Major international event " Sail Bunaken 2009" is major program of Indonesian goverment,
Sail Bunaken 2009 is jointly organized by the Ministry of Marine and Fishery Affairs, Provincial Administration of North Sulawesi, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Navy Force of Indonesia, supported by the Directorate General of Immigration and other government institutions.
Sail Bunaken 2009 for sharing new experience and exploring the marine beauty along with the marine lovers from all over the world in a spirit of adventure, graced by the marine paradise of Bunaken Sea.
The Sail Bunaken 2009 is aimed at strengthening seamen brotherhood and international relations, as well as promoting North Sulawesi as a gate of East Asia.
Foreign participants are also expected to be able to see the beautiful scenery of North Sulawesi`s sea, especially Bunaken National Marine Park.
a view to Bunaken sea, manado tua at the distance horizon
North Sulawesi is one of the provinces in eastern Indonesia that has great tourism potential and there by one of the reasons it was chosen to host the international event SAIL BUNAKEN 2009. The Sail Bunaken event is expected to help to promote Manado and North Sulawesi as one of the rising tourism destinations in South East Asia.
Sail Bunaken 2009 will involve 24 warships and 150 sail boats and cruise ships from 26 countries.
Sail Bunaken 2009 is actually a part of World Ocean Conference's activities (that was held in May 2009 in Manado) which had a theme of "Protect Our Oceans for the Future Generation".
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially open the foreign ship parade which will be held in Manado and Bitung.
The Sail Bunaken will be the largest maritime event ever organized in Asia as it will involve 24 warships, 150 sail boats, and cruise ships from 26 countries.
The warship parade will be participated in by among other things USS George Washington, one of the world`s largest aircraft carriers, with around 5,000 crew members on board.
The US warship will be guarded by three frigates each having 500 crew members on board. The warships will arrive in Bitung starting August 12, 2009.
cruising to manado tua, bunaken
Some of the major attractions / events at the Sail Bunaken 2009:
events will be organized during the Sail Bunaken 2009 which will take place in Manado, North Sulawesi, August 12-20, 2009.
International Yacht Rally will be participated by 22 countries. Around 150 yachts have been registered to take part in a Darwin (Australia)-Bitung-Manado Yacht Rally
Date and Venue
All yacht will anchor at Bitung harbour on August 12 - 13, 2009, and depart on August 20, 2009
Indonesian Fleet Review
Indonesian Fleet Review is a Static parade of Warships and Tallships from Indonesia and other participating countries by the port, allowing visitors to come aboard the ships (Openship).
The parade will begin from Bitung to The Ritzy Hotel at Manado City (Sailing Pass) where President of The Republic of Indonesia will kindly receive placard from all navy commander of the participating countries.
Following the Opening Ceremony by the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the parade will sail back to Bitung where the Openship session is held.
Date : August 12 - 20, 2009
Venue : Bitung and Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
Indonesia will host an international maritime event bringing together the world’s largest warships including the USS George Washington super carrier with around 5,000 crew members on board, the event organizer said Thursday.
The Sail Bunaken 2009 event will be held from Aug. 12 to 20 in Manado, North Sulawesi and will showcase 31 foreign warships, 10 Indonesian warships, three tall ships and 165 sailboats and yachts from 29 countries.
Participating Countries :
Warship & Tallship :
United States, Australia, Netherlands, Chile, India, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, France, Russia, Spain & Portugal
Warship :
Bangladesh, China, Philippines, England, Germany, Cambodia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, UAE, Greece, Libya, South Africa, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Aljazair & Syria.
Bunaken Expo & Festival
Bunaken Expo & Festival will showcase various products and cultural performance from North Sulawesi.
The events consist of approximately 400 exhibition booths and 2 main stage where the cultural performance will be held.
Date : August 12 - 19, 2009
Venue : Mega Mas, Manado City, Indonesia
International Big Game Fishing competition "KASAL CUP"
The International Big Game Fishing is a team fishing competition with participant from national and international fishing team. Participants is going to compete for the KASAL CUP.
This year challage is to catch bill fish.
Date and Venue
August 14 - 16, 2009 at Manado Bay, Indonesia
International Diving Competition & Festival
Diving competition will be participated by Indonesian national diving atlet and professional divers from all over Indonesia. The Festival will consist of various competitions and fun games.
This will also includes underwater photography contest.
International Seafood Festival
Bunaken International Seafood Festival will be participated by ambassadors and chefs from several participating countries. The chefs will demonstrate their skill and prepare their countries seafoods' delicacies.
The event will also held a cooking competition for chef from the participating ships of Indonesian Fleet Review (IFR) 2009.
