MV Mermaid II

Mermaid II is an impressive 33 metre liveaboard sleeping a maximum of 18 guests in 9 air-conditioned cabins. Choose from 8 deluxe cabins (double or twin beds), all ensuite and above deck with panoramic sea view windows. There is also a ‘semi’ ensuite budget cabin (double/twin beds) below deck.

With itineraries in Komodo and Raja Ampat varying between 7 and 11 nights, 11 night trips through the Banda Sea and the amazing 15-night bio-diversity specials, Mermaid II promises an exciting range of diving itineraries. Whether you want to play with mantas, search for pygmy seahorses, see walls of hammerhead sharks and bask in the glory of huge whale sharks, this is where you can start to tick those boxes. Then there are the Komodo Dragons on land as well.

Meals are served in the main deck saloon and dining area with a selection of Indonesian, Thai and western meals. Relax in the saloon with TV/DVD and music centre or select from a full range of marine life books.

Two outside decks, one shaded with outside seating, and a sun deck forward of the wheelhouse provide a welcome lounging area. The large dive platform with two exit ladders is equipped with fresh water showers. Plus a spacious camera table and plenty of rinse tanks. Nitrox is blended on board.

Sailing Itineraries

Komodo National Park

Renowned for the excellent quality and variety of diving, water temperatures here change between the north and south of the park and provide you with a variety of encounters. In the north are the black sands of the Sangeang Volcano with its critters and bubble flow and the reefs around Gili Banta. The south provides cooler temperatures with manta action and nutrient rich reefs with ocean flow from the Indian Ocean. The central section provides reefs and small islands teeming with life fed by the currents running between the islands of Komodo and Rinca. Add to this the chance to see the famous Komodo Dragon in its natural habitat, beautiful beaches, look-outs to climb and you have a paradise both below and above the water.

Komodo offers world class diving and snorkelling in an amazing variety of sites with walls, coral gardens, pinnacles, drop offs as well as quiet bays for macro photographers. There are a couple of locations where manta rays can usually be encountered as they feed, clean and dance across the reefs and rock formations.

 

Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat, which in Indonesian means the Four Kings, is a Marine Park world renowned for being the epicentre of marine biodiversity and one of the last frontiers of unspoilt diving. The park covers a large area with approximately 170 nautical miles separating the northern and southern extremities. It would be possible to dive for weeks and weeks without seeing the same sites twice.

Raja Ampat can be divided into three sections covering the North, Central and Southern Sections. Spectacular scenery both above and below the water make this heritage area unique and a bucket list item for both divers and lovers of nature.

Visit Waigeo and dive the famous Dampier Strait, some of Raja Ampat´s most action-packed dive sites. Exhilarating current dives and reliable manta cleaning stations where you can experience these majestic giant pelagics along with treasures such as the tasselled wobbegong shark.

Other wonders are the unique mangrove areas of Yanggefo and Gam, Batanta Island, known for its excellent muck diving, Misool with its radiant soft corals and always be on the look out for those unusual critters like the mimic octopus and pigmy seahorse.