Sabang Marine Festival 2016

The Sabang Marine Festival – 2016 – was extremely well organised, a lot of fun, and facilitated the healthy and happy mixing of many different cultures. 18 boats from all around the world participated. The visiting sailors included Australian, Swiss, French, American, Canadian, Malaysian, Thai, English, South African, Zambian, German, Italian, Czech, New Zealand, Swedish and New Caledonian. Everyone enjoyed many organised activities such as cultural performances, a tour of Banda Aceh and the Tsunami museum, as well as interactive games including tug-of-war, greasy pole climbing and canoe races.

This year’s Sabang Marine Festival (SMF), only the second time this event has been staged, was held on Pulau Weh between 26 – 30 April 2016. Organised by the BPKS the festival’s main objective is to promote the Sabang area as an international destination. The festival is primarily aimed at increasing visitors sailing their own yachts to use Pulau Weh as a check-in or check-out point (Indonesia immigration etc.) Indonesia has made some changes to its rigorous visa and sailing permit laws. This now enables cruisers to enjoy longer stays in Indonesia with, we hope, minimal fuss and no need to procure an agent.

Sabang is a city in the Aceh Province of Indonesia. It is comprised of five islands, the most significant being Palau Weh which is home to the local Sabang government and the centre of Sabang. Palau Weh is also an active volcanic area, has some spectacular snorkel and dive sites, waterfalls and historic Japanese world war two bunkers. For a small island, it is jam-packed with things to do.

Boats began arriving as early as the 20th of April. For those of us that came first, the check-in procedure probably took a little longer as the officials were expecting the boats to check in between the 23-25th April. However, those of us that had a more extended check-in did get in a few extra days of snorkelling. And I gotta say wow… when I jumped in the near crystal clear water… I was speechless. Well not quite, I still managed a bit of snorkel babble! The marine life is quite simply astonishing! We had fish, of so many varieties, swimming every which way around us.

For the rest of the visiting boats the clearance, into Indonesia, was a predominately painless experience with the BPKS accommodating all of the necessary officials in the one room of their office building. Participants were instructed to raise their quarantine flag and await the arrival of officials from the quarantine office, immigration and customs, after which they were directed to the office to complete paperwork. Online visa applications, done beforehand, sped up the process.

On the night of the 25th of April, the festival officially opened with a welcome dinner, speeches and entertainment. Throughout the next five days, all sailors were fed three delicious meals a day by our hosts.

The first day we went to a large gathering at the Sabang Fair. We were greeted with a welcome dance and presented with a little green leaf-wrapped package. It was betel nut. The nut was wrapped inside a leaf and held together with a clove. The way to eat it is by putting the whole thing in your mouth and chewing it. It is ok to swallow it or to spit it out.

The day progressed with a few speeches, one done by yours truly, and then we were entertained by some very talented artist. The festival was enjoyed as much by the locals as by the tourists! The Sabang Fair was packed with families all just as enthralled in the performances as we were.

We had a few hours to ourselves in the afternoon before dinner. While relaxing on our boat, we were kept amused by a couple of PPC’s (powered parachutes). After another delicious Indonesian dinner, we went back to the Sabang Fair for more entertainment. This time the crowd was huge, and there were rock bands and fireworks.

The following day we visited the site of the unfinished marina. More performances were followed by an impromptu dance by all that were attending. It was spontaneous and entertaining. We had a delicious lunch, of grilled fish, salt & pepper squid, vegetables, rice and piquant dipping sauces, in Iboih Village. It was a feast that was enjoyed by about 200 people!

Day three was the people’s games. These games, for the locals, were a lot of fun to watch and even more so to participate in. The locals were playing for prizes, but they didn’t resent us muscling in for a bit of fun. In fact, I’m sure they found it hilarious! 

The next day was our long-awaited chance to see more of this beautiful island, and it didn’t disappoint. We visited a small but interesting museum, old Japanese bunkers from world war two, and a volcano (geothermal hot spot). We had a lunch stop with a spectacular view, went to kilometre 0 – which is the beginning of Indonesia, and had a swim in a waterfall… and we were shuttled around in a police escorted cavalcade!

Day five was a tour of Banda Aceh. We began the day with breakfast at 06:30 then we got the fast ferry to Banda Aceh. VIP class no less! We were transported on to very comfortable air-conditioned buses and whizzed around Banda Aceh. First stop was for a coffee. Aceh is famous for their coffee, and I don’t think it disappointed… I don’t drink coffee, but my tea was also delicious, as were the vast array of cakes and snacks to try. Of course, there is a unique way to make coffee, and it was exciting to watch. Many of the participating sailors had a chance to make their own.

From there we went to the Tsunami Museum and, following more captivating performances, we had a guided tour of the museum.

A mouth-watering lunch of fried chicken and goat curry followed the museum visit before we were taken to see the boat that had landed on the house during the Tsunami. The 25-metre long fishing boat ended up 2 km from the shore and inadvertently saved the occupants of the house and many neighbours. A total of 59 people were rescued by taking shelter in the boat.

Read the story here, it’s really quite amazing. What a lucky escape!

After a ferry trip back to Sabang, we put our feet up for two hours and then we went to shore for the closing ceremony. Another scrumptious feast was followed by closing speeches, awards for the games winners and a first-rate band we danced the night away with.