In Memory of Larry Smith

We start this edition off with a memorial to our mentor and dive master extraordinaire, Larry Smith, who sadly passed away in Irian Jaya last month. Larry, a native Texan, worked together with Kararu for a short time back in our early days. He was one of the true pioneers of diving in Indonesia and took such pleasure in guiding us to many of his “best kept secrets!”

His insatiable enthusiasm for sharing the treasures of the Indonesian seas with whoever had the fortune of diving with him, spread like wildfire and sprouted a whole new growth of world class operations and “critter spotters” throughout the archipelago.

It doesn’t matter if you knew him or not, a presence of Larry will remain, forever, in all of us – whether it be when we find that special critter at one of the many dive sites he found or when we reminisce about his incredible stories of 15 years of diving in Indonesia – his legacy in Indonesia will live on in all of our hearts.

Although he will be sadly missed by all, let us celebrate his life and honor him by never ceasing to explore and dive in these incredible Indonesian waters we call home. Our prayers and wishes go out to his gracious wife Dewi, his beautiful daughter Breezy, his family in the States and all the staff and crew of Adventure H20.

Click here for a collection of anecdotes and stories about Larry Smith.

Trip Report from Irian Jaya

March brought us beautiful weather, calm seas, and the incredible Blue Kirio [www.bluekirio.com] dive group. Fearless leader Captain Casey Mahaney and photo expert Tanya Burnett brought their group of well-traveled and dive-hungry guests aboard in Sorong for a week and a half of Irian Jaya’s finest sites.

Our trip began with a quick run north to Wai, home of a few Epaulette walking-sharks, as well as two WWII era fighter plane wrecks, resting quietly in the sand at ninety feet. From Wai we moved the short distance to Batanta island and its quiet palm lined bays. Harlequin shrimp and juvenile cuttlefish rounded out the days diving and it was time to move on to bigger fish.

From Batanta, a quick ride North to the village of Yangelo on the southwest corner of Gam Island provided us with some of the best soft coral aggregations in Indonesia. The reef is an oblong pinnacle that runs like a spine sixty feet below the surface down the center of a channel, separating the Village from the main island. With Barracuda schools, Mantas, and Sharks being frequent visitors it delivers a fantastic wide angle experience.

Despite the strong urge to stay in Yangelo and experience its stunning house reef every day, we haul anchor and move to the island of Kri, home of Max Ammer’s Papua Diving Eco Lodge, as well as some of the best diving in Irian Jaya.

I told Captain Casey, “Sardine reef never disappoints...” and I didn’t lie. Sardine Reef has more beauty in a ten square meter area than I ever saw in four years of diving the Caribbean. After twisting my arm to leave Sardine reef, we decided to visit our friends at the Atlas South Sea Pearl Farm on Waigeo Island. The permanent rain and clouds that engulf the area had not left in the three months since our previous visit.

The bay, within which the Pearl Farm lies, provides us with fantastic macro opportunities. Bird Wall is literally littered with fire urchins and their resident Zebra Crabs and Coleman Shrimp. Kevin from the pearl farm ferried us to the operations center and allowed us a unique look at the behind-the-scenes of Pearl Farming, and also managed to sell our guests some pearls. After getting shots of the schooling fusiliers at the peal farm’s jetty and sharing the sand with their resident Wobegong sharks, we decided to move south to Misool.

Next stop, Mangroves! The mangrove islands of west Misool support some of the most beautiful and fish-filled shallow reefs around. Mangrove roots dripping with soft coral and archer fish beckoning to be photographed made for almost two hour long dives as the divers tried to explore every inch of the massive site. I literally had to wrestle the group away for our trip around the south edge of Misool to the small rock island of Boo.

Boo has a lot of soft corals…a lot. Did I mention a lot of soft corals? Yes, that many. Two small rock pinnacles break the surface, giving no hint as to the fabulous reef that lies at their feet. Glassy sweepers and sweet lips swarm in the overhangs, pygmy seahorses dot the massive and ever-present sea fans. Soft corals line the ridges and swim throughs. Nudibranchs of all kinds roam the gentle slopes with octopi and the occasional overly-curious turtle.

