REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - About 10 canoes are harboring among some big ships in Sunda Kelapa Port, North Jakarta. Each canoe is so mini and smaller than a punt or even lifeboat. he canoes are waiting for the tourists.

One of the canoe paddler is Bakar (60 years). He has been working for three years. Before that, the man who comes from South Sulawesi worked as a crew in Bugis pinisi (traditional Indonesian sailing ship –Ed). He and other Bugis tribes came to Sunda Kelapa Port with pinisi. In 1972, he decided to stay in Jakarta. He was a sailor for 40 years.

With the capital in about two million IDR, he made a canoe from wood. His creative hand created a neat canoe painted in blue. His canoe could carry six passengers. His customers vary from local to foreign tourists. “They usually circle the port,” Bakar said.

The tariff for circling the port with his canoe is 30,000 IDR. “The price is negotiable if they come in group,” he said. Yet, his income is unpredictable. At one time, he had gone home with 1.2 million IDR in his pocket. His canoe was rented for a scene on a movie at that time. “My canoe was rented three times for shooting. It was taken to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII),” he explained. He was really proud at that time.

But sometimes, he does not get enough money. Though, he is still smiling. He is always happy to take the customers. With proud, he shows the pinisi, made by his ancestors, which harbor in Sunda Kelapa. His experience working at pinisi makes him familiar with the types of the pinisi.

To his customers, Bakar tells the ship condition when it was in the middle of storm. The high wave does not break the sailor spirit. The memory makes Bakar enjoy his recent work. 

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