JANUARY 18TH UPDATE

On the 16th, our boat ASIA finished dropping off helicopter fuel for the scientist Kerry Sieh, as well as fresh vegetables, aid relief buckets, and a ½ page list of other supplies for Matt George in Gunning Sitoli, on the northeast side of Nias. ASIA then traveled to Sibolga, where it was on dock for 2 days and was ready to come back home.

Scuzz had an opportunity to speak to Professor Kerry, and he shared more of his findings. His research shows that the island of Simeulue rose 2-3 feet in the northern part of the island, and dropped maybe 1 foot in the south. In Nias, he calculated that the tsunami wave that hit Sirombu was 4.2 meters high. In Simeulue (which is north of Nias), the wave as estimated at approximately 6.2 meters high. Most villagers in Simeulue reported that the biggest wave hit around 9am –10am; while reports are that an odd wave hit Nias around 3-4 pm. Kerry thinks this is because the wave reflected off Sri Lanka, and bounced back onto the islands. This is only theory at this point, but if accurate it’s just an amazing example of the power of this quake and subsequent tsunami.

Around 7pm on the 17th, we got a call from Scuzz’s sister, Alyssa. She is on the boat Mikumba with Matt George and Adam Kobayashi (AK), heading up to the northwestern tip of Simeulue to a town called Alisan – on our charts it says Alunam. This is one of the villages that has reported heavy damage and many homeless. Alyssa told us they had been traveling up from southwest Simeulue, and had seen 3 dead bodies during their travels - one on the beach, the other 2 in the water.

Scuzz then rang our Indonesian business partner Eddie Om and his son Andi to see if ASIA could travel to Simeulue instead of coming back to Padang, and it was agreed it could be done. He also asked if we could stock ASIA with building supplies, and fresh fruit in Sibolga. Again, no problem. He then called Bidin, our friend in Sibolga and asked if he could organize 3 tons of fresh fruit and veggies to be ready to load on ASIA tomorrow evening, Jan 18, and it was done. A local driver was hired to help load ASIA with as much medicine, juice and dry food they could fit on.

Around 9:45pm on the 17th, Scuzz and his brother Matt left for the 10 - 12 hour drive, through the night, to Sibolga. Today, they loaded the boat to the hilt with Rp. 125,000,000 (about $13,000 U.S.) of supplies that were purchased by Sumatran Surfariis, and they will set off for northwest Simuelue tonight. This was obviously a drastic change of plans (as versus returning home to Padang), but this editor cannot say it was a big surprise. Scuzz came back from his original trip thinking he had stopped to soon. After being home for a few days and evaluating the status in Padang, he felt his energies would be better directed in the field. Our surf charter business will still press forward, and we will eventually have time to retool our boats and get them in shape to provide more magic vacations, but right now the time is to help those in need. Scuzz has a tremendous rapport with these people and a great understanding of how they run their villages, so we’re sure his energy and knowledge is being put to the best possible use. (He’s not here to make me delete this, so I can say it: the dude is a hero.)

Rob Wilson, CEO of Rip Curl Indonesia, called the hotel this morning. He is in Calang, which is just south of Banda Aceh, along with the folks of IDEP. He informed us the wave that hit Calang was an astounding 25 meters high. We’ve heard reports that the population of Calang is between 10,000 – 14,0000, but in every report we get, we get information that equates to approximately 70 – 75% of the people are dead or missing. Rob reports that of a population of 10,000, a total 7,600 are dead or missing. Earlier IDEP reports say that of a population of 14,000, at total of 10,000 are dead of missing. It goes without saying then that Calang was utterly devastated by the tsunami. Today, the rain keeps coming down and the pits where the bodies are being put are now full of water and bodies are floating. The smell is unbearable, and the muddy land makes getting supplies in extremely difficult. They are re-stocking supplies in Banda Aceh, but these people are truly in shock. Sadly, there are reports that the Indonesian police and military are basically doing nothing.

Oliver Langley, a fellow boat charter captain, called the hotel this morning as well. He is on Barrenjoey (surf charter boat) at Nias. There is a “Dr. Mark” (Kiwi Doctor) on board Mark Coleman’s boat, the Nusa Dewata (also a surf charter boat). Ollie told us a couple of days ago Dr. Mark treated a woman in very late stages of Malaria. He worked on her with drips and medications, and as of today she is recovering. Her family is all around her, and Oliver says her eyes are sparkling and it’s amazing how she has come back around. Yeah!!! These positive stories keep us going!! Oliver sounds good, and when we asked if he was getting tired, he replied, "No, we want to keep going!" So, so many people are helping.

Nusa Dewata and Barrenjoey are working under the direction of SurfAid, and SurfAid continues to work hard in the rebuilding process, particularly on Nias. Their clinics at Sirombu and Mandrehe are into full swing and their medical staff has treated about 1,000 Nias residents. A team of 40 SurfAid medical staff is on the ground in Nias, and they are following a 30-day program, which will take them from village to village, immunizing and treating the sick and injured. SurfAid has reported one case of measles on Nias today, which is a major concern because it is so highly contagious. SurfAid CEO Andrew Griffiths has also been putting in 18-hour days for weeks now and shows no signs of slowing down.

That’s the latest for now, but we’ll keep you posted. As you have seen if you read our updates, it’s ever changing. We’d like to ask everyone please say a prayer to whichever god you believe in, or just send good vibes for all the volunteers helping out, all the captains and crew that have worked long DAYS, not just hours, all the ground crew doing much of the coordinating and organizing, the organizations funding these efforts, and to all those lost or that have lost.

All are heroes.

Last minute update, morning, January 19th:

Scuzz called today (January 19th) to let us know the hospital beds have found a home. Our business partner Andi, son of Eddie Om, has worked it out with customs at Teluk Bayur Harbor in Padang to receive the hospital beds and anything else we can have sent over. Sandra and Hal, Scuzz’s folks, have been working on this from Australia, and it’s a major roadblock cleared now that we have permission on the Indonesian end. It will still require a great deal of coordination on their part, but it looks like this will happen. We’ve contacted Dawn and Pete at the Clean Ocean Foundation to see if there is any way they can get outboard motors and any other essential items sent over and put in the crates with the hospital beds. Also, we've been working with Noel at www.tools4tsunami.org (the have a great site - please check it out) to get important rebuilding tools included in the crates. We’d like to thank Pete, Dawn, Noel, Sandra, Hal, and everyone that is working so very hard to make this happen. Again, it’s still in the works, but these items would be extremely helpful in the relief and rebuilding effort if we can make it happen.

From the field, Alyssa called and said there were 6 confirmed cases of tuberculosis in the northwestern village on Simeulue called Alosan, where they are doing relief efforts. She reports that the area has nearly completely been destroyed. All the government offices are gone, almost all the houses are gone, and virtually everyone is homeless. In short, they need everything. Scuzz is on his way there right now. He is going to do a run up, stay for 1 day, then take Alyssa back to Sinabang, in southern Simeulue. There they will pick up doctors, medical equipment being flown in from Medan, and any other supplies they can carry, and then head back up. A second cargo boat will be right behind him. Some of the things they are asking for are fishing gear, water purifying kits, wheel barrels, cooking oil, and a megaphone so they can speak to a lot of people at once.

Please send your prayers and good vibes so that we can make this happen. It would be essential to saving lives and a faster rebuilding period.

Terimah Kasih!