Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia gearing up for Raja Ampat

Indonesia archipelago – photo supplied.

After another blockbuster season along the 8th Parallel (Bali to Komodo mainly), Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia is gearing up for the second act: Raja Ampat season!

“Due to the sheer size of Indonesia and the fact that it stays within a few degrees of the equator  both north and south there really isn’t any off season here,” reports Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia General Manager, Richard Lofthouse.

“We have been really busy the last six months from our base in Bali with boats filling up our dock space down here. Now we are gearing up for the northern season with our team heading up to Sorong in Papua and Bitung in Sulawesi for lots of new arrivals. My team love it – they get bored if we have a week without boats!”

Asia Pacific Superyachts (APS) Indonesia Service Manager, Fitri, is originally from Sorong and despite being only 22 years old is well known by many captains and crew having been the go-to-girl for Raja Ampat for many years.

Fitri, the Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia Service Manager.

“Don’t let her big smile and easy going personality fool you,” says Lofthouse. “Fitri is a hell of a tough operator. She gets things done that others can’t do. Sorong has never been the easiest place to get things done but she makes it happen and our clients love her.”

Sorong is the gateway to the wonders of Raja Ampat. It remains a frontier town with infrastructure to match. But a stop off to clear in and pick up guests can be brief and then it is off to explore. Fitri arranges all national park permits and gets them onboard so that APS yachts don’t have to pick them up themselves. During the peak season she remains based in Sorong so that there is always an APS team member on the ground there.

On board, most yachts take the option of having one of the APS all-star guide team. From Ricardo Buxo (author of Underwater Paradise, the definitive dive guide to Raja Ampat) to others like Bob Brunskil, Didier Romero and Matt Malerba who have years of superyacht guiding experience under their belts, they quickly become part of the yacht team and a valuable coordinator when exploring the final frontier.

A recent addition to the team is Ali Murtaldo who after a year guiding on yachts from 30 to 140 metres, has grown fast into hot property.

Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia new dive guide – Ali Murtaldo.

“Our biggest problem is captains trying to steal Ali and hire him as full time crew,” jokes Lofthouse. “He is the happiest, nicest guy I have ever met and it is contagious. He makes everybody smile. On top of that he has a huge workrate and a deep knowledge of vast areas of Indonesia which is really special. When I recently asked for a map of some dive sites, he sent me detailed drawings. That is the level of knowledge Ali has and we are proud to have him in our team.”

So whatever month you go to cruise Indonesia – and remember any month is good – APS Indonesia have got you covered. For more information, visit www.asia-pacific-superyachts.com.

Asia Pacific Superyacht Indonesia – the Bali team.