Photograph of a Phinisi Sailing Boat just outside Manokwari bay

The photograph of this phinisi wooden boat was taken just outside Manokwari bay. I used a telephoto digital camera - Nikon Coolpix P500 to shoot it. The boat has two wooden posts which were traditionally constructed for sails. In Indonesia, the wooden boat is called phinisi - a typical small schooner made by seafaring people in South Sulawesi. In my opinion, the two wooden masts are still preserved not only to provide additional supply of driving power from the wind but also for aesthetic reasons. This phinisi wooden boat will look more beautiful with 2 sailing masts than without them.  So, the boat was moving on the water powered by a marine diesel engine. There were no sails installed on the posts at the time of shooting. When I enlarged the picture in the screen of my camera, I saw a red flag with diagonal white stripe in the middle of it. I knew that it was a diving boat. The boat had visited Manokwari bay, perhaps, for bringing tourists who wanted to do some shipwreck diving in the bay. It is interesting to see that the boat which in the past was used for transporting goods and people from one island to another is now used in marine hospitality industry.

The weather was getting darker when I shot it. It was 5.43 p.m. when I aimed my camera at the boat that was sailing around 350 meters from me. I didn't have a tripod to stablize my camera. So, I just leaned on the trunk of a coconut tree to minimize my body and hand movements. I should have used a tripod but I didn't have it. The Nikon Coolpix P500 with 36 x optical zoom feature was able to enlarge the subject big enough for shooting. Although this camera was not an SLR camera, the quality of the pictures that I made was very good especially when the light was sufficient for shooting. As a matter of fact, I am not a photographer by profession. But I always bring my camera where ever I go to make interesting pictures that I need for my blog.
I was standing under a resting hut at Tempat Pemanggilan Ikan meaning literally Fish Calling Place of Bakaro beach when I shot the boat. Here, tourists can see how the local Papuan people call fish from the sea by blowing a whistle and feeding the fish with termites. Manokwari has been a destination for divers who are interested in doing shipwreck diving and snorkeling. by Charles Roring
Also read: Underwater photographs of coral reef