Pearl 111 — a small wooden sailing yacht for Ari Atoll diving

Pearl 111 suits divers who want a small wooden yacht rather than a floating resort. The route stays in Ari Atoll, where thilas, channels and outer-reef sites bring together grey reef sharks, whitetips, eagle rays, turtles and dense reef fish. The boat carries no more than 14 guests, so the dive groups remain small and the crew becomes part of the week rather than a distant service team. This is also a good choice for mixed groups: snorkelling, kayaking, fishing, surfing and island excursions sit alongside the scuba programme. The reason to come aboard is the combination of a traditional hull, a compact guest list and a route built around animals. The diving is for qualified, reasonably experienced divers, not a first-ever introduction to the sport.

Pearl 111 arrives with a past already written into its hull. Discovered in Turkey, she was sailed to Sri Lanka and then crossed the Indian Ocean to the Maldives on a three-day voyage. The wood and the traditional sailing-yacht profile give the boat a character that a newer, purpose-built liveaboard would not have. The atmosphere is intimate from the moment guests step aboard: there are enough shared spaces to meet everyone quickly, but not the scale of a resort where people disappear between meals and dives. The route runs from Port of South Ari and returns there after 8 days and 7 nights. A bow net hangs over the water, while the deck gives guests room to read, watch the horizon or sit with a drink between activities. Pearl 111 feels like a working yacht adapted for small-group travel, not a hotel stripped of its foundations.

The small guest list makes the social side unavoidable in the best sense: after a few dives, the same people are sharing briefings, meals and stories on deck. The crew’s role is practical throughout the day. The captain and vice captain handle the yacht and operations, Johny guides snorkelling and helps with service, Prince runs the bar, and Mithun keeps the galley moving. Their work is visible in the handover between water and table, when divers return from the tender and the boat is already ready for the next part of the day. Evenings are built around food, drinks and the day’s sightings rather than formal entertainment. The crew is also used to shaping time for non-divers, with fishing, snorkelling and excursions alongside the scuba programme. Private charters and group bookings are possible.

The route is an 8-day, 7-night Ari Atoll circuit from Port of South Ari back to Port of South Ari. At Hafza Thila, a submerged pinnacle drops to -35m, with grey reef sharks and dense fish schools moving around black coral. Maya Thila brings white-tip reef sharks and stingrays into the torch beam, while Kudarah Thila reaches -25m and is wrapped in blue-striped snappers, with barracudas, Napoleon wrasse and eagle rays in the surrounding reef. Fish Head descends to -50m; its collapsed-atoll structure holds pelagic and reef life, including grey reef sharks and barracudas. Broken Rock rises from sand, with soft corals, gorgonians, overhangs and caves. Ellaidhoo Hausriff is a continuous fringing reef to -32m with a resident shipwreck and possible pelagic encounters. At Hammerhead Shark Point, the predawn blue offers a chance of seeing hammerheads, mantas and sailfish.

Hafza Thila →

Max. depth · 35 m

Maya Thila →

Kudarah Thila →

Max. depth · 25 m

Fish Head →

Max. depth · 50 m

Broken Rock →

Ellaidhoo Hausriff →

Max. depth · 32 m

Hammerhead Shark Point →

Max. depth · 30 m

Across the route, the recurring cast is substantial: barracudas, fusiliers, reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays, morays, Napoleon wrasse, groupers, parrotfish, lionfish and tuna appear in the site records. Grey reef sharks are recorded at several sites, while whitetips and reef sharks add the close, low-slung movement that makes Maldivian thilas so compelling. The rarer sightings give each stop its own reason. Kudarah Thila is the place for a possible oceanic whitetip shark or frogfish; Broken Rock is where gorgonians, triggerfish, batfish and porcupinefish stand out; Fish Head holds titan triggerfish, glassfish, clownfish and labrids. Maya Thila is the only listed site for hard coral, and Ellaidhoo Hausriff is the site associated with butterflyfish. None of these animals is promised. The route gives divers repeated chances, not guarantees.

