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.