Past glory relived as Borobudur docks in Cape Town

RAY SMUTS
A VESSEL arriving 43 days late in these times of rigid sailing schedules would drive a ship owner to distraction, but spare a a thought for the Borobudur, an 8th century replica merchant ship entirely at the mercy of the elements.
She berthed at Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred Waterfront recently after a rather uneventful 8 000 nautical mile voyage from Djakarta, the final destination Ghana, which the expedition hopes to reach in 35 to 40 days’ time, probably around February 20.
The15-member expedition is commemorating the many centuries that Africa and Indonesia have been linked by trade and commerce.
As Barry New, m.d. of P&O Nedlloyd - one of the expeditions’ main sponsors - puts it: “Ships plied the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, bringing spices and silks from the Orient in return for iron-ore, ivory and skins from the island of Madagascar and other African shores.
“The most likely vessels for these voyages were the large double outrigger ships as depicted on Indonesia’s Borobudur Temple and of which the Borobudur ship is a magnificent reconstruction.”
Expedition leader Philip Beale left his job as a UK fund manager and had the replica built from seven different kinds of timber including teak and ironwood in the Kangean islands north of Bali.
The ship has been crewed by different nationalities, including two women and a South African photographer.