Growing up, my younger brother and I used to listen to a dramatized version of 'Treasure Island' on long car trips with our family. Between the story of Long John Silver and the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride at Disney World, pirate stories and the life of a pirate are among my earliest memories.

I never got to set foot on a real wooden boat that looks anything like a pirate ship until I met Jos and Lida, my friends who own the Seven Seas dive boat.

Built in the style of a traditional 'Phinisi' boat from Sulawesi, the Seven Seas is like something straight out of my eight-year-old imagination. Spending time at sea exploring the islands of Indonesia on the Seven Seas is a huge highlight of all my time living abroad.

For one afternoon on our Komodo trip in July / August 2017, Jos asked the crew to hoist the sails (aaaaarrrrgh!!) and turned the piratical factor all the way up to 11. We spent an afternoon on the high seas, the wind at our backs and black sails riding the currents and eddys of the afternoon breeze.

Check out the gallery below to see the photo highlights, or see the all the photo galleries from our Komodo liveaboard dive trip - from scuba diving, to aerial photos, to freediving, to the incredible wildlife in this amazing place. You can also see galleries from other Seven Seas liveaboard dive trips - my absolute favorite way to explore the awesome natural beauty and unique cultures of Indonesia.