Travel and Tourisms destination: Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande is a popular tourist destination on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Ilha Grande is the ideal destination for those seeking a close contact with nature. The reasons are numerous: a mountainous tropical island where no cars are allowed; an island covered by a dense tropical rainforest (mata atlântica) for most of its extension; hiking paths crossing the island from north to south and east to west; idyllic beaches and crystal-clear waters. Ilha Grande is definitely not for those keen on sophistication, shopping and a thriving night lifte. 1. HOW TO GET THERE: The main access to the island is Angra dos Reis, although Ilha Grande can also be reached from Mangaratiba and Conceição de Jacareí. We’ve already seen at this blog how to get from Rio de Janeiro to Angra dos Reis, how to get from São Paulo to Angra dos Reis and how to go from Paraty to Angra dos Reis. The island can only be reached by boat (cars must stay in the continent) from the cities mentioned in the paragraph above. The route from Angra dos Reis is usually calmer than the one from Mangaratiba, specially in days where the sea is rough. Anyone going to Bananal or Araçatiba need to get their boats in Angra dos Reis. For those going to the vila do Abraão (main inhabited centre in the island) and nearby area there is a regular ship service (barcas ) that provides the cheapest option to get to the island. It takes 1 hour and a half to reach Abraão. Up-to-date information on the sailing schedule can be checked at the following page: horarios de los barcas a la Vila do Abraão. The page also shows prices and other information of interest regarding the crossing from the continent to the island. As well as the regular boats, there are smaller sailing boats (schooners) taking tourists to the island, as well as fishing boats. The schooners tend to have a regular timetable, but you can’t tell for sure whether there will be one waiting for you. There is also a more expensive alternative, a catamaran that reaches Abraão in 45 minutes. At the time of writing this entry its price was R$20 each way (more information, including timetable, at catamarã Ilha Grande). Careful, as there are two different jetties in Angra. The official ship to Abraão leaves from the Cais da Lapa. The schooners leave from the Cais de Turismo. A new tourist jetty was inaugurated in Conceição de Jacareí in January 2008. From there the time it takes to reach Abraão is much shorter. The bus from Costa Verde going from Rio to Angra stops at Conceição. There you can take a schooner (45 minutes, R$15) or a speedboat (15 minutes). Schedules and more info at Conceição de Jacareí. There is a warning on the text, the services mentioned are not regular services, which means you can’t tell for sure when they’ll be running.

Diving site and Coral Reef in Timor Leste

Coral reef preservation is always related to sustainable diving. Traveling to Timor Leste has been my dream for years. Unfortunately, I haven't got enough time to arrange such trip. In addition, there are not any travel deals to East Timor offered by tour and travel agency here. This kind of tourism can better inform the public about how important it is to protect the sea environment. One of the best but least known diving sites in the world is Coral Reef of Timor Leste.

I just knew its existence after watching a TV program aired by Timor Leste's national TV, TVTL. The coral reef of Timor Leste is located less than one hour driving from Dilli, the capital town of Timor Leste. It is a small country located between Australia and Indonesia. The natural beauty of Timor Leste is extraordinary.

After arriving in at the beach, scuba divers wear their diving suites and slowly walk to the sea water. The coral reef is still in good condition and has become the national asset for the state's economy.

The national government of Timor Leste is serious in promoting the diving site. TVTL is a national TV station of the country that runs in Portuguese. English speaking divers who are interested to go there can find more information about the region from the internet. It seems that the East Timorese have a number of websites which they update regularly.

I think, you can fly to Timor Leste from Bali, the hub of Indonesia's tourism industry, by Merpati. It is an Indonesian state owned company. by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia

P.S. All pictures, the coral reef and the sunset, in this article were taken from the TV show aired by TVTL. Read more: Diving Boat General Arrangement Consideration

Diving Boat General Arrangement Consideration

by Charles Roring in Manokwari of West Papua - Indonesia

As naval architects, we usually begin our project design with calculations. We tend to focus more of our attention on principal dimensions such as type of ship or boat, the length overall, breadth moulded, depth moulded and prismatic and block coefficient. It is true that such principal dimensions are needed by the ship or boat designer to carry out detailed calculations including the resistance, propulsion, structural strength and the cost of construction.

A boat type which needs special design consideration from naval architects is diving boat. Diving boat is used by scuba divers in various marine parks around the world for accessing the coral reef. Most of the corals are located in shallow sea water. Therefore, when naval architects want to design the boats, they need to consider some important factors below:

The depth of boat

Because the diving boat operates in shallow water the depth of the boat should not more than five meters. It is better to have a smaller depth so that the hull bottom, keel and the propeller will not hit coral reef.

Twin hull or catamaran

In recent days, naval architects have introduced twin hull design for diving boat. This is a very good breakthrough for safe operation of the diving boat in the marine protected areas. Besides twin hull boat or catamaran has smaller depth moulded, it also has better stability. Catamaran can go to coral reef whose depth from the sea surface is around or less than 3 meters.

Wider deck area

A diving boat needs a wider deck area which is needed by dive operators for the placement of air bottles, compressor. A wider deck area means better movement for the divers to move around.

Diving platform

This is a lower deck which is constructed at the back of the diving boat or yacht which scuba divers use to climb to the boat. Usually there is a small stair which connects the diving platform with the main deck

Small freeboard

Most diving boats have small freeboard with ladder installed on both sides of the boat. After diving, scuba divers can come up to the surface and climb the boat from port or starboard side of the boat.

Diving is a fun yet dangerous sport. Naval architects need to design a room in the boat which can be used as an "emergency hospital" in case of accidents at sea. Divers can become victims of shark. Therefore, adequate first aid equipment is needed in the boat beside the diving equipment.

There are still more factors such as the sewage system and propulsion unit which I need to explain in this article but I think I should write them in another article. Also read: Designing Lines Plan with Fastship and Fastship and Delftship for Naval Architects