Kurabesi Nusantara

Kurabesi Nusantara is a 32-metre wooden phinisi for twelve divers in six air-conditioned en-suite cabins, sailing from Sorong in the Raja Ampat season and from Ambon, Manokwari and Kaimana the rest of the year.

She is the second boat of the Kurabesi Explorer fleet, built by phinisi shipwrights in South Sulawesi and launched in 2024 as the little sister of the original Kurabesi Explorer, which sailed Papua from 2015. The name is that of Kurabesi, the Biak warrior who fought alongside the Sultan of Ternate against the Portuguese. The owners are an Indonesian company based in Sorong that often sails with marine biologists and field researchers on board. That is the flavour of the operation: fewer polished brochures, more time in places most liveaboards skip, and a crew who know the eastern islands because they live there.

The boat

Six cabins on three decks, all with air conditioning, a private bathroom with hot water and a flush toilet. On the bottom deck, Misool and Salawati are the standard cabins with bunk beds for two. Waigeo and Batanta, the deluxe cabins next to them, have a double bed with a single above it, so they sleep two or three. Biak, the master cabin on the upper deck, has a double bed and its own bathroom next door. Tidore, on the main deck, is the family cabin: a queen bed plus a bunk for up to four, its own balcony over the water and its own wifi. The boat takes fourteen guests on cruising trips and twelve on dive trips.

Meals are at a long table on the main deck, outdoors when the weather is kind and indoors when it is not, with a camera room, a reading corner and a self-service coffee station nearby. The sun deck has loungers and a shaded terrace. There are four meals a day, a light breakfast before the first dive and a proper one after it, and the galley cooks Indonesian and Western food with vegetarian and vegan options if you ask in advance. Wine and local beer are sold on board.

The dive station is on the main deck with a platform on each side, a Bauer Mariner 200 compressor and 38 aluminium tanks, air only, no nitrox. Two 7-metre fibreglass tenders take divers to the sites, with two Indonesian divemasters and a local guide, one guide for every four divers. The plan is three dives a day plus night dives where the site allows. Eight full sets of Aqualung rental gear are on board. Two family kayaks, a stand-up paddleboard and snorkelling gear are free to use. Navigation is Garmin radar and chartplotter with NAVTEX weather, an Iridium satellite phone, AIS, an EPIRB and two life rafts for 35 people.

Itineraries

The year follows the weather around West Papua and Maluku. Trips board at a different port each season, and the operator meets guests at the airport or hotel and takes them to the boat.

• Raja Ampat, November to March, from Sorong. Central Raja Ampat in 7 days and 6 nights or 8 days and 7 nights with 16 to 19 dives around the Dampier Strait, Penemu and the Wayag side, and South Raja Ampat loops that go down to Misool. Open to divers with 7 logged dives or more.
• Triton Bay, April, 12 days and 11 nights one way between Sorong and Kaimana via Fak-Fak, for the whale sharks that feed under the fishing platforms and soft-coral reefs that see a handful of boats a year. Divers need about 20 logged dives.
• Cenderawasih Bay, May and June, 10 days and 9 nights from Manokwari, and Biak in July for the Second World War wrecks: 7 days and 6 nights from Manokwari.
• Banda Sea and Halmahera, September to early November, from Tulehu near Ambon: Banda loops of 7 or 8 days with 15 dives, a 9-day Halmahera crossing between Tulehu and Ternate, and 12-day crossings between Banda and Misool that ask for 40 to 50 logged dives.

The boat is out of the water for maintenance for a week in late May. Departure lists change each year, so ask us for the current one.

What is included, and what is not

• Included: transfers between the airport or hotel and the boat, full board with snacks and soft drinks, three dives a day with guides, tanks, air fills and weights, laundry up to five pieces per person, island visits and land excursions with their local entrance fees.
• Not included: flights, marine park and port fees paid on arrival (USD 150 per person for Raja Ampat and for the Banda Sea, about IDR 2,640,000 or EUR 130; USD 250 for Cenderawasih Bay, about IDR 4,400,000 or EUR 215), rental gear at USD 55 a day (about IDR 970,000 or EUR 45), dive and travel insurance, drinks from the bar, and a suggested crew tip of USD 15 per person per day (about IDR 265,000 or EUR 15).
• Optional extras: a bird-watching morning in Papua (USD 125, about IDR 2,200,000 or EUR 110), a spice tour on Banda Neira (USD 150, about IDR 2,640,000 or EUR 130), and PADI Advanced Open Water or Rescue courses on board (about USD 760 per person, IDR 13,380,000 or EUR 655, booked in advance).
• Prices are per person in a shared cabin. The master and family cabins cost a little more than the four below decks, and a single traveller who wants a cabin alone pays a 30 percent supplement. The whole boat can be chartered, and there is a group rate for parties of up to nine who take every cabin.

Who she suits

Divers who have done Komodo and central Raja Ampat and want the next ring out: Triton Bay, Cenderawasih, the Banda crossings. The cabins are simple but air-conditioned and private, which puts her a step above the fan-cooled budget phinisis without the price of the luxury boats. The family cabin with its balcony is rare on a boat this size and makes her a good choice for a couple with children. Non-divers are welcome on every trip, and the operator runs a cultural and culinary Raja Ampat cruise once a year for people who never plan to get wet.