Sailing Sumatra.

Asu Island paradise.

For our chosen passage over to Sumatra we left from Penang and headed over to the coast of Sumatra the shortest route to the coast. In hindsight we wouldn't do this again as it was at least another 2 days and another overnighter before we arrived in Pulau Weh. Arriving at the shipping channel earlier than planned (3.45am), we were shocked to contront cargo ships in the dark. It took us 5 hours of constant monitoring before we had completely crossed the channel. It was epic and scarey initially but thanks to our AIS we were able to survey the traffic and everyones path and have confidence in our decision making.

A busy crossing with us in the centre on the dotted line.

The shoe boat as we called it; a unique design to Sumatran fisherman.

It was not long after reaching the shores of Sumatra that we encountered our first Sumatran (Sumatra is notorious for its unexpected storms that appear almost out of nowhere) and it was really ugly for 15mins. Lightening surrounded us and wind tore past us screaming in our ears.

A squall developing.

For our chosen passage over to Sumatra we left from Penang and headed over to the coast of Sumatra the shortest route to the coast. In heinsite we wouldn't do this again as it was at least another 2 days and another overnighter before we arrived in Pulau Weh. Arriving at the shipping chanel earlier than planned as we had wind, we were shocked to contront cargo ships continually crossing our path for 5 hours. It was epic but thanks to our AIS we were able to survey the traffic and everyones path.

Good catch!

A surfing mecca the west coast of Sumatra is home to the surf charter industry. With many surfers giving it their best on the waves it's a dangerous surfers' paradise.  Rocks and reefs are ready to eat you up as soon as you make a mistake. Painful injuries are common, as Richard can testify with his daredevil waveski riding. He paid the price but I am told it was all worth it. It was his first and last wave, he now has the scars to prove it.

We spent the majority of our time at the Banyak Islands particularly Treasure Island and the Bay of Plenty, as they are know as surfing enthusiasts. The Bay of Plenty is a magical anchorage surrounded by up to 5 surf breaks on a good day.

We'd heard that every season there were casualties, especially from surfers who come over for a 2 week surf safaris. Definitely not for beginners we've enjoyed watching surfers try there hand at it. We paddled out on our waveski's to the breaks or anchored the boat up close to watch.

We hired a motorbike and cruised around Pulau Weh (Banda Aceh province) at our check in port, nothern tip of Sumatra. A small island we enjoyed a leisurely ride on our bike on good roads built with money after the tsunami came through.

Found a live volcano site, pretty unpleasant smelling alot like rotten eggs but really exciting to discover after a short walk through the beautiful rainforest. It bubbled and gurgled and we watched the gases emerge from the earth excited and scared.

Beautiful

Short walk through forest to volcano site.

Pulau Weh treated us with good food, a beautiful anchorage, a secure mooring, mountains to enjoy and snorkelling. With bullet winds each day we were hesitant to leave but took the plunge setting off. The winds did against us so we headed straight out to Simeulue.

We affectionately came to know Sumatra as the cloud factory. It seemed to produce cloud shapes that we had never seen before. They appeared each day in surreal shapes and sizes. With constant storm activity and a mix of weather systems this must have been the right ingredients for producing the best clouds we had ever seen.

We stopped off at a remote anchorage and village on Simeulue island, Sibigo where we heard there was a market, discovered there wasn't a market and ended up being invited into a locals home. Keen to show us her home she welcomed us in, fed us a sweet rice dish and some extremely sweetened tea. Our broken Bahasa Indonesian with English mixed conversation between her and her neighbours was hilarious. We were then proudly shown the family's television and all sat on the floor to watch it. 

Sibigo.

We arrived at Sinabang, Simeulue and was treated to Call to Prayer loud enough want to scream back and tell them to turn it down . Suffice to say we didn't stay long and after we'd provisioned at the local fruit and veg markets we headed off the next morning.

Sinabang local transport, for two people its a queeze.

