Racing jong — hand-carved, wind-powered miniature sailboats, raced unmanned across the shallow coastal waters of the Riau Islands. Founded with Zakir in 2012; still racing every Utara and Selatan season.
The Wind Decides — Selatan Race, Teluk Bakau
"You never step in the same river twice. A jong, if you've never seen one: a small wooden sailboat, carved by hand, no bigger than a child is tall — raced unmanned across shallow water, steered by nothing but the set of its sail and the skill of whoever built it."
"Two things govern every race day here, and neither of them can be argued with: the wind, and the tide. Everything else — when we race, how wide the beach is, whether a boat sails true or breaks — gets decided by these two long before anyone picks up a jong. And yet no two years are ever quite the same river. The wind that carried last year's race turned northerly halfway through, in the middle of what should have been steady Selatan season — a reminder that the sea sets the terms, not us."
Teluk Bakau race dayTeluk Bakau race dayTeluk Bakau race day
"You need to get married with your Jong," says Zakir, late one night sipping coffee on the beach. I first met Zakir on New Year's Day, sailing his Jongs with a few friends. The beach was full of kids playing, and the sails attracted me like a magnet.
— August 24, 2013, the first race
Why Jongs?
"Why, after having spent half your life around the globe — privileged to witness some of the grandest shows left on our planet, from schools of minke whales to fancy dinners in Hollywood, some of the best cultural rituals, theater, meeting some of the most advanced thinkers of our age, sailing across oceans, braving storms and winds — do you get so enthusiastic about some little fragile miniature sailing boats, the Jongs?"
Glimpses into the world of Jongs, November 2013 — Teluk Bakau to Penyengat Island. "You can tell a lot about a man on how he is handling his Jongs. The air is filled with kretek smoke, clove-scented whirls, only disturbed by the sound of softly spoken words and the cast of moonlight. We are gathering around the pine tree table that we made a few months ago, when we cut that tree that didn't belong there, and decided to recycle most of it."
"A small group of dedicated Jong artists, makers, event organisers. We have committed ourselves to put on two races a year." With the completion of the "jong house," the group now offers classes in the art of racing jong — small jongs suitable for kids, since the learning curve is faster on smaller models, more sensitive to changes. Zakir, who spoke only Indonesian, raced jongs all his life — for almost ten years the last serious player in the village, until a revival took place when organized racing began.
Naga Langit — racing sampan layar, crewed by a team from Berakit
Individual year-by-year race reports (Utara 2015/2016/2019/2020, Selatan 2014) still need their own write-ups — for now the full run of yearly race galleries lives at jongschool.weebly.com.
Race Films
Footage from the water — the Selatan and Utara races across the years.
Selatan Jong Racing 2013, Teluk BakauThe Selatan Race 2014Jong Race Utara 2015, Teluk BakauThe Jong Race Utara 2018Jong Race, Bintan Riau, Gunung Kijang 2013Legasi Maritim Melayu — Episod 5, "Lumba Jong Riau" (Malaysian maritime heritage documentary)
