About Yumana
We keep Yumana’s bow into the current when anchoring at Manta Point – it’s the only way to stop the drift when the tide turns fast off Karang Makassar. Our 32-metre hull sits solid in the chop, and our guests stay steady on deck while watching mantas circle the cleaning stations just below. This isn’t a short hop boat. She’s built for the Komodo run, and we’ve trimmed her sails and engines to handle the Savu Sea swell without pounding. Labuan Bajo to Padar in the early dark, we time the passage so the first light hits the pink sand just as the Komodo dragons start moving on Rinca’s dry forest trails.
She carries four cabins – Royal Suite, Signature, Deluxe, and Superior – each positioned for quiet and airflow. The Royal Suite sits aft with direct deck access, and we keep the engine room insulated so guests don’t hear the generator after dinner. Our galley runs fresh meals every two hours: banana pancakes at dawn, grilled mahi-mahi at noon, spiced coconut soup by night. There’s a shaded upper deck with bench seating for six, and we keep the jacuzzi filled by mid-afternoon when the sun drops behind Komodo Island.
Day two starts at Padar, but not the crowded summit trail. We land on the north beach before 6:30 AM, hike the ridge as the fog lifts, then return to Yumana for a hot shower before the next group even arrives. By 10:00, we’re at Pink Beach – not just for photos, but for a 45-minute snorkel along the coral lip where blue starfish cling to the submerged rock. After lunch, we shift east to Manta Point near Karang Bajo, where the cleaning current runs strong. Our crew marks the zone with a surface buoy, and guests enter one at a time so we keep the circle clean.
Kalong Island at dusk is non-negotiable. We anchor early, shut the mains, and watch the fruit bats spiral out from the mangroves at 18:00. No spotlighting, no noise – just the crew serving iced lemongrass tea on the top deck. The next morning, we push west to Taka Makassar. It’s a sandbar that dries at low tide, but the reef edge stays deep. Snorkelers drift with the mild current over schools of batfish and clownfish anemones. By 11:00, we’re at Kanawa, where the volcanic slope drops fast. We lower the ladder on the starboard side – that’s the calmest in the afternoon breeze – and let guests float until 13:00.
Yumana doesn’t rush back. We cut the engines near Banta Island on the return leg, let the sails catch the afternoon wind, and serve coffee as the Komodo coastline fades behind us. The full 3-day loop takes 56 nautical miles, and we’ve timed every leg around tide gates and park ranger checkpoints. Our crew knows which anchorages allow night stays, which require permits, and where the coral is too shallow for chain. We don’t drop on reef – it’s sand or silt only.
