Sailing a Phinisi to Meet the Hostile Komodo Dragons

By Donnie Sexton
Senior Writer

Exploring the island of Bali topped my wish list. When a photo workshop that included Bali opened up with Daniel Kordan, a well-respected photographer whose work I greatly admire, I wasted no time in signing up.

I talked my photographer pal Terri into joining me on this far-flung adventure. But it wasn’t just Bali on the agenda. The islands of Sumba, Java, and Komodo were on the agenda, including a chance to come face-to-face with the Komodo dragons.

Getting to the dragons involved two nights of our journey on a phinisi.

History of the Phinisi

I asked myself, “What is a phinisi? Was it a sailboat, yacht, or small ship?” I’m not a seafaring lass, so I did my homework to get a sense of how this journey would unfold on the sea. The Indonesia archipelago encompasses over 17,000 islands, including Sulawesi, which is the 11^th largest island in the world.

Historically, to travel between the islands, some sort of water vessel was needed, and thus, the art of boat-building in South Sulawesi came into its own. The locals crafted a two-masted sailing ship coined a phinisi, sometimes spelled phinisi.   

The phinisi schooner became the means for communicating, fishing, trading, and transporting goods and people between the islands. The phinisi boat-building skills have been passed down through generations and remain a viable industry today. The Sulawesi boat building has earned a spot in UNESCO’s Unique Cultural Heritage designations.

The phinisi schooner continues to serve the islands of Indonesia, although engines have replaced the sails. Today, a slew of phinisi private charters transport curious travelers seeking out the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. I was somewhat skittish about this segment of our trip, as I’m not fond of lizards, especially any that are eight to ten feet long with a bite that can be deadly.

Aboard the Catnazse

From Bali, we took a short flight to Labuan Bajo, on the island of Flores, then transported to our phinisi, Catnazse, by a small motorboat.

The crew welcomed us on board and then served up a table full of delicious eats. Catnazse pulled anchor, and we were off towards Komodo National Park, which is made up of three large islands and numerous smaller ones. 

After lunch, Daniel went over the itinerary for the next two days, then assigned bedrooms, with Terri and me getting the family room, the largest of the bedrooms.

This sounded ideal, but in truth, it was a room at the lowest point in the boat, so there were only small portholes with no view. Terri spied a roach in our tiny bathroom, which quickly led her to declare that she wouldn’t sleep in the room but would stay topside on one of the lounging cushions.

Smooth Sailing

Sailing in the Flores Sea was smooth and soothing, leaning towards hypnosis. Our first day was low-key – napping, reading, and chatting with others on our trip. Relaxing is not part of my DNA, so the idea of cruises with long stretches on the ocean has never appealed to me.

But here I was, taking in the scenery of passing islands, hearing life stories of my fellow passengers, and pondering life. The crew was also chilling, some of them busy on their cellphones, until it was time to drop anchor.

After a delicious dinner, it was time to hit the rack. Terri headed topside, and I settled into the family room.

We were up early and off the Catnaze by 4 am via the small motorboat to land at Gili Lawa Darat Island for a hike up to a viewpoint for sunrise.

Mind you, we were hiking in the dark, using only our flashlights to guide us up a steep, rocky dirt path. Terri and I opted to hike to the first viewpoint, which was exhausting, while others went to the top of the hill or remained back near the shore.

Luckily, we were the only group on the island; once back near the water, we were greeted by a handful of Timor deer, who were accustomed to visitors. I had an overwhelming sense of how peaceful the world could be on this tranquil morning, watching the sunrise thousands of miles from home.

Eye to Eye with the Komodo Dragon

Back on Catnazse and fueled by breakfast, we headed to Komodo Island and the dragons, hoping we would get to see one. I imagined stalking the creatures, led by a ranger, through the scrubby vegetation and trees, but this wasn’t the case. The minute we stepped off the pier, there was a dragon near the beach, along with plenty of tourists and a little enclave of souvenir stalls and a few food vendors. 

Forget the notion of the island being primitive or pristine, at least not what we saw. A handful of dragons were moving back and forth, monitored by a ranger with forked sticks to ensure none approached the crowds. I anticipated being very freaked out by these lizards.

But given the crowd and commercial aspects of the park, I was surprisingly ok with the dragons, even getting down on my knees to get that eye-to-eye shot with these gnarly creatures. I was clearly in no danger of being pursued or bitten by the dragons.

Komodo National Park wasn’t the easiest place to reach. It had taken me six plane rides from Montana and one phinisi excursion to reach the Komodo dragon. With all the people around me, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was any place left in the world void of crowds or free from t-shirt-selling vendors.   

Padar Island

With little more than an hour with the dragons, we were back on Catnazse for lunch and another cruise to Padar Island for a sunset hike. 

We were met on Padar Island with bumper-to-bumper foot traffic, all of us heading up to the top of the mountain for that killer sunset shot.

Daniel called it a walk, but after 45 minutes of trudging up a steep path, sweating profusely in the heat of the day, I considered this event a full-blown hike.

We followed a designated trail, much of it concrete or stone steps. We descended the mountain at twilight and boarded the motorboat back to our phinisi, where dinner was waiting. 

Afterward, Terri headed topside for the night, and I settled into my queen bed.

Back home, editing my photos, the very long and sometimes challenging journey to Indonesia was worth it.

Not one to sit still, the next adventure for Terri and I is the rice terraces of China – stay tuned!