Sarah Ann Wormald - Diving in Indonesia: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Best Dive Spots: Bali, Komodo, Sulawesi, Papua, and More

Acknowledgments

To my family, with oceans of love and seas of gratitude

Also to Sue Beebe and John Chapman for their support, friendship and kindness. Thank you for everything and for being such wonderful people.

Many dive operators across Indonesia have contributed to this book and my thanks extend to all who have given up tanks, guides, time, knowledge and patience. Special thanks to:

Bali Scuba and Knut Hoff and Simon Gilbert for their time, resources and support. Black Marlin Togean and Crispin Gibbs for his assistance. Blue Marlin Komodo and Dai Lovell and Kim Guenier for ensuring I got to some of the best dive sites. Dive Alor Dive and Dive Kupang Dive and Donovan Whitford for some great dives and fun around the Alor archipelago. Divers Lodge Lembeh and Weda Bay Reef and Rainforest and Rob and Linda Sinke for their time and hospitality. Maluku Divers, Ambon, for their hospitality and for an incredible wreck dive. Misool Eco Resort and Marit and Andrew Miners for all that they have achieved in Misool and for allowing me to experience it. Murex Dive Resorts, critters@LembehResort and Lembeh Resort, thanks to Danny Charlton and Angelique Batuna. Papua-Diving and Max Ammer and his teams in Kri Eco Resort and Sorido Bay, thank you for sharing such a wonderful place with me. Selayar Dive Resort and Jochen Schultheis for his help, knowledge and support. Siladen Dive Resort for their assistance and knowledge of turtle hatcheries. Tauch Terminal Tulamben and Axel Schwan for his time, help and hospitality. Werner Lau Pemuteran for assisting me at the last minute in Pemuteran. World Diving Lembongan and John Chapman, Sue Beebe, Pak Nyoman, Putu Sri Widari, Nick Gaylarf and all WDL Divemasters, Instructors and Crew, thank you for being such a fantastic team to work with.

I would also like to sincerely thank the following: Eric Oey and June Chong at Periplus without whom this book would not have been possible. John Becker who has contributed numerous images and time at the drop of a hat. Rich Horner who has provided incredible images and helped with my technology issues. Joanna Perel for her research contributions and images for Lombok, North and Central Sulawesi and for being such good fun to work with. Christian Nielsen for stunning photographs from around Bali and Komodo. Patrick Compau for providing images and for accompanying me on numerous diving adventures in Indonesia. Jurg Kipfer for his Lembeh Strait images and for being a great dive buddy, and Peter Manz for his expert knowledge of recompression chambers in Indonesia.

Thank you to the following liveaboards that have also assisted in this project: Arenui, Aurora, Damai I and II, Ikan Biru, Indo Siren, Seven Seas, Shakti and Tambora.

I would also like to extend my thanks to every dive guide who has accompanied me during my research and to all other photographers who have generously provided photographs.

A final thanks goes to all dive guides, instructors, boat captains and crew who work in Indonesia and who strive to protect Indonesian reefs and marine life on a daily basis. The efforts that operators go to in order to conserve their reefs is nothing short of outstanding and I take my hat off to all of you. Dive safely my friends!

Liveaboard Diving in Indonesia

Indonesias thousands of tiny islands make for some phenomenal liveaboard opportunities, especially if you travel further east across the archipelago to where there are few shore-based operators. The vast majority of the liveaboards that are based in the Indonesian archipelago have been built in the same style as Indonesias beautiful traditional phinisi schooners. Phinisi , or pinisi , are two-masted, timber-built sailing ships which were, and still are, used by the Buginese and Makassarese for fishing and cargo transportation around the archipelago. It was the Konjo people from South Sulawesi who played the most influential role in the design and construction of the early phinisi , which were hand-built using traditional methods. In modern times, the construction methods have changed very little and still include choosing the right trees for each part of the vessel and conducting numerous ceremonies and rituals at the beginning and completion of each stage of the building process.

The main and original boat building areas in Indonesia are Bulukumba on the tip of South Sulawesi and Sangeang in East Sumbawa where the villagers learnt their skills from migrants from Bulukumba. There are now also several boat construction yards in Kalimantan. The boat building was, and still is, started on the beach. Originally, this was because the craftsmen were close to the timber needed for a boats construction, although today much of the timber has to be shipped in due to short supply.

Historically, teak wood was used for building phinisi vessels but it is now very difficult to source and is also poorly regarded by modern builders. Instead, other Indonesian hardwoods are used, the most popular of which is ironwood sourced from Kalimantan. Although it is a heavy wood, it is hard wearing. Bangkirai, another tropical wood, is used for planking and deck structures. Timbers are joined together with wooden nails, which resemble small pegs.

The Arenui has a stunning deck, perfect for after dive dining and relaxation.

Suitability of Phinisis as Liveaboards

Phinisi schooners make excellent live-aboard vessels. They vary in size but the largest, which tend to be the most luxurious, are 40 meters long and up to 10 meters wide. Smaller phinisi can be anything from 20 meters long but these are rarer to find. The shape of the vessel makes it a smooth sailing boat capable of covering long distances. Whilst almost all phinisi -style liveaboards have full sailing rigs, they are now also equipped with engines, which means that they can sail into currents and wind and, for the most part, maintain schedules regardless of weather and sea conditions.

The Indo Siren under sail is a spectacular sight.

Boat Layouts

Whilst the hulls, keels and general body of the phinisi vessels have not been changed, their interior layouts have been adapted substantially for liveaboard purposes. Traditionally, these vessels were left as bare as possible in order to maximize the available space for cargo. Modern liveaboard phinisi , however, have been transformed to include guest cabins, dive decks, lounges, crew quarters, galleys and even sunloungers and relaxation areas on deck. Most modern liveaboards are also designed to reduce engine and generator noise in the cabins, ensuring a good nights sleep.

Daily Schedules

Liveaboard schedules vary from operator to operator but most offer relatively intensive diving schedules. Pricing is based on an all inclusive daily rate, so understandably guests want to be able to make as many dives as possible. A typical live-aboard daily schedule is as follows:

Small breakfast followed by dive number 1, cooked breakfast followed by dive number 2 and then a break for lunch. After lunch is the third and (if possible) fourth dive (often a small snack is served in between these dives) and then a night dive followed by dinner.

The Tambora liveaboard operates across the archipelago.

Guests can join as many or as few of the dives as they choose. Naturally, doing the maximum number of dives possible makes the trip more cost-effective.