The Traditional Fleet of Indonesia

Established in 1995,
the Traditional Fleet of Indonesia is the brainchild of Robin Engel, President
of SongLine Cruises and Dick Bergsma of Sea Trek.
When they met, Bergsma
had already been
ferrying international travelers
to Indonesia's outer reaches on Bugis Pinisi schooners for a number of
years, while an interest in scuba diving, marine conservation and Indonesian
tourism had inspired Engel
to begin commissioning these classic ships. With their combined experience,
similar objectives and a shared love of the sea, they decided to consolidate
independently operated traditional ships into a more efficient fleet.
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Robin Engel, President SongLine Cruises of Indonesia &
Co-Founder of the Traditional Fleet
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Their operations have since complemented
each other perfectly to give visitors to Indonesia a whole range of Marine Tourism
oriented options.
Over the years, the Traditional Fleet
membership has grown to include many of the traditional vessels operating here
in the Republic of Indonesia. While all of the members vessels of this organization
are independently operated, this site provides you with a comprehensive summary
and access to most of these fine vessels.

By working together with the other
members of the Traditional Fleet we continually try to insure that the fleet
is distributed evenly throughout the archipelago providing access to as many
of the interesting destinations as possible. Scheduled cruises & private
charters are offered, and although the itineraries are of different lengths
and operate at different times throughout the year, they follow the same routes
the Bugis people sailed for thousands of years. The Traditional Fleet presently
provides programs of interest to Scuba Divers, Surfers, Sailing Enthusiasts,
Conservation groups, Wildlife explorations and even commercial interests.
The vessels making up the
Traditional Fleet are specially designed to suit all kinds of budgets and
requirements, from casual tourist to the adventurous backpacker. Each boat
comes with its own fully qualified crew and includes all meals prepared on
board, fresh water and soft drinks in its cruise price.
Whatever you want to do and
whichever vessel you choose to do it on, the beauty of this kind of sailing is
that you can head for secluded islands and waters that would be virtually
impossible to reach even for the most intrepid traveler. Pristine beaches,
uninhabited islands and some of the world's best dive sites are yours to
explore, untouched by tourism and therefore unspoiled. A rich cultural and
natural experience, it is the ideal activity to add to any visit to Indonesia.
And as the archipelago has so much to offer in the way of sailing, you can have
as many return cruises as you like and still not see it all.
If anyone wants to know why the
members of the Traditional Fleet have elected to live this life style of
Sailing Indonesia, these photos should give you an idea of what our front yard
looks like!





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