Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Kupang (ANTARA News) - Sail Indonesia 2010 participants are expected to make stopovers at a number of scenic places in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province, a local tourism official said.

East Nusa Tenggara Culture and Tourism office chief Frans Rihi said here on Wednesday he had held a coordination meeting with related parties to discuss necessary preparations to welcome Sail Indonesia participants in the province.

Frans said the coordination meeting on March 30 was attended by Indonesian deputy consul in Darwin (Australia( Arvinanto Soeroatmadja, Indonesia`s Cinta Bahari Foundation representative Raymond T Lesmana, customs and excise, immigration, port quarantine and port administration officials.

Also present at the meeting were representatives from the regions of Rote Ndao, SiKka, Timor Tengah Selatan (TTS), Alor, Belu, Kota Kupang, and Ende.

Frans said Indonesian deputy consul in Darwin, Australia, had told him around 220 yachting teams from 22 countries had registered to take part in the international yacht rally.

The rally would start in Darwin, cross the Timor Sea and pass through a narrow strait to reach East Nusa Tenggara.

Frans Rihi said the participants of Sail Indonesia would be divided into two groups.
The first group would consist of 120 yachts and set sail from Darwin on July 26 and arrive in Kupang on July 28 while the second group of more than 100 yachts would sail to Banda in Maluku province.

He said the Sail Indonesia participants who arrived in Kupang on July 28 would stay in NTT`s provincial capital until July 31 to join a series of tours organized by the local culture and tourism office.

After that, they would set sail to a number of areas in the province until September 9 before proceeding to the Indonesian resort island of Bali.(*)