The harbour masters played their ususal game and we handed over more money than necessary. The whole country runs on bribes and kickbacks and they see yachties as mobile atm machines. We soon learned to play their game and it worked.

Stuck on the reef and no money to seek help get off.

We stopped in at Afulu and was greeted warmly by all the locals especially Makmoer and his brother. A small village with a good walking path got us exploring the area greeting the locals as we passed by.

Afulu Island, walk through to beach.

A very leafy green walk into the village.

Next stop Asu Island and sampled the famous Mama Silvis cooking, and it was good. Her good food and hospitality kept us coming back for more. A small island we daily explored on foot walking to the surf break at the northern region of the island.

Asu surf break, looking good.

A wonderful anchorage according to the 101 Anchorage Book of Indonesia but we found it to be otherwise. Rocky and reef bottom we tried several times to anchor and eventually decided to try our luck on a mooring but it was so exposed to a northerly it was no fun. The paradise island that it was and Mama Silvis cooking made up for it.

Asu Island.

SV Ultimate Dream in the distance.

Mama Silvi and family.

SV Ultimate Dream off Asu Island.

Although a predominantly Muslin country Pulau Nias was a Christian island. We were even invited to a Sunday Mass but the weather was good to sail so we headed off early for Lagundri.We made our way to Lagundri, Pulau Nias our last southern most anchorage before slowly making our way back to Pulau Weh. A famous surf break from the 1980's Coke Cola tv ad, we watched some spectacular surfing on anchor. There were plenty of surfers all fighting for their piece of paradise.

Heads up for the next potential wave.

Best place to dry laundry; on the roof of course.

We revisited many of the islands we had already seen on our return. We stopped off at some new anchorages and enjoyed more remote village life and isolation.

A local anchor.

So effective.

More Asu magic.

The Andaman Islands, India

Havelock No.7

True to our style we spontaneously decided to join our friends in journeying to the Andaman Islands, India with a departure late set for end of Jan 2011. In company with Simon and Amanda on SV Thyme and Trevor on his ketch SV Gadfly we headed NW of Thailand 400nm to spend one month cruising the remote, picturesque islands of India. 

Neill Island

A unique trip for us we had decided to take crew for the very first time. Nicki and Sue were from Germany and joined us for our resupplying mission at the supermarket before we set off. Enjoying food as much as we do they happily cooked a variety of German and Italian meals, and as much as Richard and I enjoy each other’s cooking it was a pleasant change from our old favourites. We now have new dishes to add to our cooking repertoire, thanks guys. J

They took a keen interest in learning all things about Ultimate Dream and our acquired knowledge in sailing. Richard was in his element telling stories and sharing our adventures, as he loves to do. I realized how much we’d learnt over the course of our brief yet significantly condensed cruising time.

We left the Surin Islands, Thailand late January 2011 and arrived in Port Blair 2^nd February early in the morning. A relatively easy trip, apart from one squall that hit us late in the night and got all hands on deck. With wind and rain swirling around us in the darkness of the night we were relieved the conditions dissipated soon after.

Upon reaching Port Blair our check in port: Customs, Immigration and Coastguard paid us a visit to clear us in (oh my god the paperwork required).  We were then free to see the Harbourmaster and Forestry Officer on land. We skipped Forestry deciding we’d had enough of officials not to mention we’d already used half a forest in paperwork.

Port Blair was a busy town of goings on and was a feast for our senses.  The hustle and bustle included cows on the main street sitting beside busy passing traffic, a cow taking a nap in the shade of the bus station, taxis hurtling along at great speed and an activity of people either side of the roads. Street vendors sold fruits, hot nuts and delicious hand squeezed lime juices.  

We discovered tasty pastry treats as we meandered our way down town. The Indian food was cheap, tasty and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from of good standard. Our favourite was the pure vegetarian restaurant, Annapurna. We had how many meals there? Oh yeah quite a few!

