Looking Back on 2006

For Kararu 2006 was a big and busy year full of positive change and new direction. Let’s look at some of the highlights.

A New Vessel

First was the arrival and importation of our latest vessel, the Voyager which was sourced in Norway and sailed over 20,000 nautical miles to Bali, Indonesia, quite a feat in itself!

Next came an extensive refit and customization to suit extended range liveaboard scuba diving. The Voyager is the only live aboard in Indonesia that can accommodate up to 20 divers with more space per guest ratio than any other ship in the archipelago and she is the only classed liveaboard in Indonesia complying with all International Safety Management standards.

The maiden voyage in February of The Voyager was from Bali all the way to Sorong, Irian Jaya. The vessel performed beautifully, met and exceeded all of our (and our guests!) expectations. Ice breaker class steel hull to ensure stability while in heavy seas.

A New Team

After a long and fruitful partnership of 6 years, Tony parted ways from Lisa and Sascha leaving the dynamic duo to continue running Indonesia’s finest live aboard. Next, a very welcome addition to the Kararu team arrived, Hergen and Kerri who took over the role of Cruise Directors on board the Voyager.

Hergen is a PADI instructor and US Coast Guard Licensed Captain and has been diving for 14 years. He has a degree in Biochemistry from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has spent time as a Fireman, EMT, and Public Safety Diver. He came to us after spending the last three years in the US Virgin Islands as an Instructor and Captain. He is fluent in both German and English. Hergen’s dedication to detail and highly amusing stories are helping to shape him into Kararu’s best cruise director ever.

Kerri is also a PADI instructor and has taught in Oregon USA, and the US Virgin Islands. She has a Bachelor's of Science degree in teaching from Portland State University. Her background is in the establishment and management of nationwide restaurant franchises and fine dining management. Kerri speaks both English and Spanish and is currently mastering the Indonesian language as well. Her beautiful smile and sparkling personality ensure that all your needs are genuinely taken care of on board with an enthusiasm that is infectious.

Since their arrival, more than 70% of the customers they sailed with have rebooked – great job Hergen and Kerri! You can share some of their experiences on board in the Trip Report below.

Kararu also employed one more expert local divemaster, Nyoman while veterans, Seno and Gusti continue to find all the amazing critters on diver’s wish lists.

Liveaboard Trip Report

Mid year from August to October, 2006 by Hergen Spalink, Cruise Director MV Voyager.

Kerri and I started our journey on the 46 meter MV Voyager in Benoa, Bali bound for Komodo with Dan Baldocchi and Michael Topolovac on the First Annual Light and Motion digital video cruise. We could not have started our Indonesian adventure on a higher note. Surrounded by talent and a feverish learning atmosphere we were thrown into one of the most amazing dive trips you can imagine. Conditions made the word “favorable” an understatement. Critters ranged from pygmy seahorses by the bushel to frogfish of every possible color and variation. When you find yourself saying “I wish that chromidoris nudibranch would get out of my frogfish shot!” you know you are in Komodo. The hunt for the elusive “wally lobster” and “orangutan crab” were always a conversation piece.

The digital crew was led by Dan and Mike from Light and Motion whose passion for underwater imaging is contagious. Nightly guest video samples and group critiques brought the inner videographer out of everybody (including our Divemaster Seno). Sangeang Island was a macro feast and great preview of what was to come in the Komodo National Park. The schools at Banta’s GPS point rival Cocos Island in size and diversity. Riding the current around the rock you’d fly with trevallies or share an eddy with a white tip reef shark or frogfish. Tag team diving of Hard-To-Find-Rock and GPS point was a wide angle bonanza. Horseshoe Bay’s Cannibal Rock and Yellow Wall of Texas left every videographer with a prize shot for the final night of showings. Time stops in horseshoe bay, except on your computer where every minute of no-deco time is precious.

Of course we can’t forget the Dragons. The Rinca Ranger Station and the accompanying walking tour gives beautiful views of Komodo proper and a chance to get face to face with a 35 year old, 2 meter Komodo Dragon. Don’t bother asking, you cannot ride the water buffalo…I tried. Arriving in Bima on the island of Sumbawa we finished off the adventure with a “Bendi” ride; a horse and buggy, Indonesian Style (and size). Our steed, Bintang, brought us on a colorful “downtown” tour, ending at Mutmainah where we watched how a sarong comes to life over the course of a week.

Our next trip let us relive the first, taking us from Bima back to Bali. The water had gotten a little warmer, and the critters were still out in force. With our “critter-eyes” developing nicely every dive was a learning experience. Even our Divemasters, with years of Indonesian diving experience, still find new and exciting animals on every trip. The spotting of a “flamboyant cuttlefish” in Rinca by Kerri left Divemaster Gusti reveling for days. We decided to end the dive trip on a high note, stopping in Nusa Penida Island at Crystal Bay to find the elusive Mola-Mola or Ocean Sunfish. The curious looking 2.5 meter tall fishes graced us with enough time to give everyone a photo worth sending to the dive publications. Our timing was perfect as Nusa Penida’s current was close behind as we departed on our sunset cruise to Bali.

