The time was
right for some real adventure. Setting up and organizing a television
filming expedition is something that doesn't happen everyday in our
dive travel business. As exciting as it may sound, there's a lot more
to it than just packing your bags and going for it. When Peter Cannon,
director of the Trailblazer II series, sent me an email inquiring
about the possibility of organizing a TV expedition to the east of
the Indonesian Archipelago, to the remote islands of Sangihe-Talaud,
Halmahera and Morotai, I didn't think twice. Yes, I would get an itinerary
together and confirm the trip as soon as possible. We were ready to
confirm the complete "Moluccan Sea" itinerary within hours
of the inquiry.
Clive Carlin (Presenter)
and Peter Canon (Film Director)
The most
invaluable requirement needed for this expedition was of course a
seaworthy boat to get us around the islands. Peter requested they
sail on a safe, reliable, traditionally built local boat. From that
moment I knew the only one boat that could meet the demands and requirements
for this four-week ocean-going job had to be Bianca. She's a fine
traditional Buginese schooner with a spacious deck, dining room and
recreation area/bar, which during the cruise could be converted into
a TV video equipment storage vault. She has air-conditioned cabins,
new navigation and dive equipment and a professional crew who know
their sea charts and assignments. For centuries, the traditional ocean-going
Buginese schooners have been used by indigenous Indonesian seafarers
transporting spices, crops and people throughout the Indonesian Archipelago.
The archipelago consists of over 18.500 islands and has over 57.716
km of coastline. After Jan and Nico Kuipers, Bianca's owners reconfirmed
the charter dates and schedules, we all got very excited about the
idea of setting sail to venture an unexplored geographical area. Marine
biologists claim that the underwater flora and fauna in the region
embraces one of the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world. Having
accomplished all the business formalities, we finally could commence
our operation. The first task was to get to know each other personally,
important due to the fact that we had to live, dine, dive and explore
together for the next few weeks. It was a beautiful September evening
when I approached Bianca by speedboat in a small cove a few miles
west of Manado, the provincial capital of North Sulawesi.
Bianca's deck lights reflected
on the sea's surface in romantic nuances, harmonizing with the tranquil
weather conditions and a cloudless evening sky, exhibiting a brightly
lit moon and a glowing infinite universe. With such serenity, the
atmosphere was perfect for a meeting. Finally on board, it wasn't
a difficult task to distinguish whom the film director, Peter Cannon
was. He's a genuine English gentleman with a wicked sense of humor.
After Peter introduced Clive Carlin, the presenter of the film and
his assistant underwater cameraman Hugh Faires, we spent the rest
of the night over a few cold Bintang beers discussing the itinerary
around the Ring of Fire.