Taking a keen interest in Indian womens' fashion I particularly enjoying observing the passers by in their stunning saris'.

A local beauty.

After a brief stay in Port Blair resupplying with local fruit & veg and other necessities for the month of cruising, we headed off to discover the magic of the Andaman Islands.

Sister Island

South Cinque

We enjoyed the remote islands of Rutland, Cinque and Sister Island. A beach barbeque was a great time for all the crew to get together.

Beach bbq Rutland Island.

Rain bucketing down upon the roadside tea stall Chiriyatapu.

Samosas and chai coming up.

To the north we loved Havelock No. 7, a dream anchorage for yachts, all sand and no reef all the way to the white sandy beach. We soaked up the sunsets, samosas and rested in the shade of the awesome rainforests along the waters edge on the islands of Havelock and Neill.

Havelock No.7

Havelock No.7

Richy on the samosas and dhal.

Neill Island another highlight location, a small island easy to explore by pushbike of minimal population. Green and lined with rainforest on the beachfront it was an appealing location to backpackers and yachties. Its simple accommodation, tasty, cheap eating and rural surrounds was a place to explore.

Neill Island

Simple accomodation.

Off exploring.

Ingliss probably our favourite uninhabited island provided great fun on our wave ski’s as we rode a small surf break every sunset and paddled around the entire island. It gave us an exciting opportunity to explore the caves and landscape of the island. We even managed a naked walk along the beach until we heard a helicopter passing overhead and realized we didn’t have permission to be walking on the island. So we hid ourselves among the trees until it was safe to reemerge and find our clothes, at the far end of the beach.

Sue after her paddling.

Sue and Nicki playing Carrom Board.

.Long island was a quiet historical village with a paved walking path running throughout the island, a quiet place that was once a thriving community. We discovered breakfast for the 3 of us for about $1.20 couldn’t get much cheaper than that.

Breaky the Indian way

We dined in company with our other sailing companions at a restaurant with a huge tree trunk as the centerpiece. The rest of the tree towering way above our heads, it was stunning. After our orders were taken and a fire was light, our meals arrived 2 hours later. Lucky for us we had plenty of conversation with 11 of us dining together.

In the Homphrey Straits towering rainforest lined the either side of the river and was inhabited by tribal people. We’d been given strict instructions by Indian officials to go not near these people for our own safety. At the time we had forgotten all about the tribal people and their displays of aggressive, hostility we’d heard so much about. Come to think of it we didn’t give it any thought that we might even meet with them. We were simply enjoying our surroundings. We did see local fisherman as we took a dinghy tour up the mangroves but they didn’t pay us any attention.

Homphrey locals.

Cruising down the Homphrey early morning.

After being in Thailand and Malaysia and not having fished for anything other than plastic bags, it was time to throw the fishing lines in we’d heard the fishing was fantastic. We were destined to catch something. With our limited experience we had great success, catching some great eating fish and one giant Trevally which proved to weigh more than Richard was comfortable lifting. Unfortunately Giant Trevally isn't quite the same as eating Tuna.

Sue, Nicky and Richard pulling in the big one.

Giant Trevally

Ross Island our last stop before heading back to Port Blair was a feast for the eyes. A small island accessed by ferry just off the main town of Port Blair, it had been an old English base. The abandoned buildings while some have been preserved others have been left to nature to claim. Giant fig tree roots stood proudly over the remaining structures works of art now. Today it’s a museum piece a natural art gallery, a popular local attraction. Wild deer can be found roaming the island feeding off coconuts fed to them.

With a short trip back to Port Blair for the necessary check out and paperwork extravaganza we prepared for our departure. Saying our goodbyes to our other sailing companions, who were leaving a few days after our departure date, and fare welling the Andaman Islands we made for Phuket. Enjoying another easy passage home we reflected on our experiences, soaked up the pastel sunsets and was greeted by killer whales up close as they swam beside us. What more could we have asked for !