All work and no play make Divers grumpy, the solution, a beach party in Kaliq. The rum flowed freely as did the music. Guitar and flute music joined a magnificent Irian Jaya sunset, bringing the cruise to an appropriate ending. After a day of exploring the Killer Cave of Farundi and shooting pygmy seahorses at Three Sisters, the Voyager finally made its way north, back to Sorong harbor.

The final slideshow summed up the cruise, fantastic. Shots of blue-ring octopus, Wobegong sharks, and oodles of soft corals tell the story of another great Irian Jaya experience. The best part of all, we get to do it all over again.

Available Trips in 2007

We’re coming home! Next month, Kararu’s Voyager will make the incredible journey through the Banda Sea with a boat full of lucky divers! Unfortunately for those who waited too long to book, all the upcoming trips are full, however, we still have limited space on one of our favorite destinations, the Komodo National Park. If you haven’t witnessed first hand the underwater wonders in this area, here is your chance!

Please quote, “newsletter” to receive a “free spa treatment” compliments of Suriya, our expert on board massage therapist and Kararu Dive Voyages. NB: this treatment only valid for new guest bookings only.

Cruise 11-07 - June 9-20, 2007 - Join Kararu Dive Voyages’ team of experts on one of her most famous routes. Embarking from Bima, Sumbawa and disembarking also in Bima, guests can enjoy immediate access into the Komodo National Park! June has always been our favorite time of year for Komodo as it marks some of the best diving/weather conditions year round! There are only a few spaces left, act fast!

Cruise 12-07 - June 20 - July 1, 2007 - Join Kararu Dive Voyages on her first trip back to her home port in Bali! Departing from Bima, Sumbawa, you can enjoy all the great diving the Komodo National Park is famous for as well as the 3 day journey through the incredible islands of Sumbawa, Satonda, Moyo, and finally Bali!

Going Live with Skype

For those who want to speak to us directly via the Internet, we have good news! We have installed Skype with the handle kararudive which enables you to call us at no cost. Getting answers and live assistance to your booking inquiries has now become even easier.

If you already have Sype installed simply search for us by the handle kararudive and add us to your contacts.

If you don't already have the Skype phone installed you can get it here for free. For those who use other VOIP systems please note that we will be adding Google Talk and Windows Live in the coming months.

Featured Team Member - Bayu

An enormous amount of hard work and logistical planning goes on behind the scenes at our office in Bali to make sure you receive the on board service our guests have come to expect from Kararu. It is on that note that we feel Kararu’s office staff merits an introduction over the next few editions of the newsletter.

Featured this month is Bayu, a long time employee with Kararu Dive Voyages. Bayu is from Malang in East Java and graduated from Jimber University with a BA in International Relations in 2001.

Bayu became the head of our reservation department in early 2005 and is responsible for ensuring that your flight, transportation and hotel reservations have been done correctly, with ease and efficiency (quite a feat when dealing with travel in Indonesia!).

He is also the friendly face checking you into the airport when departing on a domestic flight on your way to meet Voyager. Please feel free to email or Skype Bayu and talk to him live if you have any questions regarding reservations!

Next Month’s Issue

We will feature April’s exciting trip report with Chris Newbert and Brigitte Wilms who brought their guests aboard the Voyager for a three week in-depth photo expedition of the best Irian Jaya has to offer.

We will also tell you about our revival of E6 processing and a movement to bring back slide film! For all those still adamant on not crossing over to digital photography, Kararu offers 2 E6 processing machines, expert film development and all the chemicals needed to process thousands of films!

The Kararu team and management looks forward to welcoming you on board the Voyager for the liveaboard scuba diving expedition of a lifetime. Please feel free to contact any of us at any time or see the 2007 and 2008 cruise schedules at our web site. www.kararu.com/schedules