After that we spent a few days relaxing in Bali (stopping by the Kuta Starbucks, enjoying the last mocha we’d see for three months). Ok, we went to McDonalds too, guilty as charged. After “re-civilizing” ourselves we readied for the three month adventure of Irian Jaya. Wishing Bali farewell we left on a whirlwind tour that took us diving in Komodo, Alor, Gunung Api (Snake Island), Banda Neira, and finally ending in Ambon. The fourteen night trip took us across at least 12 languages and hundreds of miles.

Along to chronicle the trip were journalists from Holland, America, and the UK. Besides well known underwater photographer Tim Rock [http://www.doubleblue.com] we hosted journalists (Willem Gingnagel [www.deepbluepictures.nl] award winning Dutch photographer) and award winning American photographer, Andy Martinez. Andy will be conducting seminars for us at Beneath the Sea, Boston Sea Rovers and Chicago for 2007 for anyone interested in hearing about his experiences on board. Most notable were Alex and Maz a charming British couple who had actually arrived at our Bali office by CAR from the UK on a charity drive destined for New Zealand in aid of the NGO CARE International (Their journey can be viewed at [http://www.overland-underwater.com] and their blog reports from their trip with us is at here and the second installment here.)

The diving was as diverse as the guests, with black sand, submerged pinnacles, crystal clear bays, and enough muck diving to satisfy the biggest macro connoisseur. Stopping at Gunung Api tested every diver’s inner fear of snakes, letting them come into close contact (literally) with one of natures most venomous, yet completely docile and curious, creatures. Banda Neira brought us all back to the time of Pieterzoon and the Dutch East India Company as fort tours and cannon shopping filled the afternoons between dives. Banda Neira’s harbor is a treasure trove of historical artifacts and critters alike.Having satisfied our historical and muck-diving appetites we turned our sites to Ambon and trips-end.

Then with the charming couple, Clay and Martha Wiseman and their Underwater Art group [www.underwater-art.com] on board we set sail for Misool and the islands of Raja Ampat, the “Four Kings” of Irian Jaya. The islands of Misool were straight from a postcard. At night the milky way is undistorted, the stars as clear as the water we dive in. Dives at Blue Hole left everyone wanting more caverns.

Above water, cave tours complete with fruit bats and coconut crabs, tender-boat tours through crystal clear island groups, and beach parties on untouched sand filled any spare time between dives. Wobegong sharks and pygmy seahorses were everywhere (sometimes three pygmies on one sea fan!). The fin-walking bamboo shark also graced us with its presence at the Island of Wai, walking for the cameras on a night dive under the beach hut. On the island of Gam, drift dives down “the passage” yielded countless nudibranchs, archer fish, and juvenile cuttlefish galore. After three rides down the passage we had to call it a day and head for Kri, fulfilling our Wide Angle appetites with schools of Barracuda and Tuna.

Our final day of diving led us to the wreck of a pair of P-47s, whose pilots ditched the aircraft after evading a storm during World War II on the way to Sorong. Spending our last night in the soft glow of Sorong’s harbor we sang and danced to the crew’s insatiable singing appetite.

The last two months have taken us to places that cannot be described accurately through words or pictures. Irian Jaya, Komodo, and East Nusa Tengarra are some of the last un-spoiled diving left in the world, it’s been our pleasure to share that with our guests and hope to continue to do so.

(In next month’s edition, watch for trip reports from the last quarter of 2006 including the THIRD annual digital seminar month hosted in Irian Jaya and Banda sponsored by Berkeley White at Backscatter - [www.backscatter.com] and Dan Baldocci - Light and Motion - [www.lmindustries.com])

About the Voyager

In each monthly newsletter, Kararu will present the most up to date information on why to choose our vessel to dive Indonesia. In this edition, let’s look at your SAFETY on board:

The Voyager is the only in class live aboard sailing the Indonesian archipelago. What exactly does this mean? We MUST comply to all international safety standards or we cannot operate.

Internationally trained local crew with the highest seaman ranking’s possible to ensure a safe and comfortable journey.

Over 35 operational certificates which must be checked and validated yearly. Annual dry docking and safety inspections from the Classification Agency plus all internationally required safety equipment including life rafts/jackets, fire fighting equipment, IPERBS, three satellite phones, SSB radio, email, 7 GPS systems, hand held radios and so on.

The Kararu Team and management looks forward to welcoming you on board the Voyager for the expedition of a lifetime. Please feel free to contact any of us at anytime. www.kararu.com