Sumatran Cruise

[felixqld66]

Hey Keith

Nias looks awesome what a way to birthday hey, I am so looking forward to following your route when I pick up my boat in Phuket hopefully you will still be floating around when I get down that way. What is the earliest you can access these breaks, I can't get my boat until late December and I fear the monsoons may cause havoc for a while so thinking of climbing in Thailand for a while first!

Cheers Alex

[surfmachine]

There is surf here all year round, but the season really starts in April and finishes in November. Got about 60 waves at Nias today in 2 sessions, no kidding, about 10 hrs surfing, solid 8' sets, 1 really good overhead barrell, but really only 39 waves as I dont count the close outs!!
Flamin injector pump has stopped working on number one cylinder again!!!!!!!! Looks like I will have to pull it apart again tomorrow?
Cheers from Keith.

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by surfmachine

There is surf here all year round, but the season really starts in April and finishes in November. Got about 60 waves at Nias today in 2 sessions, no kidding, about 10 hrs surfing, solid 8' sets, 1 really good overhead barrell, but really only 39 waves as I dont count the close outs!!
Flamin injector pump has stopped working on number one cylinder again!!!!!!!! Looks like I will have to pull it apart again tomorrow?
Cheers from Keith.

I thought your post must have hexed me; quick cup of tea and a couple of posts before my morning surf and the crowd on the right hand reef went from 4 to 15. First wave got a nice vertical in behind some kid who dropped straight in. Second I went looking for the same lobster as a body surfer in front of me after I was blocked by at least another three bodies in the impact zone. Not much later a few heads exploded with a bit of typical urban violence and the crowd dropped to nothing. Got a few nice waves before it just went onshore; don’t you just love school holidays?

Now off to pay some of those accumulating landlubber bills hoping I will have enough change to replace at least one blub on the boat for and LED.

[dingoman]

Hello all,
Where is the best place to get updated charts for the outer Indonesian waters, and southern thailand, Malaysia etc........ Thanks, Dingoman

[surfmachine]

Ahoy Dingoman.
There is a place in Langkawi, a print shop in Kuah, that has all the charts for the whole world, plus lots of scanned charts on computer. They print them out on a big plotting machine for $3.00 aud each. All of the Indo and Admiralty charts for those areas .
Keith.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by surfmachine

There is a place in Langkawi, a print shop in Kuah, that has all the charts for the whole world, plus lots of scanned charts on computer. They print them out on a big plotting machine for $3.00 aud each. All of the Indo and Admiralty charts for those areas .
Keith.

Is that the place that is in about this position?
(I hope a green tag with A shows)

Unknown road - Google Maps
If not, you should be able to drag and drop the green A into the correct position, click on link in the top right of screen, copy and paste link here with new position.

Wish I had known about the $3-00 charts
I thought I had done well buying originals for about $12-00 when there last
May have to do a side trip when over on the silver bird next so as to load up.

[surfmachine]

Ahoy, yes that is the block it is in, it's called "something....." enterprises, not in the first shop, but in the 3rd shop up from the carpark, run by an Indian family, top people!
Net is too slow here for maps!!
Surf is rising to 10 foot at Lagundri Point this afternoon, then we make a passage back to Sumatra tomorrow for the crew's visa run to Singapore.
Fair winds from Keith.

[dingoman]

Hi Keith,
I'll hopefully be headed to the Mentawai next June(end) from bound from Thailand. I have witnessed the SW Monsoon here in Thailand and was wondering if you have any experience sailing in the area's just mentioned, (Thailand,Phuket to outer Sumatran Islands, ie, Mentawai) Thanks, Dingoman

[surfmachine]

Ahoy Dingoman.
Yes, I have sailed all those routes without mishap. Just be prepared for severe line squalls for up to 5 hrs, some last 5 days on the NW sumatran coast. Always, always, seek an anchorage that gives good holding and is protected from the NW at night!!! In July/August almost every night a "Sumatran/line squall", will blow through.
This is a picture of me at Nias, 2 days ago!!!!
Otherwise, it's a joy!!!!
Cheers from Keith.

[felixqld66]

Great Photo Keith

Just going through the reregistration process for my boat right know itching to get over that way but gotta cash up till the end of the year.

Keep on playing how is the engine repairs going?

Cheers Alex

Dingo I will have to keep an eye out for you next year as I will be heading for the same region!

[dingoman]

Hi Keith, Great pic of you surfing. I wish I were out there now!!! In regards to finding a safe, protected achorage during the night......I will be sailing from Phuket to Mentawai..........would you sail during the day, and find achorage at night for that trip? Or just sail staright through, with the chance of those line squalls you mentioned? I imagine from Phuket it would be possible to hit Langkawi, then on to?????? Thanks, Dingoman

[dingoman]

For sure Alex, keep in touch as we should compare notes!!! Cheers, Dingoman

[surfmachine]

Ahoy shipmates. Just got into Sibolga, copped a 5 hour suamtran from the NE, on the nose from Nias to Sibolga at 0200 hrs, my watch, furled the headsail in time and reduced the main to a 50% storm or trysail and motored into it. Thats when the number one injector pump decided to give up the ghost!!! Could only pull 2000 rpm and was going sideways and backwards some of the time! But, hey, we made it in 25 hours for 100 nmiles, through the pinnacles, "dries and breaks" with 2 wrecks marked on them!!
So the injector pump is out tomorrow and there is a guy just back fron Medan who has a injection pump service centre and injector servicing setup, with lots of springs and pumps. So, it should be as good as gold?
Also, saw my friends at immigrasi and they said they would extend my visa for another 30 days by writing to Medan! Amazing what a carton of marlboro will do? So had 5 months of visas, then I will check out in Padang and slowly cruise back through the Mentawis and Banyaks, beautiful!!! The crew is flying out tomorrow for Singapore for a visa run, back in 6 days.
Its alway about 2 or 3 am that those big black clouds come rolling over me, every time I get near the Suamtran coast!!! But the little Adams handled it great, some waves breaking onto and over the dodger, sweeping the deck, my aft cabin got soaked as the mainsheet taveller leaks after prolonged soaking, but the crew slept through most of it on the sdaloon lee berth. Were doing 2 hr watches after midnight, with lots of rock and roll on the dvd player stereo and all the lights blazing as many big fishing boats out as well.
Made landfall in blazing sun with no wind!!
Its all good?
Dair winds from Keith.

[surfmachine]

Cheers Dingoman. The line squalls or Sumatrans are just very unpleasant, sometimes thay help you along, twice for me, but the wind shifts as they pass and when you really need to reef you cant see anything!
Sailing non stop is fine, if you have the crew, fatigue, the Malaccan straights is very busy near banda aceh, they all cut the corner, plan to be there in the daylight!
There are safe anchorages all the way down to the banyaks and mentawis, so day sailing is an option, the squalls can come any time, but 80% of the time it is early morning. The weather never gets seriously bad as you dont get the big seas, just lots of short choppy waves with 35 knots against the swell and current and blinding rain. Normally short lived!
All the best from Keith.

[dingoman]

Hi Keith,
Great to get your advice, and experience! Hope to see you out there someday. Cheers, Dingoman