A pirate is a sea trader, with attitude... With over 17,000 islands, an ocean on each side and a healthy respect for the sea, Indonesians have developed over generations into some of the greatest sea faring ethnic groups in the world...  The ocean has been a family affair for generations and whole families, communities and ethnic groups have become synonymous with life on the high seas, but none more so than the Bugis...  The folklore of this ethnic group from southern Sulawesi, east of Makassar has taken on a life of its own and a new meaning...

The Bonto Bahari region, where we build our ships in South Sulawesi, is the heartland of the Konjo boat builders...  The men of this local community, part of the Bugis ethnic group are renowned seafarers and famous for their brilliant boat building skills...  It is said that they have been able to build and exploit their ships for more than four centuries...   These master crafts men have passed their traditions and knowledge orally from father to son, it is mind blowing to watch them work on the beach using their ancestral skills and natural gifts...  Their building techniques which thrived in the times of piracy have amazingly remained unchanged as time passed...