Nurfika Osman

Thousands of divers heading back to Malalayang Beach after breaking the world record for the largest mass dive, during an underwater ceremony for Independence Day in North Sulawesi. (Photo: Prasetyo Utomo, Antara)

Underwater Ceremony in Manado Sets World Record

Manado. Those who say nationalism is dead are all wet, as more than 2,500 scuba divers set a world record on Independence Day by taking part in an underwater flag-raising ceremony in North Sulawesi.

Rear Adm. Moekhlas Sidik confirmed on Monday that 2,486 Indonesian divers and 76 foreigners participated in the event at Malalayang Beach in Manado, the provincial capital.

“I’m proud to announce we broke the world record for a mass dive on our Independence Day, which was the first independence commemoration to be held underwater in the world,” he said.

“Indonesia should be proud of this achievement,” Sidik added. “It shows that we can do something good for the country.”

The organizing committee for Sail Bunaken 2009, the international maritime festival that hosted the record attempt, said the unofficial figure for participants in the event was 2,827 divers because not everyone had registered before the ceremony.

Lucia Sinigagliesi, a Guinness World Records representative, officially witnessed the record dive and said that she was excited to be part of the feat.

“I feel so pleased and honored to witness this event, and the number of the divers is threefold the previous [record],” Lucia said. “Before Indonesia, the Maldives who set the record in 2006, when 958 scuba divers plunged into the water.”

More than 15,000 people packed Malalayang Beach to witness the record attempt.

The divers took 30 minutes to assemble on the sea bed, where an Indonesian flag was unfurled just after 10 a.m. while the national anthem, “Indonesia Raya,” was played underwater.

Thousands of Navy and North Sulawesi Police personnel were deployed to guard the event site, including helicopter patrols.

Syahrowi, the secretary general of the Indonesian Association of Scuba Divers (Possi), said the Indonesian divers who participated in the record-breaking feat represented 31 provinces from across the archipelago.

A day earlier, 2,465 divers broke the same world record for the largest mass dive at the same location.

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