Charter Augustine Phinisi, a 32m phinisi for up to 15 guests in Raja Ampat from $28,000/week + expenses. Rates verified August 2026.
Augustine Phinisi is a 32-metre (105-foot) traditional phinisi for up to 15 guests, launched from the boatbuilding village of Tanah Beru in 2020 and chartering in Raja Ampat from $28,000 per week plus expenses. With one of the largest guest capacities at one of the lowest weekly rates in the Raja Ampat listing, she is the fleet’s clearest answer for big groups who want the phinisi experience without the flagship price. Rates verified August 2026.
| Length overall | 32 m (105 ft) |
|---|---|
| Guests | Up to 15 |
| Type | Phinisi (motor/sailer) |
| Builder | Tanahberu |
| Year | 2020 |
| Charter rate | From $28,000 per week + expenses |
| Raja Ampat season | October – April |
Every phinisi carries its birthplace in its bones, and Augustine’s is the most storied of them all: Tanah Beru, the stretch of South Sulawesi coast where ships have been built on open sand for generations, hull first, faith and adze doing the work of blueprints. Launched in 2020, she is a young boat from an old tradition — ironwood and teak shaped by the same lineage of builders whose vessels have crossed these seas for centuries.
Her charter proposition is refreshingly direct. Fifteen guests from $28,000 per week makes her one of the most accessible whole-boat charters in the entire Raja Ampat listing — with a full group aboard, the arithmetic lands under $270 per guest per night for a private vessel, crew and itinerary. That changes who can realistically charter here: dive clubs, milestone birthdays, three-generation family reunions, yoga and photography groups — parties that would splinter across cabins on a smaller boat or blow the budget on a flagship.
Being a motor/sailer, she cruises primarily under engine with her rig lending the phinisi silhouette that photographs so well against the karsts. The trade-off against the six-figure-a-week generation of luxury phinisi is finish and formality, not geography: Augustine anchors in the same lagoons, hangs over the same reefs, and watches the same equatorial light shows as yachts at six times her rate.
The prime window is October to April — calm seas, glassy mornings, peak underwater visibility. December to March is high demand with a typical 10–20% premium, and group charters especially should book 9–12 months out, since aligning fifteen people’s calendars and a vessel’s is easiest done early. May to September is quieter with softer rates; much of the Indonesian fleet repositions to Komodo in those months, so confirm positioning when you enquire.
| Season | Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Prime season | October – April | Best conditions; ideal for group charters |
| Peak weeks | December – March | 10–20% premium; earliest to sell out |
| Low season | May – September | Softer rates; confirm vessel positioning |
Charter rate: from $28,000 per week plus expenses — fuel, provisioning, park and village fees, crew gratuity. Rates verified August 2026. Raja Ampat Marine Park entry currently runs around IDR 700,000–1,000,000 per person per year, confirmed at booking; for a 15-guest group this is a line item worth planning, and our charter cost guide breaks down the complete budget.
Groups thrive on the seven-night northern loop: Sorong across the Dampier Strait to Arborek and the manta stations (about 53 NM, roughly eight hours), then Cape Kri, Sardine Reef and Blue Magic, the Fam Islands and Melissa’s Garden, Piaynemo’s lookout — a group photograph waiting to happen — and the Wayag lagoons before returning via The Passage. The route keeps hops short, anchorages sheltered and every day split-able between divers, snorkellers and deck loyalists. Longer charters can bolt on Misool’s southern reefs; see all options in the Raja Ampat itinerary library.
Raja Ampat’s reefs are the richest yet documented — 1,700+ fish species and 550+ corals across the Bird’s Head Seascape — and a big group aboard means the day naturally forks: divers to Manta Sandy‘s cleaning station (queue etiquette strictly observed) or Cape Kri’s record-holding fish walls, snorkellers over Melissa’s Garden’s hard-coral meadows, the rest kayaking mangrove channels, visiting Arborek village or claiming the foredeck. Our dive guides coordinate groups of mixed certification levels, and the concierge desk arranges equipment and documentation before you fly.
Large-group charters live or die on logistics, which is why ours start with a single organiser and a single thread. The concierge desk collects passport details once, issues marine park entry cards for the whole party, coordinates arrivals into Sorong (SOQ — about four hours from Jakarta, with connections via Makassar, Manado and Bali) even when the group lands on different flights, and stages airport pickups so nobody waits. Dietary requirements, dive certifications and celebration plans are gathered before departure, so the galley, the guides and the crew know exactly who is aboard. On disembarkation day the same team sequences transfers back to the airport. The organiser’s job ends at the first message; everything after that is ours.
From $28,000 per week plus expenses, verified August 2026 — one of the lowest whole-boat rates in the Raja Ampat listing. Peak December–March dates carry a 10–20% premium.
Up to 15 guests — among the largest capacities of any vessel her size in the fleet, sized for dive clubs, reunions and multi-family trips.
Yes — she was built at Tanahberu on South Sulawesi’s boatbuilding coast, the historic heartland of phinisi construction, and launched in 2020.
Expenses on top of the base rate typically cover fuel, food and beverage, marine park and village fees, and crew gratuity. Park entry is currently around IDR 700,000–1,000,000 per person per year, confirmed at booking.
Send our concierge desk your headcount and dates and we will confirm availability, price the full group including park fees, and shape the route around your divers-to-sunbathers ratio. If she is committed, the Raja Ampat charter fleet has close alternatives — nearest in class is Manta Mae, a 31-metre phinisi for 12 guests from $21,000 per week.
WhatsApp +62 811-3823-875 or email sales@komodoluxury.com — operated by Komodo Luxury, planning Raja Ampat charters end-to-end since 2015.
Have a Question on This Topic?
Our concierge team is in Sorong, on-island for most of the year. Forward this page along with your specific question — we will reply with an answer grounded in what we have actually seen on the water.