Raja Ampat, Indonesia – Dive Damai II – February 11-23, 2021

Join Jim Decker and Erin Quigley in Raja Ampat Indonesia on the luxury liveaboard boat Dive Damai II. This trip will cover a large area offering a stunning variety of dive sites with amazing wide-angle and macro photo opportunities. Jim and Erin will be on hand to assist with UW photo techniques, offer technical support, and teach post-production workflow in Adobe Lightroom.

Join Jim Decker and Erin Quigley in Raja Ampat Indonesia on the luxury liveaboard boat Dive Damai II. This trip will cover a large area offering a stunning variety of dive sites with amazing wide-angle and macro photo opportunities. Jim and Erin will be on hand to assist with underwater photo techniques, offer technical support, and teach post-production workflow in Adobe Lightroom.

Raja Ampat

Diving in Raja Ampat is breathtaking, with the marine life thriving from the seafloor to the surface and the colorful reef teeming with activity. There are sites that are so pristine and packed with growth, exotic sea life and macro critters that the photo opportunities border on overwhelming.

Raja Ampat liveaboard trips offer divers the opportunity to explore the entire region. You have the colorful soft coral areas around the southern islands of Misool with the opportunity to see sharks and mobula rays. In the north, you have the world-famous current rich Dampier Straits with iconic dive sites like Cape Kri and Blue Magic. In the east, you can visit pristine coral gardens and climb to the viewpoint above the lagoon at Penemu. In the north, you can dive with mantas at Kawe and go critter hunting in Aljui Bay.

Dive Damai II

This beautifully designed wooden boat has been designed to offer a personal luxury service, that only a vessel of this size, that is dedicated to small groups can provide. With an overall length of 40 meters (130 feet) and a beam of over 9 meters (29 feet), the vessel has 7 staterooms with a choice of single cabins, twins, doubles or two spacious master cabins with private balconies. All cabins are furnished with queen or king-sized beds, and ensuite heads. There is a spacious indoor camera room like found in a resort.

Trip Itinerary:

Departing from Sorong, the Damai II will first visit the eastern end of the Dampier Straits. We will spend the following day here diving iconic sites like Cape Kri, Blue Magic and Sardine Reef enjoying the schooling fish, cruising sharks, and rays. Mioskon is a great spot for the endemic Wobbegong shark and Pontohi pygmy seahorses. At the western end of the Dampier Straits you can see Manta cleaning stations, explore under the jetty at Arborek and dive the pinnacles at Gam.

We will head west to Penemu to dive Barracuda Point; a seamount on the north point; Melissa’s Garden; a beautiful hard coral plateau and Keruo Channel; drift along this colorful slope watching the seascape go by. A highlight of Penemu is a lagoon tour in the tender boats amongst these turquoise waters and limestone bays. For the energetic, there is a short walk to the top of one the hills to be rewarded with an amazing view over the lagoon with Damai II moored in the distance.

Moving south to the colorful soft coral-covered reefs around the island of Misool, we will visit Farondi, Boo, and Fiabacet. This amazing string of small islands has a colorful array of great dives sites like Boo Windows, Nudi Rock, Tank Rock, and Whale Rock. The whole place is a delight for the eyes. On a calm day, you can visit the amazing seamount Magic Mountain and experience cruising sharks, schooling fish, and mantas cleaning. A truly spectacular dive!
Moving north we will explore the caves at Farondi with another opportunity for a lagoon tour on the tenders and then our last morning’s diving we will enjoy a critter hunt on the black sand slopes at Batanta. Our cruise will end in Sorong

Getting there

We suggest you arrive in Jakarta (CGK) at least one day before boarding the boat. We will arrange for airport pick up and transfers to a nearby hotel. From there you’ll take a domestic flight to meet the boat in Sorong. After the trip, you’ll fly back to Jakarta. We suggest another overnight there before flying home the next day. Travel via Bali is also possible but will require more time to get to Sorong.

Damai All-Inclusive Package:

• 12 nights aboard Dive Damai II, twin shared cabin
• 11 dive days
• All meals and soft drinks, beer, 1 glass of wine each night
• Harbor Fees
• Nitrox
• Rental Dive Gear
• Massage
• Laundry

Pricing:

• $7,500 per person (double occupancy)
• $10,500 per person (single occupancy)

Additional costs:

• International and domestic airfare to Sorong, Indonesia
• Accommodations before and after the cruise
• Master Cabin Upgrades ($600 per person)
• Wine and Spirits
• Additional purchases
• Park Fees
• Trip Insurance

Travel info:

• Boarding: February 11, 2021 – Sorong
• Returning: February 23, 2021 – Sorong

Please note that Divers Alert Network (DAN) or equivalent evacuation insurance is mandatory on all trips. Additionally, comprehensive Cancellation, Accident, Medical and Baggage insurance such as Dive Assure, Generali Global Assistance or Travel Guard is highly recommended.

Jim Decker As the CEO of Backscatter, Jim is one of the top experts in the world on underwater photo and video equipment and shooting technique. From SLRs to compacts and handycams to broadcast video, Jim has shot video and photo systems from all the major underwater manufacturers and has been a consultant on many of the designs seen in the water today.

Erin Quigley is a Adobe ACE certified digital imaging consultant specializing in customized workflows and editing strategies using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. She is an award-winning underwater photographer and video editor, and creator of GoAskErin.com, which provides one-on-one instruction, custom video tutorials, and Photoshop and Lightroom resources specifically developed for underwater shooters.