Special Announcement

Kararu Dive Voyages is pleased to announce that we are adding another vessel to our fleet. We take pride in providing our guests with a very high level of safety and comfort on our cruises. To maintain this high level, it is essential that we put our present vessel, the Voyager, in dry dock due to ongoing maintenance issues. As we are unsure of the extent of time needed for the repairs we have obtained a replacement ship, equal and in some aspects surpassing the safety and comfort level of the Voyager.

Our new vessel, the Cheng Ho, is even bigger than the Voyager (49 m long, 11 m wide) with much more space as well as more cabins (22 to be exact!). The maximum amount of people will be the same as Voyager so that guests will enjoy even more space onboard. Another great feature is her cruising speed which is higher than Voyager’s meaning we can get you to your dive sites faster!

Our guests will continue to receive the same high standard of cabin facilities, food & entertainment, diving and customer service which people expect from Kararu Dive Voyages. We are confident that guests will find their cruises onboard our latest vessel, the Cheng Ho, a very pleasurable one.

The Cheng Ho is named after the famous Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral who played an important part in Asia’s maritime history. Years before Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean looking for a water route to Asia he was exploring the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.

Cheng Ho traveled to the West seven times and took more than 100 ships and about 28,000 men in his Grand Fleet. The largest vessels were the treasure ships, each 444 ft. in length - more than all of Columbus’ ships put together end to end. The fleet visited most of southern Asia in the first voyage and, by the seventh and last voyage, Cheng Ho had been to east Africa, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, and Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka). Almost 30 countries sent envoys back to China to give homage to the emperor, and all of the countries eagerly welcomed Cheng Ho and traded for Chinese goods.

Our modern day version of the vessel, the Cheng Ho (built in 2002), has been modeled after these famed treasure ships incorporating the traditional building style of the Indonesian wooden sailing ships, locally know as Phinisi schooners. The elegance of her solid iron wood hull and teak wood interior make her over and above the superior choice amongst liveaboard dive vessels in Indonesia.

We are looking forward to introducing you to Cheng Ho’s traditional design, modern comforts and of course, her spirit of a true explorer.

Ship Specifications

Dive support equipment

• Air Compressors: 3 x Lenhardt & Wagner E 450
• 1 x Atlas Copco Nitrox blending unit
• 2 x fiber-glass dive tenders - 10 persons - 2 x 40 Hp
• 1 x Viking dive tender - 6 persons - 1 x 60 hp
• 6-cylinder air-bank system

Safety Equipment

• 4 units inflatable life-rafts
• 80 life-belts
• 12 Life Buoys
• Smoke detectors in each cabin
• Fire Hoses & Hydrants
• C02 & Powder Fire Extinguishers

Navigation & Communication

• 1 x Faruno Chart Plotter with GPS
• 1 x Magellan GPS
• 1 x Koden Radar
• 1 x Koden Echo Sounder
• 1 x VHF + 1 x SSB Radios
• 1 x Satellite phone

Accommodation

• 3 x Top deck double stateroom cabins
• 2 x Upper deck single cabins
• 2 x Upper deck twin cabins
• 2 x Lower deck single cabins
• 2 x Lower deck twin cabins
• 2 x Lower deck double cabins

All cabins come with private bathrooms, hot & cold water, fire wired for email and individual air-condition units. The main salon is fully air conditioned and features a comfortable lounge area, shop and library corner. Also equipped with sound system, TV, Video and DVD player. Cheng Ho has her own cinema room featuring a wide selection of movies and comfortable seating arrangements as well as DVD projector for slide show enthusiasts. 

All other features such as E6 processing, spa, camera stations, charging stations, individual dive deck stations, Nitrox and our luxurious staterooms with private computers will all be available on the Cheng Ho.

To view Cheng Ho on our website, please visit http://www.kararu.com/the-liveaboard/cheng-ho.html

Pricing for the different cabins is the same as per the Voyager. You will find detailed pricing information at the following link http://www.kararu.com/schedules/rates.html

All booking procedures are the same as for the Voyager. Please contact stein@kararu.com for any further details regarding our new vessel.

Available Trips in 2007

Diving Komodo is an absolute “must” and if you haven’t witnessed first hand the underwater wonders in this area, here is your chance! Don’t forget to Skype or contact us at info@kararu.com or kararudive@gmail.com for direct booking inquiries. We are looking forward to assisting with your booking.

Please quote, “newsletter” to receive our very special discounts for these Komodo trips. NB: valid for new guest bookings only!

15-07 - July 13-20, 2007 - Join Kararu Dive Voyages for the best of Komodo National park. Departing from Bima, Sumbawa, this trip will take you straight to the many incredible dive sites around Komodo. This trip ends in Bima, which gives us even more time to dive in the excellent conditions which July normally brings. There is only a limited amount of space left on this trip, place your booking now!

16-07 - July 21-30, 2007 - Featuring the same benefits and itinerary as trip above, we are now also offering a special "last minute price" for this cruise. There a very limited number of places left on this trip, so place your booking now for a last minute deal.

Featured Team Member - Slamet

Featured this month is Slamet, he has been with Kararu Dive Voyages since August 2006. Slamet is from Malang in East Java and graduated from Stiba University with a BA in English Language in 1998.

He is Kararu’s operations manager and he is responsible for ensuring that the operational side of running the boat is both smooth, efficient and safe. He oversees all maintanance issues and controls that all work has been done according to safety regulations. Recruiting new professional crew for the boat when required is also done by Slamet.

Next Month’s Issue

Due to our big announcement taking up a lot of space in this issue we will be featuring Mark Strickland’s promised trip report in next month’s issue as well as some guest comments about our new vessel.

Please visit www.kararu.com/gallery/pros/mark_strickland/index.html to see some of Mark’s images taken during earlier Kararu trips. You can also visit his personal website at www.oceanic-impressions.com

The Kararu team and management looks forward to welcoming you on board the Cheng Ho for the liveaboard scuba diving expedition of a lifetime. Please feel free to contact any of us at any time or see the 2007 to 2009 cruise schedules at our web site. www.kararu.com/schedules