Sequoia

Sequoia is a phinisi, the wooden sailing ship of the Indonesian archipelago. Bugis shipwrights launched her in 2017, planking an ironwood and teak hull edge to edge in the carvel method that Sulawesi builders have handed down for generations. Behind the tradition sits modern kit: she was built to United States Coast Guard safety standards, carries Doyle sails and John Deere engines, and had a refresh in 2025.

Six guests is a deliberate limit. Among the twelve Indonesian crew, most of whom have been aboard for years, are a dive instructor, a butler and a manager who looks after the itinerary, while the owner sails with guests as cruise director. With two crew for every guest, a day can change course on a whim: a dawn dive, a village visit, lunch on an empty sandbar.

Diving shapes the week. The yacht is registered as a PADI training centre with twenty tanks and a compressor, so newcomers can earn a certificate during the trip while experienced divers log several dives a day in the Coral Triangle, home to manta rays. Between May and September she is usually around Komodo; from October she heads east to Raja Ampat.

The cabins feel like small mountain chalets in tropical timber. The Sky Suite stands alone on the top deck, with a super king bed in teak and rattan, its own terrace and a library next door that doubles as a quiet coffee spot at sunrise. Below, the Island and Ocean suites take either one large bed or two singles. Outside there is a sun deck of about 100 square metres and an open-air dining area of 40, while the Great Room on the main deck opens to the breeze through teak louvred doors.

She suits couples, friends or a family of up to six who want nature, diving and Indonesian culture at a gentle pace. It is the wrong boat for parties, speed or long afternoons on motorised toys: she moves slowly and lives by the rhythm of the islands.