inspection, in which we all took part. This was followed by cultural activities by way of introduction to the many facets of modern Indonesia and entertainment, such as a Gala dinner, luncheons and a prize giving dinner. The navel personnel were most helpful and, all in all, everything went like clockwork.

I sat with a fellow Australian captain at dinner one night and he passed the comment that it was amazing how much was done and in particular the fantastic hospitality. "I have never experienced anything like it." he said.

Many words of thanks have been said to the people gathered at dinners, etc., but publicly, little has been said or written. I want to say to all people involved: Congratulations for your achievement, you should all be very proud, and thank you all for your hospitality and generosity.

TERRANCE FIRMSTONE

Captain Golden Hawk

Sanur, Bali