Date and Venue
August 16 – 18, 2009 at Lapangan Mega Mas, Manado
Bunaken Trans Equatouring Celebes 2009
Bunaken Trans Equator Touring 2009 is a motorcycles touring, schedule to start from Makassar City located on South Sulawesi Province and finish at Manado City located on North Sulawesi Province,
The participants will experiences the most beautiful and excotic 1,940 Kilometers of panoramic views, nuances and local culture which will be an unforgetable moments that last forever.
Date :August 13 - 17, 2009
Start at Losari Beach, Makassar, south sulawesi and Finish at Mega Mas Field, Manado.
Among the participant are Harley Davidson, Indonesian Moge, and lots of biker communities.
more of bunaken national park,
lombok island tropical paradise
source: antaranews, official sailbunaken2009
Bunaken National Marine Park ranks amongst the best snorkeling destinations in the world. Here you have a rare combination of marine bio-diversity And Bunaken Island is Surrounded by reefs that are more or less easily accessible from the beaches, and crystal clear water with visibility up to 40 metes. Naturally, the first tourists to Bunaken were keen divers on the look out for a new destination.
Now days Snorkelers from all over the world are traveling to Bunaken to see what all the "Fuss" is about.
Bunaken National Marine Park Manado with its pristine reefs, kaleidoscope of colours and unequalled abundance of marine life will remain with you, beckoning you to return time and time again.
Liang beach is the main beach of Bunaken island, located on the west side. Its located 2km from Bunaken village and about 1km from the middle of the eastside ( Pangalisan, Bunaken Timur ). You can go snorkelling just from shore.
Some 20,000 people live on the natural resources of Bunaken National Marine Park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by people, the Indonesian government is taking a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. The idea is to promote wise resource use while preventing overexploitation. Local communities, government officials, dive resort operators, local nature groups, tourists and scientists have played an active role in developing exclusive zones for diving, wood collection, fishing and other forms of utilization.
If successful, Bunaken Marine Park will stand as an important example of how Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can work to protect its natural resources.
Manado can be reach from Jakarta, Bali, Singapore or Kualalumpur by direct flight daily or three times perweek. While from Manado harbour, Bunaken is only less than an hour by public boat.
There are various homestays on the island from budget minded traveller to upmarket tourist.
Bunaken truly is wonder of the world, a tropical paradise in the pacific.
Bunaken, manado can be reach by direct flight from Jakarta, Bali, Singapore.
The Bunaken National Marine Park lies just of the coast off Manado, north Sulawesi, was formally established in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia's growing system of marine parks. The park covers a total surface area of 89,065 hectares, 97% of which is overlain by sparkling clear, warm tropical water. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. Although each of these islands has a special character, it is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts most naturalists.
Bunaken Island, right in the heart of the award-winning Bunaken Marine Park, the diving offers beautiful corals, lots of fish, amazing small critters, and some larger exciting creatures including reef sharks, turtles and barracudas.
The Bunaken - Manado Tua National Marine Park geographically located in Indo Pacific region and holds the richest marine diversity on the planet, where the Bunaken island is considered to be one of the top diving destinations.
Bunaken island received some publicity when the marine biologist Dr. Mark Erdmann found a living Coelacanth here, a specie of fish some 60 million years old and have never been seen before.
Bunaken Island is the main island of the theMarine National Park and became famous through it's world class diving and snorkling spots.
The 5 island were established as marine park in 1991.
Indeed, Bunaken was identified as home for more fish species than even the Great Barrier Reef by the International Oceanographic Institute. There are quite many phantastic places around Bunaken Island but also on the neighbouring Islands and the mainland are wonderful places, wich you should not miss.
bunaken liang beach
bunaken sunset
bunaken underwater life
A high diversity on corals, fish and special underwater creatures.
Bunaken National Marine Park is chosen as a one of "10 Top Snorkeling Spots" in the world by Forbes Traveler.com.
The waters around Bunaken island are home to dolphins, whales, turtles, sharks, rays, sea snakes, sea cows, barracudas, tunas and the list goes on.
Bunaken was identified as home for more fish species than even the Great Barrier Reef by the International Oceanographic Institute.
Water temperatures in Bunaken island vary between 27-30 degrees Celsius all year around with a visibility generally between 20 40 meters
There are many options for guest to take advantage of the outstanding snorkeling opportunities just 100 meters in front of the resort, at dawn or night above the magnificent drop-offs.
Remote, unspoiled, Bunaken with its stunningly romantic settings, private beach and extraordinary house reef makes an excellent choice for couples, groups of friends, families, divers and non-divers alike.
