JANUARY 2ND UPDATE

Scuzz, his sister Alyssa (who has about 6 years medical training) and a group of local Indos headed out last night to the north of Siberut, Muara Sigep. Scuzz reported back to Christina at the hotel in Padang that thankfully there was no significant damage in this area; no trees down, no major water damage, no deaths. He is also continuing to investigate if any north facing areas south of this are open to need, such as Dua Mata, Sipora, Pagai etc. But so far, signs are very positive.

From Siberut, Scuzz traveled up the straight between the Tanah Bala and Tanah Masa islands in the Telo chain. There are many communities built here to help with the logging and as it is such protected waters, their places are built right on the water’s edge. If the tsunami had a strong impact in this area, it maybeen compressed by the small shallow straight and could have damaged this region. His reports to Christina are that all west villages on Telo are fine. There are a few more north facing and low lying villages that Scuzz wants to visit also.

Rick Cameron's boat the Electric Lamb went up the west side (ocean side) to Nias with a crew as well, and surprisingly everything appears to be generally ok. Scuzz also headed to a bay in the northern area of Nias where a logging company is located. They reported water surging and flooding on 12/26/04, but nothing since. Again, this is very surprising and positive news. Scuzz and the gang received a refuel in Teluk Dalam, and will continue to head further north in Nias to the areas we have heard were significantly affected by the quake. They’ll be moving up as fast as they can, but will also be stopping to give supplies to the villages that need it.

Basically what Scuzz is doing is getting to the islands on our mid-sized boat charter boat, The Asia, and then slowing down and jumping off into the smaller speedboat to get to the villages. From there, he’s checking for injured people or damaged property. He has an extensive range of medicine, tarps, water, containers, noodles, rice, mats, rope, shovels, etc. ready to go if need be. So far in the more western and southern regions, fortunately, he’s seen little real damage. He then hops back in the speedboat back to ASIA and moves on. His biggest fear is running the engine. He says no problems as of yet, but power traveling like that for so far and so long can make the engines run hot.

As of last report, Scuzz was hoping to get Lahewa on the northwest tip of Nias before making another call, as word is the Electric Lamb is planning to go to the Banyaks. He has given him the number of the wartel there, plus his charts of the area, and has also organized Bidin to be on standby in Sibolga (a coastal town in northern Sumatra) with a boat and fuel. He is meeting Sam of IDEP in Sibolga to take them around that area and survey it. He also reports that Singkil is in need. There are many people moving south from the affected areas of mainland Aceh and they are running out of supplies and medical help in Singkil.

The biggest area of concern is the northern tip of Simeulue Island. We are getting mixed reports so far. This is the island chain closest to the epicenter. As long as the lower islands are okay, the boats out now will head there. The boats going out tomorrow will head straight there. Now that we know the Mentawais, Nias, Hinakos, and Telos pretty much okay, efforts can be made to send boats north from Sibolga. These boats can check the northern Sumatran coastline more easily from this area.

That’s about it from the field, but Christina has tons of news to report from the hotel, Padang, and mainland Indonesia. First, there have been some 60 earthquakes in the area since the tsunami. Yesterday at 1:35pm the US embassy called and asked Christina if she felt the 6.6 Richter Scale earthquake that just happened. They are checking with her all the time to see what’s going on. However, the news reporters don’t always get it right. For a chuckle, check out this report from the New York Times. It’s about 1% accurate, 99% hysterical.

The Hotel Batang Arau continues to serve as are base camp for Padang -- Aus Aid, IDEP, Aussie Embassy are all here. We are working with local doctors, volunteers, the mayor, all charter boat operators and local boat operators. It's amazing how everyone is pulling together, and the list of characters has continued to grow. We are now about 10 organization workers, 6 charter operators, 6 captains (more coming in tomorrow), 8 hotel staff, 12 Indonesian volunteers, many delivery men, local doctors, local boat owners... all operating on phones, fax, and computer. There are 3 phone chargers being used at all times, with a line of phones waiting. Dr. Dave Jenkins of SurfAid International is meant to arrive tomorrow to head out on a boat as well.

More medicine arrived today from IDEP Foundation in Bali, brought by Oded, a French volunteer living in Bali. Last night, after Scuzz left, the hotel was empty of supplies. Tonight, it's full again. Volunteers spent the day filling individual buckets with rope, tarps, pots, pans, utensils, sandals, matches, etc., and all the while more people arrived to help. It's all very inspiring. Tomorrow the banks open and hopefully we can get more money generated into this effort. It has been excellent response, but a holiday weekend... yikes!!

A bit of great news: Sam Green (the fella in this photo) is an Aussie surfer that had not been heard from since the quake hit. His brother Ben and best friend Matt came all the way over from Oz to see if the could locate him. We aren't sure if there are any concerned folks at home reading this, but we are happy to report that he has been located today and is fine. Those happy stories keep us going. (editors note: since first reporting this story, we have found that our intial sources gave us false findings, and as of 1/6/05, Sam is still missing. However, we'd like to leave the paragraph alone as it accurately reflects our feelings at the time, and shows the ups and downs we go through daily. For the update on Sam, please see our 1/6 update)

Christina wanted be to pass along special praise to a couple individuals. A big thanks goes out to Mick Bakos, an Aussie surfer guest and friend of ours. He lives and works in Singapore --- when IDEP asked if anyone could help get medications brought from Singapore, Chris called Mick, and Mick was on a plane the next day, Jan 1. He was bit hung over, but absolutely jumped at the chance to help. ;) He is back in Singapore now - Jan 2. Good on ya Mick.

Christina also wanted to send out special thanks to Eddie Om, our co-founder. She reporst that he has been a true champion. This is nothing new, however, as Om has just been a LEGEND for this company every since he helped found it over 8 years ago. He has done everything that has been asked with the typical Om smile and laugh. He is truly one of our heroes.

That’s it for now, but we’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for all those who’ve called and sent letters to express your concern. It keeps us motivated, and we'll continue to do our best to help those affected by this tradegy. Take care!