Yachting event in Indonesia to put wind in sails of archipelago’s marine tourism

The Tourism Ministry is ready to host the annual Wonderful Sail yacht rally in Indonesia from July to November.

The Tourism Ministry is ready to host the annual Wonderful Sail yacht rally in Indonesia from July to November.  Five world-class rallies will be decided, namely the Wonderful Sail Anambas to Natuna, the Wonderful West Kalimantan rally, the Back to Down Under rally, Wonderful Sail 2 Indonesia (WS2I) and Wonderful Sail Indonesia.  Kompas.comreported that 70 yachts from five countries were set to participate in WS2I. The yachts will drop anchor at 21 port destinations around Indonesia.  The fleet will set sail from New Zealand and is scheduled to enter Indonesia on July 25 from entry port Debut in Southeast Maluku. The yachts will then end their journey at Tanjung Pinang port, Riau Islands, on Nov. 26.  Sailors are expected to explore the surroundings after all stops during their four-day visit. Among the ports of call are Tual, Banda, South Buru, Pasar Wajo, Wakatobi, South Buton, Bau Bau, Labuan Bajo, Badas, Madena, Buleleng, Bawean, Kumai, Belitung, South Bangka, Central Bangka, Penuba, Benan and Tanjung Pinang.  Meanwhile, for the other events such as the Wonderful Sail Indonesia yacht rally in which 20 yachts will compete, the starting points will be Darwin and Cairns in Australia. The yachts are expected to enter Indonesia from entry port Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Aug. 1.  Read Also |Indonesia's tourism boom explained|  Exit and entry points are regulated by Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 79/2011, later to change to No. 180/2014 and finalized as No. 105/2015 to make it more convenient for the yachts to enter Indonesia.  The Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) has set the yachters’ safety as a top priority.  “This is a big and long event, spanning 53 spots covering 7,000 kilometers of sea from May to November. Only in Indonesia,” Raymond Lesmana, a Tourism Ministry marine tourism development acceleration team member, toldkompas.comon Wednesday. (mut)

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