About Lamain Voyage 1
We keep her balanced coming out of Liang Bajo Strait – 39 meters of custom phinisi hull, twin 480HP diesels humming just right as we lean into the current. The crew knows this run: hard west past Bidadari Island, then a slight turn to catch the eddy spinning off Sebayur by mid-afternoon. Lamain Voyage 1 was built for these tides. Lamain Voyage 1’s not showy, but she tracks clean through chop, and that matters when you’re lining up a sunset landing at Kelor’s northern cove. Our guests feel it – the steadiness, the quiet between waves.
Four cabins, sixteen guests max. The Paris Room sits aft, full beam, private deck access – we usually put the dive pro or a couple wanting space there. Osaka and Athena are mirror twins forward, en suite, big portholes that stay open when the wind’s right. Praha and Venica share a bulkhead but not sound – insulation’s tight – and Bern’s tucked low, cool even at noon. All cabins run silent with individual AC, real reading lamps, solid teak rails. We don’t do carpet; teak decks with non-slip varnish – safer when wet.
Day one: boarding by 13:00 in Labuan Bajo. By 15:30 we’re dropping anchor in Menjerite’s lee. Snorkel gear on deck by 16:00 – soft coral bommies at 3 meters, clownfish in anemones right off the swim platform. Dinner’s grilled skipjack with sambal matah, eaten under the spread of the mainsail rigging. No loud generators; we run on lithium banks until 22:00.
Day two starts at 05:30. Ribs splash by 06:00 for Padar’s south trail. Hike up before full light – you want that ridge line with the bay behind you in shadow. Back onboard by 08:30, then straight to Komodo Village for the dragon walk. Rangers meet us at 10:00 sharp. We time it so the big males are moving between shade spots. Pink Beach by noon – yes, the sand’s actually tinted, from foraminifera, not algae. Eat lunch under the casuarina trees, then drift snorkel off the beach. Current’s usually slack at 13:30.
Manta Point by 15:00. We anchor west of the cleaning station, drift with the flow. Mantas aren’t guaranteed, but the cleaning rocks are always busy – trevallies, bumphead parrotfish, sometimes a wobbegong. Kalong Island at dusk. No landing, just the sound of 500,000 bats pouring out of the mangroves. We serve hot ginger tea on the foredeck.
Final day: Taka Makassar by 07:30. White sand bar, water 12 degrees in the shallows. Kanawa’s volcanic slope by 10:00 – coral walls, nudibranchs in the crevices. We pack up by 12:00, reach Labuan Bajo jetty around 14:00. No rush – if the tide’s tight, we wait.
