Shakti

Boat

Shakti is a 32 meters long, 7 meters wide charming & cozy wooden Pinisi Schooner, cruises at 9 knots. It was built in Tanah Beru, a small village about 4 hours South East from Makassar. This place has a long and very interesting boat-building history, all the Pinisi Schooner builders craft the boats from centuries of oral tradition and instinct.

Shakti was also built by a carpenter team of 14 Indonesian Pinisi Schooner builders, together with the boat captain, owner and operator - David Pagliari. David spent a long time thinking about all the little details for its interior, machinery, electronics, navigation tools etc. Finally, it was launched in 2001. There is no other liveaboard has spent this much actual time in Raja Ampat.

Shakti was the first boats in the area and can draw from almost 2 decades of diving and exploring the Raja Ampat waters. The team’s knowledge about the area; its culture, people, mystical stories and marine life is outstanding and unparalleled. In recognition, Shakti has been used by television teams such as the BBC’s Planet Earth team, as a base for producing nature documentaries.

Shakti has been permanently based in Raja Ampat and operating bi-monthly 12 day dive expeditions since 2002. And was completely renovated in 2016.

There is a spacious air conditioned indoor lounge located on the lower deck with a big white board and projector for home cinema. And on board, there are many individual charging stations for charging.

Dive deck with individual dive stations: tank filling directly on the stations, the equipment stays connected for the duration of the cruise. As well as 3 camera tables for photographers.

Shakti provide delicious meals with a distinctly Indonesian flavour taking advantage of the exceptional local produce and abundant fish and seafood. Meals at Shakti are a mix of Western and Asian and may be tailored to suit individual tastes. Fresh exotic fruits, juices as well as snacks are available anytime.

Shakti give the endless possibilities to charter group, and will design the unique cruise in Raja Ampat accordingly to guests interests and wishes in terms of activities. The Shakti team can offer unique itineraries to genuinely unknown and pristine dive sites to divers from all over the world.

Cabin

Shakti has 6 guest cabins, it can accommodate 10 - 12 guests：

All cabins have individually controlled air conditioning and electricity 24 hours a day and ensuite bathrooms.

4 Standard Cabins：
Located on the lower deck, each cabin comes with 1 double bed and 1 single bed in bunk style, portholes.

1 Standard Cabin：
Located on the main deck, this cabin comes with 1 double and 1 single bed (bunk style), windows.

1 Standard Cabin：
Located on the main deck, this cabin comes with 1 double, windows.

Diving

• 3 dives per day + alternating additional night dives.

• Only 2 dives will be provided on the last diving day.

• No dive provided on the day of arrival and departure.

• All diving will provide experienced guide to lead the dive.

Other Informations

• Nitrox：Available with additional cost
• 15L Tanks：Available with additional cost
• REBREATHER Dive：Not available at the moment
• Dive Equipment Rental：Available with additional cos
• Dive insurance：All divers must have valid dive insurance
• Wi-Fi Internet ：Not available at the moment
• Laundry Service：Not available at the moment
• Massage Service：Not available at the moment
• Payment on board：By cash ONLY (USD/EUR/IDR)
• Crew Number：9, include 2 dive guides

What Shakti Offering ...

January – early July
Second half of July –> End of August : South Monsoon, Shakti’s maintenance period.

September – January
February -> North Monsoon : Perfect for Misool (south Raja Ampat) itineraries.

July – August
During this period we often organise trips to Cenderawasih Bay which is protected from the Monsoon and has some spectacular indigenous whaleshark populations as well as a large aray of second world war wrecks which we dive on.

Diving Highlights

Penemu: Limestone Islands covered in Tropical Rainforest seam to put you back to a land beyond our time.

Diving: pretty walls with lots of critters and well coral covered slopes, medium current. Excellent night dive sites: interesting species of clams, sea urchins, cephalopods, sea spiders and crabs in current protected areas.

Waigeo/Gam: Waigeo is the biggest of the 4 main islands in Raja Ampat and it’s in thick rainforest covered coasts invite to explore it via kayaks. Beautiful anchorages filled with bird noises at sunrise and sunset will knock you off your feet. The very close island of Gam is the only island in the world where the Red bird of Paradise is found.

Diving: Pinnacles, sandy slopes but also steep valleys inbetween islets, in soft coral covered walls with a hard coral reef top. Pegmy Seahorses, Epaulette sharks and rare nudibranches are some of the highlights here, but some ‘biggies’ are often seen cruising by.

Wayag: This island group is one of the most beautiful ones in the Archipelago. The Geology looks a lot like in Palau - turquoise, clear waters gets washed through the shallow waters directly from the Pacific Ocean. Taking the kayaks out you will see parrots, king fishers and also wild orchids and such around the uncountable mushroom shaped cast limestone rocks. A maze of large forested islands and sizable domes or beehive-shaped islets sourround the shallow lagoons.

Diving: Strong current around pinnacles and rocky islets invite big schools of barakudas and tunas to cruise around this area. Overhanging Walls inhabit lots of critters, also big groupers sharks are seen.

Kabui Passage: The islands Waigeo and Gam are divided by a narrow channel, which is nearly one nautic mile long. Reflected by the thick forests the water looks mystic green and in this peaceful area you can hear a huge amount of jungle noises like birds and bugs.

Diving: The Kabui passage is a very special dive and full of surprises… Strong currents wash through the shallow channel and the greenish water easily seams a bit spooky. Mangroves and rainforest cover its shoreline and inhabit archor fishes and colorful soft corals in the shallow waters but also lots of weird looking critters and juvenile fishes. From time to time you also see turtles and small schools of great barakudas cruising by. Also abnormous sized sponges and all different kinds of sea fans, sea pens, hydroids, sea squirts and shrimps make this area to a very unique habitat.

Daram/Efpian: From the surface the islets of black rock seam almost lost – the only habitats above the water level are pelagic birds, snails and chitons. But the clear deep blue water around them is full of marine life:

Diving: Colorful soft corals and black corals cover the rocks and in the numberous sea fans you find pegmy seahorses and spider crabs. Thousands of little reef fishes add one more dimension to this amazing under water landscape. Often big schools of batfish, bannerfish or red tooth trigger fish are cruising by.

Farondi/Wagmab: Pretty bays and cast limestone islands build the coastline of this region. There are also some interesting caves above and below the water level. Scenbic forested islands hills rise steeply up from the coast.

Diving: Heavy currents make some of the dive sites in between Farondi and Wagmab challenging, but if the visibility is good it is one of the most various and stunning dives you can do. Caves, sandy slopes covered in black coral bushes, gorgonion fans, sea whips etc. Also big schools of barakudas and bumphead parrotfishes are seen on the sites.

Kri/Mansuar: This locations in the centre of Raja Ampat support a diverse reef biota due to its incorporation of several major habits including an exposed steep drop off, algal ridge, reef flat and sheltered lagoons. White sand beaches with palm trees are found all around Mansuar, this area is also very nice for snorkeling.

Diving: Healthy reefs and a huge amount of fish – medium to strong current. Possibility to see Mantas, Blacktip, Whitetip and Grey Reef sharks.

Of course this is only an idea of what you will be seeing when diving in Raja Ampat. Surprise species are found ever again between all those marvellous islands and give new reason to return ever again.