Celestia Motor Sailer

The master stateroom on Celestia's main deck has panoramic windows and its own private terrace, and the two owner's staterooms on the upper deck each have a terrace as well, so a large party has more than a single cabin that steps straight outside. She is a 147ft (45m) motor sailer, a phinisi with two masts built by hand in ironwood and teak by the Bulukumba boatbuilders and completed in 2023, and the only yacht from that yard in the Boatcrowd fleet.

Accommodation and crew

Seven staterooms, each en suite, sleep fourteen guests overnight, and she can carry twenty by day. The master and both owner's staterooms have king beds; of the four deluxe staterooms on the lower deck, two have twin beds and two a queen. Sixteen crew look after those fourteen guests, so there are more hands aboard than people to serve, and among them are a masseuse and the Michelin-trained executive chef Wayan Kresna Yasa, who designs the breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menus. Cape Town designer Deirdre Renniers did the interiors, fitted with pieces from Balinese artisans.

Comfort under way

Under way Celestia cruises at 10 knots and can reach 15 on her Yanmar marine diesel, with sail to set on her two masts, and a water maker aboard means she produces her own fresh water as she goes.

On deck

Her outdoor living is spread over several decks: daybeds built for her, a dining area in the open air on the main deck, a sun lounge on the roof with views all round, opera seats on the balcony, a sun deck aft and a lounge out on the bowsprit with large cushions, so fourteen guests can each find a corner rather than sit as a single crowd.

Water toys

A compressor with nitrox available means dive cylinders are filled on board, and there is snorkelling gear for the reefs. Beyond the diving she carries a SUP board, a kayak, water skis and a wakeboard, the last two for towing, and an 11ft tender that puts people ashore for nature hikes to waterfalls and the beach dinners her crew sets up.

Where she cruises

Celestia's home port is Raja Ampat, an archipelago of powdery white beaches whose waters hold turtles, manta rays, dolphins and whales, and December, January, February and March are her peak months there. From there she works Indonesia's Coral Triangle. The Spice Islands, a cluster of small islands in the Banda Sea, give divers hammerhead sharks in the water and nutmeg plantations and Fort Belgica ashore. Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, spreads over Komodo, Padar and Rinca and their smaller uninhabited islands, with the Komodo dragon on land and dense fish and coral below the surface.

Charter notes

Celestia suits a large family or a group of up to fourteen who have come to Indonesia to dive; she is chartered by the week, and the hire includes her own scuba diving guides, who go down with the party, so the diving is led from the yacht itself.