About Gamala Cruise Phinisi
We keep the bow low approaching Batu Bolong this time of year. The current runs hard through the channel, and even on an 18-metre hull like Gamala Cruise Phinisi, you want to time the tide right. We've sailed these waters since the monsoon shifts in November, and by late afternoon, when the wind picks up off Sangeang, you learn to read the swell patterns along Komodo Island’s northern flank. That’s why we leave Labuan Bajo by 14:00 – enough daylight to reach Kelor before the light flattens, but not so late that the anchorage turns bumpy.
Gamala Cruise Phinisi was built for this stretch – not too long to lose intimacy, not too short to get tossed around. At 18 metres, she carries two cabins for private bookings, each with teak-framed windows that open to the breeze. The rest of the 16-guest capacity spreads across shared spaces – the shaded aft deck for cards and coffee, the forward netting if you want sun on your back after the dragon walk. We keep fresh water running all trip, not just for rinsing off after Manta Point, but because salt sticks hard after a day in the current.
Day two starts at Padar before first light. We anchor in Loh Liang by 05:30, just as the sky clears off the eastern ridge. The hike takes an hour, maybe less if you’re keen, and by 08:00 we’re back on board, engines turning for Pink Beach. You’ll want your snorkel here – the coral starts ten metres off that pink sand, and we moor close enough that you can swim out without boarding the dinghy. After lunch, we drift at Manta Point near Komodo Island, letting the current carry us along the cleaning station. No schedules there – just wait for the first shadow to glide under the hull.
On day three, we push west to Taka Makassar. It’s a longer transit, but worth it – the sandbar emerges around 10:00, and if the tide’s right, you can walk nearly 200 metres offshore. We serve fruit and coffee on deck while guests float in the shallows. Then it’s over to Kanawa, where the reef drops fast and the parrotfish are loud enough to hear through your snorkel. We leave by 14:00 to make Labuan Bajo by 17:00, unless someone spots a turtle near Sebayur – then we adjust.
This isn’t a floating hotel. Gamala Cruise Phinisi has no AC in the common areas, no dive compressor, no jacuzzi. What she has is a crew that knows where the mantas feed on a rising tide, which beach stays shaded at noon, and how to tie up in a crosswind at Kalong. We don’t follow scripts. We watch the water, listen to the wind, and adjust. That’s how you sail Komodo without rushing.
