Top Class Cruising Sachika

The Sachika is a 33-meter/108-foot liveaboard sailing all-year-round diving trips across the Maldives, a three-time winner of "Best Diving Safari" in the region. Custom built for diving in 2007, she welcomes up to 22 guests in 10 air-conditioned cabins, each with its own en-suite bathroom, and cruises at 11 knots with a nearly 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio.

Atolls and marine encounters

Itineraries roam a rich spread of atolls — North Male, South Male, Ari, Vaavu, Baa, Rasdhoo, Raa, Noonu, Felidhoo and beyond. A typical Male-to-Male voyage runs 8 nights with roughly 18 dives, easing newcomers into the warm water before the currents, known in Dhivehi as "Kandu," reveal white tip and gray reef sharks. Divers explore a trawler that sank three decades ago, now home to needlefish, scorpionfish and clefts of glassfish, with napoleons and green turtles often in sight.

On board, comfort matches the diving: a jacuzzi, sun deck, indoor saloon, library, camera station and kayaks. Snorkelers are welcome too, with naturalist itineraries for non-divers.