Indonesia's underwater beauty

The Tiger Blue on a voyage around Raja Ampat Did you know that the underwater world has a sweet spot? A place so rich with fish and coral that scientists have dubbed it a "species factory"? It lies hidden in the vast oceans of the Coral Triangle that spreads across the Pacific from the Philippines to Bali and the Solomon Islands. This is the richest marine environment in the world, and its bullseye, a remote corner of eastern Indonesia, is known as Raja Ampat. That sounds pretty far-flung, but today our world is so super-connected you can fire yourself off even here with ridiculous ease. And let's face it, leaving the message "Sorry, I'm in the Spice Islands" on your voicemail does bring a delicious sense that, for a brief moment at least, one might actually be getting life's priorities right.
That's why I'm now flying over the Ceram Sea to Sorong, having already boinged down to Jakarta, then on to Makassar. It sits on the western tip of New Guinea, the second-largest island in the world, and looks so wild and thickly forested from the air there seems every chance it is still home to unknown tribes who have never heard of X Factor. Papua New Guinea fills the island's eastern half while the west, formerly known as Irian Jaya and now called Papua, is considered to be Indonesia's final frontier.
This is a place caught between Asia and Australia, where slim Javanese mingle with stocky Papuans and the wildlife is completely different from the rest of the country. The airport is baking hot but, thankfully, I'm heading straight out to sea where there are cooling breezes and no mosquitoes. You do need to slap on the sunblock, though, for the Equator runs right through Indonesia like a kebab stick.
I'm surprised to find Sorong's ramshackle harbour dotted with some 20 liveaboard boats, all offering holidays on the turquoise waters of Raja Ampat. It is clearly becoming a hot spot, and there are even a few resorts now where you can fly in to dive and turn your back on the world for a few days.
It's much better to sail around, though, taking a go-where-you-please voyage aboard a glamorous wooden schooner such as Tiger Blue, a 34-metre traditional phinisi with billowing red sails and robust teak fittings. Custom-built on a beach in south Sulawesi, its solid and luxurious design feels reassuringly safe, for these trading vessels were originally made for transporting cargo rather than achieving great speeds. Down below there are comfortable en suite cabins that take up to 10 passengers, although most of us prefer to sleep on deck, enjoying the balmy breezes as we cruise beneath a night sky peppered with stars.
Wouter, our skipper and divemaster, is Dutch, while the eight-strong male Indonesian crew are cheery. While individuals and couples can sail with Tiger Blue on selected voyages, most passengers are families or groups of friends who charter the entire vessel for a private holiday. This sort of expeditionary cruise is proving popular with parents wanting some quality time with their children. Youngsters love jumping off the bowsprit and the sense of pirate adventure, and the party is brought together to enjoy shared pleasures like snorkelling, diving and excursions ashore - in marked contrast to renting a villa, when teenagers tend to disappear off to shops and clubs.
Our talented chef, Lucas, is from Belgium and will cook anything guests want but we request to have only Asian dishes, including Indonesian favourites such as otak-otak (fish cakes) and gado gado (vegetables with peanut sauce). The menu is supplemented by a cavalcade of splendid fish caught off the back of the boat as we sail along. Silvery tuna, mighty wahoo - sometimes it's a fight to land them, but once you taste that energising buzz of ultra-fresh sashimi you feel a step closer to heaven