Indonesia Traveling Guide

Come and join in the international event 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. 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 the Directorate General of Immigration and other government institutions.

Sail Bunaken 2009 is the largest event of the year 2009 offers strategic business opportunities for various products and services. More than 3,000 divers set a world record today for the largest group dive by plunging into the famed waters of Bunaken, North Sulawesi. The information center of the Sail Bunaken 2009 committee said 2,818 people participated in the event, but only 2,805 people stayed underwater for at least 25 minutes. That is the minimum length of time required by the Guinness Book of Records, whose representatives were on hand to witness the new record.

"Divers began entering the water at 8 in the morning. By midday, all of them had returned to shore," Koesdiantoro of the Sail Bunaken 2009 committee said. The mass dive also marked Indonesia's Independence Day, August 17. An Indonesian flag will be unfurled underwater tomorrow as part of the independence celebrations.

Sail Bunaken is a government-sponsored festival designed to promote Manado, and the visually rich waters of Bunaken, as an international tourist hotspot. Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi, who also heads the festival committee, said Manado had seen a spike in economic growth thanks to Sail Bunaken. For more information please visit the official website www.sailbunaken2009.com