Sumatran Cruise

[surfmachine]

Ahoy Boracay, lots of boogie boardies there, and I was 60 2 days ago, and still charging, permits......email, cait@indo.net, lytha, in jakarta, 3 months cruising permit, with another 3 months extension, plus a 2 mo social, sponsored visa, extend 3 times, no bonds, about 500 usd all up! check in at Sibolga or PulaWeh, in Aceh.

Off to lagundri now, just repaired the 2 stab wounds from a brazillian chick to my 7'2" went almost from the botto to the deck, but ripped out one of her fins, Ha!!!!
Moving to 3x head high tomorrow!!
Cheers mate.

[Boracay]

So if I counted everything up right you've scored 12 months in Surfers' Paradise? No worries?

Would it be possible to translate your second paragraph into English? Sounds fascinating but I haven't a clue what it means. Photos may help...

[surfmachine]

Ahoy Boracay. Nope, only 6 months in Indonesia, plus time to get in and out, for the CAIT, security clearance from Jakarta. Thats about the length of the surf season here, but the weather can be really scary every 10 days or so, really scary!!!!

The CAIT is for the boat and crew.

The visas for the captain and crew are another story, only 4 months, then you have to fly out and in again, maybe you can get 5 months if you buy the head of immigration a very nice fishing rod and reel?

The last bit was about a collision with a girl surfer in the water this morning, her fins put 2 large gashes into the bottom of my surfboard, and she lost a fin. the surf was huge just on dark today, bigger tomorrow, like the side of 3 story buildings falling on you!

So you need a CAIT, security clearance from Jakarta for your yacht, 3 months a time, and a separate visa for you, 2 months originally, then extend it 2 more times at a month a go, maybe three times if you make friends with the immigration department!! So the visas are the tricky bits!

Up at 5.30 am for the big swell tomorrow.

Bye for now mate.

[mikereed100]

Keith,

Keep the photos coming! Those shots of Nias are awesome and Bangaru looks like fun. I spent a couple weeks at Lagundri in '91 and your pics bring back fond memories. Thanks!

Mike

[surfmachine]

Ahoy shipmates!
Nias, Lagundri Bay continues to pump. Had 25 waves yesterday, about 70% of them set waves, such beautiful conditions!
Keith.

[mrybas]

Surfmachine-
Nice photos....keep them coming! What's the typical crowd like on a good day? Are there any other cruiser/surfers anchored in the area? How many boards do you have on board?

[surfmachine]

Cheers mrybas.
On a good day, like 20 to 30 foot faces it's just me and the 1 crew, no competition, on smaller days like shoulder to head high, often by ourselves, unless there are a few charter boats around, but then we take it in turns, max of 8 people, once it got to 15 when the rip curl quest boat showed up! At Nias, normally 15 in the water, the locals dominate it there!!
I have 2 boards onboard a 7'2" and a 8'3" thrusters, crew has 3 boards, all on the
board racks under the solar panels.
Only one other cruiser/surfer in lagundri bay for last week, a cat from aussie, going to bawa today as a local surf comp here tomorrow.
We are stuck here with a broken spring in the diesel injector pump!!
Keith.

[Ex-Calif]

I love all water sports and surfed as a kid in Socal and Australia.

One thing on my list was teach my son to surf. This is Bali Dec 2008 and my kid's first ride.

I'll still body surf and boogie board but my surfing days are gone. No time or passion to keep it going.

I do love reading about your adventures though...

[surfmachine]

Hi excalif, great pics, surfing sure does change your life. It's wonderful for your son?

Well, we got another spring and cut it down and the pump works on a hand bench test, so now to install it in the boat and head off to Asu and Bawa for the next swell.

Fair winds for now, from Keith.

[daddle]

Sweet! That repair would have taken weeks and $$$ back in the States.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by surfmachine

Hi excalif, great pics, surfing sure does change your life. It's wonderful for your son?

Well, we got another spring and cut it down and the pump works on a hand bench test, so now to install it in the boat and head off to Asu and Bawa for the next swell.

Fair winds for now, from Keith.

We jungle trekked, shopped (yuck) did the pool thing and all he kept nagging about was going surfing. After day 1 it's all he wanted to do. Got 3 afternoons in.

Amazing story on the pump - Total save!

[surfmachine]

Ahoy Daddle and Excalif, thanks for the replies, well, after much cranking of the motor and bleeding, the motor is running sweet and purring like a kitten!! Hooray!!!
The Nias'an guy's name was John, and his workbench was the kitchen table, workshop looked like a big chicken coop, and he lived there, colour of the water for washing looked like the green water in your car radiator. But, wow, for $24, he welded the engine mount back together, found 2 more springs, cut them to length using an angle grinder, so we have a spare and fixed the pump. the bench test was a 1 metre length of fuel line connected to the feed and just push on the cam followers with a spanner while I held the pump against a post!!! I gave him an extra 100,000 rupiah, asked for 200, 000!! He siphoned the raw diesel with his mouth, got a mouthfull, aargh! He is a catholic local, wife named Regina, "mamma". Nothing that these folks cant fix? said it may last a lifetime?
I wonder what will break next?
Cheers from Keith.

[Ex-Calif]

Probably nothing they can't fix somewhere in SEA. There are shops here where you can take a vcr and they will do circuit board level transistor swaps.

I plugged an old 110V HP computer into 220v. HP wanted US$85 for a power supply - The supply, of course, was unique HP board voltages.

Some old Chinese guy swapped a board diode or something for US$7.

[surfmachine]

Yes, thats the way it goes, lots of smiles and laughter, and "you are in Indonesia now!" Then some old 70 year year old guy welds up your broken item without glasses and finishes the fine work with a 10" angle grinder, amazing, just like I used to do on the farm back home when something broke.
Cheers for now.
Keith...

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by surfmachine

Yes, thats the way it goes, lots of smiles and laughter, and "you are in Indonesia now!" Then some old 70 year year old guy welds up your broken item without glasses and finishes the fine work with a 10" angle grinder, amazing, just like I used to do on the farm back home when something broke.
Cheers for now.
Keith...

Sounds like the kind of technology and hospitality I would feel at home with!

In passing, it was actually pumping over here this morning and the southern end of my local beach was looking as close to Nias as it could ever get. Solid couple of metre swell with a few bombs and these long hollow walls reminiscent of J-bay on a heavy day. I actually call the place southy-bay when it starts looking like that. Still, just when I started think it was fun "back on the farm" someone had to paddle out who had just gotten back from a boat trip in “indo”.