Stingray →

Dasyatidae — Dasyatis, Hypanus, Pastinachus, Himantura, Taeniura

Napoleon Wrasse →

Cheilinus undulatus

Sailfish →

Istiophorus platypterus

Lionfish →

Pterois volitans

Oceanic Whitetip Shark →

Carcharhinus longimanus

Clownfish →

Amphiprion ocellaris

Dive groups run at a ratio of one guide to six or seven divers. The crew language is English, and the published entry level is AOWD or equivalent with at least 40 logged dives. That requirement fits the route: several sites involve thilas, open-water animal encounters and conditions that reward divers who already know how to manage themselves in current and blue water. Guides lead the briefings and organise the groups around the site and the divers’ level, while the tender handles the transfer to and from the water. Full boat safety equipment is listed. Specific details about oxygen, a defibrillator, recall procedures, guide qualifications and courses are not provided, so Pearl 111 should be chosen for guided recreational diving rather than for on-board training or technical progression.

The dive deck is arranged for liveaboard diving, with personal storage, charging stations, rinse facilities and a tender dedicated to getting divers to the sites. The single tender is an 8.25 m fibreglass dinghy powered by a 115 HP Yamaha. Divers use the boat’s 12-litre tanks and weights; equipment rental is available as a paid extra. Filling is handled by Bauer Mariner 360 and K16 compressors. Nitrox is available for an additional charge through an L&W membrane system. The boat is not set up for technical diving, and the published information does not identify tank material, valve type, SMB provision, camera-table arrangements or a hot-water return shower. That makes Pearl 111 a straightforward recreational-diving platform rather than a technical workshop. Rinse hosts are provided, and the tender support keeps the main yacht free for kitting up and recovering between dives.

Between dives, guests spread out across the deck, find shade with a book or take the bow net above the water. The sea itself fills much of the gap: swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding are available, and traditional fishing gives the crew another way to show the islands beyond the dive sites. Snorkellers and non-divers can join the water activities, while land excursions may lead to local islands, deserted beaches or sandbanks. The yacht also carries a bar, so the quiet hours can stay quiet rather than becoming another organised activity. On an afternoon without a dive, Pearl 111 works best as a place to watch the route unfold slowly: wood underfoot, open water around the hull and enough room to move between sun, shade and the water.

A diving day begins with the briefing and the first descent, with Hammerhead Shark Point requiring a predawn start when that site is on the plan. The programme normally allows 2 to 3 dives in a day, followed by food, recovery and time on deck before the next entry. In the gaps, the boat may be underway between Ari Atoll sites, or guests can swim, snorkel, fish, kayak, read or simply stay close to the shade. Meals mark the transitions more reliably than a clock: breakfast before the first dive, food and drinks waiting after the water, then later meals around the remaining dives and the evening. The final day is shorter underwater, with 2 dives. What remains is the part divers often remember clearly: sitting on the wooden deck while tanks are prepared, then watching the tender return across the lagoon.

Chef Mithun runs the galley, combining Maldivian flavours with international and Western food. Meals are full-board and include local products; vegetarian and other special diets can be accommodated when requested in advance. The food is generous and varied, with fresh catch possible when the crew’s fishing activities provide it. Tea, coffee, snacks and drinking water are included, while drinks from the bar are separate. On a diving itinerary, the table is not decoration. It is the place where divers replace what the water took from them, compare the shark pass or the failed photograph, and get ready for the next entry. A barbecue night is included, and meals can also become part of the shore programme when the route reaches a deserted beach or sandbank.

The seven cabins are air-conditioned and have private bathrooms with a shower and toilet. Double cabins provide one double bed; the triple cabins combine a double bed with a single bed and can also be arranged for twin occupancy. They are lower-deck cabins, so the experience is practical and private rather than built around wide sea views from the bunk. Above, the wooden boat opens into shared space: the deck catches the light and the bow net puts the sea directly beneath anyone willing to lie above it. After a dive, that difference matters. The cabin is where a diver shuts the door, dries off and sleeps; the deck is where the day continues in salt air. Wi-Fi is available except during inter-atoll crossings, and 220V power with international adaptors is provided onboard.

Cruises may depart from Dhangethi or Malé and return according to the chosen itinerary; the recorded diving route runs from Port of South Ari back to Port of South Ari. Transfers between Malé Airport and the boat can be arranged, including the speedboat connection when embarkation is from Dhangethi, and they are an additional cost. The transfer details are provided with the booking arrangements. Arriving in Malé the night before is advised.

Pearl 111 follows a zero-plastic approach and uses homemade meals prepared with local products. The programme also includes marine-conservation awareness led by a biologist. These are concrete parts of how the boat operates, rather than claims about the wider Maldives.