Prana by Atzaró

Prana works Komodo from June to October out of Labuan Bajo, which is the dry window when the park is at its most reliable: flat water in the northern channels, good visibility, and the trekking on Rinca and Padar dry enough to be pleasant rather than punishing.

At fifty-five metres she is one of the largest vessels operating inside the park, and that shapes the itinerary. She anchors in the deeper bays rather than tucking into the shallow coves smaller phinisis use, and tender runs are longer. What you get in exchange is a platform that stays level, a spa and gym that are actually usable at sea, and eighteen crew for eighteen guests.

Komodo charters here are sold whole-boat with a four-night minimum, and the national park entrance fee is included in the rate rather than collected on the day. For groups combining divers and non-divers this is the easiest region on her calendar: the dive sites, the dragons and the pink beaches sit within a short run of each other, so nobody spends the day waiting for the other half of the group.

From roughly November to March Prana moves east and joins in Sorong for Raja Ampat. This is where the dive operation earns its keep: two dive masters, an onboard compressor, and a tender fleet large enough to run separate dive and snorkel groups at the same time.

The Dampier Strait, Misool and the reefs around Waigeo carry the density that makes Raja Ampat the reason most divers come to Indonesia at all. Currents are stronger than Komodo and the sites reward guests who are already comfortable in drift conditions, though the shallow lagoons in the south are as good for snorkellers as anywhere in the country.

Distances are the constraint. Raja Ampat charters on a vessel this size run longer than Komodo ones because moving between the northern and southern clusters is an overnight passage, not an afternoon. Groups wanting both Dampier and Misool should budget seven nights or more.

The Banda Sea sits in the shoulder of Prana calendar, between the Komodo and Raja Ampat seasons, and it is the most weather-dependent part of her year. Crossings are long and open, which is precisely the condition a fifty-five metre hull with a four and a half metre draft handles better than the vessels she competes with.

The draw is hammerhead aggregations on the seamounts, the sea snakes at Manuk, and a run of volcanic islands that see a handful of yachts a year rather than a handful a day. Ashore, Banda Neira delivers the nutmeg plantations, the Dutch forts and the colonial town that gave the whole region its name.

These are expedition itineraries rather than scheduled departures. Dates are quoted on request and are worth asking about a season ahead, because the weather window is narrow and the vessel is committed elsewhere either side of it.

Ambon is Prana embarkation point for Spice Island and Banda Sea itineraries rather than a cruising ground in its own right, but it is worth arriving a day early for. The bay is one of the best muck diving sites in Indonesia, with rhinopias, frogfish and mandarinfish on black sand within twenty minutes of the harbour.

For guests joining here, the practical picture is a domestic flight from Jakarta or Bali into Pattimura, then a short transfer to the vessel. The operator handles the port formalities and provisioning, which on this stretch of coast is not a given.

Ambon suits photographers and anyone who finds a critter dive more interesting than a wall. It is the opposite of Raja Ampat in character: low visibility, slow pace, and everything worth seeing measured in centimetres rather than metres.