Raja Ampat 14-25 Jan 2020 with Amira $837 off

[Dan]

Hi all,

Amira is offering a "LARRY SMITH MEMORIAL TRIP 2.0" - hosted by his son - Casey Smith.

We have 2 spots available for $837 discount each.

We will now visit Larry's Irian Jaya stomping grounds - the famous & spectacular dive sites of RAJA AMPAT and MISOOL - as this was the region where Casey and Larry made their last dives together in 2003 - and it is also close to the region Larry was exploring in March 2007 - when he went ill ......

Here are the details:
"Larry Smith Memorial Charter 2.0"
14-25 January 2020 >> pristine Raja Ampat!

The total AMIRA DISCOUNTED FULL CHARTER price will be equally divided by all people joining. Once again - we rec'd a really good deal from Owners!

PRICE:
$ 4630 p.p. sharing (instead of $5467 !!) incl. NITROX USE!
plus Nat Park fee, Port Clearance & distance surcharge - total of US$ 440 per person.

We would need a deposit of 20% p.p. / US$ 930 p.p. to confirm your booking and cabin.

Best arrival / departure City would be Jakarta .
Amira can book the domestic flights later on in FALL of 2019 - and add to your final invoice.

Final payment due would be 90 days prior to trip (plus domestic flights being added).

The exact diving/ sailing itinerary will be still determined, as it is also up to weather, currents and where other boats are - we want no crowds - but and we want to visit all of LARRY's favorite dive sites. !! We will offer 3-4 dives a day incl. a night dive.

If you are interested, please PM me.

Here are some of scenic view of Raja Ampat (courtesy of Wolfgang Pölzer of Amira-Indonesia.com)

Amira Liveaboard: www.amira-Indonesia.com

Some of Raja Ampat fish & critters (courtesy Wolfgang Pölzer of Amira-Indonesia.com)

 

[CWK]

One day the stars, and our calendars, will align.

 

[Casey Smith]

LARRY SMITH

He should have been born a fish, but instead Larry Smith was born a boy in East Texas and grew up into a man who loved the water. His larger-than-life personality will always be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to meet him and had the pleasure to dive with 'the world's greatest divemaster'.

In 1972, Larry Smith began a diving career that would span 3-1/2 decades and more than 20,000 dives. He had a hand in developing operations in Cayman and Jamaica; however, he is most noted for his time spent at Kungkungan Bay Resort in his adopted home of Indonesia. There he combined a keen eye for small critters with his world-famous personality, to become an impressive figure that popularized an entire subculture of SCUBA: muck diving. Larry inspired a generation of underwater naturalists ranging from the Indonesian dive guides he trained, to recreational divers and world-class underwater photographers and writers.

His long and illustrious career as a diver took him to secret seas around the world, working in almost every facet of the business - industrial and sports diving, owning and operating full-service dive shops, conducting SCUBA training programs and starting up dive resorts. You name it. He's done it!

Larry's lifelong passion for diving got its real start in 1972 when he began to provide all levels of scuba training to local colleges, health clubs and private enterprises. He was asked to develop marine tours for developing destinations such as Cozumel, Cayman Islands, Bonaire and the newly independent nation of Belize. Larry was among the earliest dive pioneers to introduce the country's underwater wonders to the world. In 1989, an offer came in from Indonesia to serve as cruise director for what was being billed as "The World's Best Live-Aboard taking divers to the World's Best Diving". After being in Indonesia only several months, Larry fell in love and eventually married Dewi Asih whom he first met in a Yogya shopping mall.

After spending nearly three years in the Caribbean with Dewi, Larry accepted another offer in the Asia/Pacific region to contribute his know-how and skills to the start-up of another live-aboard owned by the son of Malaysia's prime minister. Since the 1980s, he worked more or less continuously on luxury live-aboards with the exception of a short break in North Sulawesi training dive guides.

Sadly, Larry passed away on March 20, 2007 in Sorong, Indonesia.

 

[Dan]

Here are some of video clips of Larry Smith:

 

[Dan]

 

[Dan]

 

[billt4sf]

Dan:

We are possibly interested. It will be awhile before we know if we are interested though.

In any case, we require the usual "beauty check" before committing. Is everyone on the trip of the same or higher high level of physical beauty as me, you, and Larry? Let me know!

- Bill & Emily

 

[Dan]

Dan:

We are possibly interested. It will be awhile before we know if we are interested though.

In any case, we require the usual "beauty check" before committing. Is everyone on the trip of the same or higher high level of physical beauty as me, you, and Larry? Let me know!

- Bill & Emily

I think you both will win if a beauty contest ever performed on the boat (certainly you’ll get my vote)

I’ll check with Emira AFA cabin availability for a couple & whether your feet end up end up hanging over the double bed

You’ll see at least 3 familiar faces (from the coming Ring of Fire trip).

 

[Dan]

Larry Smith passes away in Indonesia ::

We still have a couple spots available.

 

[Dan]

Update: There are 4 spots available due to cancellation, if anyone is interested.