Phinda Homestead
Tambora has been built by traditional boat builders on the island of Sulawesi in the centuries-old tradition of a wooden Phinisi. All decks and the salon rooftop feature teak parquet flooring. This way, the rustic charm and warmth of a traditional wooden vessel could be preserved. All guest suites and rooms on board have been designed by a renowned Indonesian interior designer and built-to-design by an experienced interior architect. Guest suites are well appointed and tastefully designed in a perfect blend of traditional Indonesian motifs and modern functionality. Naturally, space is at a premium on a ship. Hence, Tambora has been sized and configured to comfortably accommodate a maximum of 16 divers. There are eight spacious guest suites with individually controllable air-conditioning, and with a large en-suite bathroom. The cabins have a choice of double and large twin beds. All beds longitudinally aligned with the vessel, so our guests sleep in the direction of the vessel movement. Each guest suite comes with a writing desk and ample storage space. If you like, you can fill in your logbook or review the shots from the day’s diving in the privacy of your own suite. Cabins have plenty of power outlets (European 220V type) in your suite and throughout the vessel. 2-4 portholes per guest suite for natural light, as well as a fresh sea breeze when opened!
The large salon has separate dining and relaxing sections, offering enough space during mealtimes, as well as for chilling out over a chat and drinks with fellow divers or watching a DVD. Tambora has three separate lounge decks – bow, aft and salon rooftop – provide enough space and privacy and can be fully shielded from the sun.
The chef serves a menu of tasty Indonesian, European and Japanese specialties, freshly prepared in the well-equipped kitchen. Five meals per day mean there always is a tasty bite awaiting our guests when they surface! There are also snack prior to the first dive of the day: coffee, tea, fruit juice, milk, toast, selection of biscuits. Drinks are on a help-yourself basis available in the salon: drinking water, a broad selection of local coffees, tea, milk, a range of soft drinks and beer are all included in the cruise fare. A fine selection of wines and liquors are available and charged on a separate basis.
The traditional Phinsi-style arrangement of the sails has been kept unchanged. Experiencing Tambora under sails, with a good wind blowing, is an amazing sight and a great way to travel through the Indonesian islands. Great care has been taken to optimally combine the space and atmosphere on deck with the activities of liveaboard diving. The dinghies are equipped with customized racks to store diver’s gear in between dives; tanks do not need to be carried back and forth but can be re-filled directly on the dinghies. At night and during longer legs of sailing, all gear is stored away from the elements in the dive station. No dive gear is left sitting around on deck.
Four Kingdoms of the East - Dive Raja Ampat
8 nights (Dec – Mar)
Raja Ampat has only fairly recently been discovered as scuba diving’s new frontier and has very quickly gained a reputation as one of the world's finest dive areas, perhaps the finest amongst all in terms of biodiversity. New species keep being discovered here and considering the vast geographic expanse of this group of islands, this is set to continue for years and years!
Our cruises depart from and return to Sorong, the area’s major town on the tip of the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Soon upon leaving Sorong harbor, Tambora will sail in crystal clear waters, among an endless string of densely forested and mostly uninhabited islands. The vast expanse and sheer number of islands allows us to pick itineraries and dive sites that suit during any season.
You will start things off diving the superb sites of the Dampier Strait. This is where waters from the Pacific and the inner Indonesian Seas first meet, providing for an extreme wealth of marine creatures including manta rays, schooling trevally and jacks, reef sharks, and the bizarre wobbegong shark. From here, cruises continue southwards towards Misool and the labyrinth of little islets surrounding it (Note: cruises in the June-August time period will turn north towards Waigeo and Wayag). You can expect it all – big pelagics, reefs teeming with life, great macro sites, and vibrantly colored night dives! From Sorong, the major town on the Bird’s Head Peninsula and in the West of Indonesian New Guinea, you can connect easily to destinations across Indonesia.
Triton Bay Trilogy
9 nights - Apr + Nov
Triton, Kayumerah and Etna Bays - Since our first cruise to Triton Bay in late 2009, we have kept exploring, every time finding more and more dive sites as well as magnificent places above the waterline. Hence commencing November 2011, we are offering ‘Triton Bay Trilogy’, a cruise that entirely focused on Triton Bay and its two adjacent bays to the South.
The idea of this cruise is threefold: offering a minimum of sailing time, as the places we visit are very close to each other; providing the option to change locations rapidly when visibility, which can be tricky around here, deteriorates, and return at a later stage when the waters have cleared; and, having the time and opportunity to take in some of the breathtaking scenery above the waterline.
The area offers a microcosm of some of the best diving Indonesia has to offer: exposed rocks and seamounts boasting large schools of fish; current-swept corners alive with hunting reef as well as pelagic fish; soft coral gardens that are second to none; large forests of white gorgonians and black coral; and, gentle slopes over shallow, sandy bottoms, alive with a full array of macro subjects.
Kaimana forms the port of embarkation and disembarkation for this cruise. Located only a couple of sailing hours north of Triton Bay, Kaimana can be reached by modern turboprop aircraft from Jakarta, Ambon or Sorong.
