Sandeq

Imagine a boat that's super long and skinny, with two little floaty arms on the sides to keep it steady! That's a Sandeq! These amazing boats are made by people called the Mandarese in a beautiful place called Indonesia. They use them for fishing and to visit islands far away. Some Sandeqs are as long as a school bus, and they are built to be really fast and zip through the water!

How does a Sandeq go so fast? It has a big, triangle-shaped sail that catches the wind, like a kite! The wind pushes the sail, and the boat glides across the water. It's so clever that it can even sail almost directly into the wind by zig-zagging! This special trick is called 'Makkarakkayi' by the Mandarese people. It's like being able to walk backward to go forward!

Sandeqs are super important for the Mandarese people. For a long, long time, before cars or planes, these boats were the main way to travel between islands. They are strong enough to chase schools of fish and even help collect yummy eggs from seaweed. They are also used to carry spices, which are like special flavorings for food, from one island to another.

Every year, there's a super exciting Sandeq race! It's a very long journey, like running from your house all the way to another city! The race goes from one place called Mamuju to another called Makassar. That's a distance of about 560 kilometers, which is longer than driving across many states! It shows just how fast and reliable these amazing boats are.