Madura is an island off Java, north-east of Surabaya and is justifiably renowned for the excellence of its sailors. The Madurese have spread their maritime influence along most of the north Java coast.
The knife-like hull of this boat, quite unlike the hulls of other Indonesian jukungs - a jukung is a dugout with outriggers - is probably necessary because Ampang is up a winding river so that boats must call at several points on their way to or from the fishing grounds.
Another unusual feature of this sailing boat is its absence of a mast in the usual sense. The sail is hoisted up by its yard, the bamboo pole along the leading edge of the sail and once up is supported by a moveable prop. Much of the steering is done by moving the sail like windsurfers.
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