Indonesia issued two stamps and a Miniature Sheet of 1500 Rp in 2005 for the Borobudur Ships Expedition in 2003/2005.
Built as a replica under the supervision of Nick Burningham by Assad Abdullah an Indonesian with 30 years experience as a shipwright from the village Pagerungan Kecil on Kangean Island.
The design is made after a sculptural relief of a vessel, carved about 1200 years ago at Borobudur, the magnificent Buddhist monument not far from Yogjakarta, Indonesia.
Building commenced 20 January 2003
She is constructed from seven kinds of native Indonesian hardwood, and joined entirely by treenails and ropes fastening.
Two masts with canted sails, and stout bamboo outriggers.
Caulking was dome traditional with sere bark of the paper tree.
Tonnage ca. 30 tons dim. 18.29 x 4.35 x 2.25m
It took a team of 26 local shipbuilders 4 months to build the replica.
26 May 2003 completed.
15 July 2003 launched at Port Benor, Bali.
15 August 2003 launched under the name SAMUDRA RAKSA at Marina Ancol, Jakarta, President Megawati Sukarnoputri performed the launching ceremony.
Building cost Rp. 250 million.
Indonesia with over 17.000 islands has always been a maritime nation. And seafarers from these islands had sailed the Indian Ocean as merchantmen or pirates, even passing the dangerous Cape of Good Hope and sailed onward to the southwest coast of Africa.
When Philip Beale from England did see the ninth century temple carving in 1982, he dreamed to built a vessels after this carvings and retrace an ancient trade route made by the Indonesian seafarers in the first millennium. The dream became reality when he met the famous replica builder Nick Burningham.
The SAMUDRA RAKSA sailed from Jakarta on 15 August 2003 with a crew of 15 under command of Alan Campbell, the Indonesian crew was under command of the navy Captain Sedana from Bali, and under the overall command of Philip Beale.
12 September she arrived at the Seychelles, from where she sailed on 29 September, arriving at Madagascar on 14 October, sailing from there on 26 October for the third leg of the voyage.
05 January 2004 arrived at Capetown and sailed from this port on 17 January for her fourth and last leg to Accra in Ghana. She sailed via St Helena and arrived at Tema, the port of Accra 23 February 2004 at 09.30 am.
After arrival she was shipped back to Indonesia on a cargo vessel late 2004, and is now at the Ship Museum Samudra Raksa which was opened by Muhammad Yusuf Kalla, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia on 31 August 2005.
The museum is located inside the ground of the Borobudur Temple.
The SAMUDRA RAKSA was placed in the museum in July 2005, and the timbers of the vessel were preserved with a lime paint, a traditional preservative used on such craft.
Indonesia 2005 1500R sg?, scott?, MS 2005 sg?, scott?
Source: http://www.borobudurshipexpedition.com/ ... -route.htm http://www.jogjacity.com/2005/11/26/new ... -borobudur and various other web-sites.