Sumatran Surfariis - Surfing Indonesia: Mentawais, Telos, Hinakos, Nias, and beyond...

MARCH 31ST UPDATE

First, we want to apologize for this report going out a little later than we had hoped. It seems the media was a little more prepared for this situation, and we’ve been barraged with requests from them. In addition, three of our boats were out at sea when this happened, so our immediate concerns were with the families of these surfers. In short, the Sumatran Surfariis family was extremely lucky. There was no damage to our hotel or boats, no reported deaths in Padang, and the passengers had no idea there was even a quake. Everyone immediately tied to our company is fine, so we feel very fortunate. The citizens of Nias, Simeulue, and the Banyaks weren't as fortunate, which we will get into much greater detail shortly. But to the concerned family members and media looking for information on our guests, everyone is fine, and it’s likely that their biggest worry is scoring perfect surf at the moment.

Onto the bigger news, the latest reports have indicated that there is widespread destruction through the Banyaks, Nias and Simeulue islands. In addition, some of the smaller outlying islands of Telos and Hinakos have reported damage. A good percentage of our information is still being verified, as much of the communication in these islands has been cut off since the quake. The phones and sat link on Nias have been down since the quake first hit, so initially we couldn’t get firsthand reports throughout the islands. But the photos and calls from our friends in these islands are coming in, so be sure to check back later tonight for a more detailed update with specific info and photos of the devastation. The changes to the islands are simply astounding, as you will see in the photos.

On April 2nd Scuzz will be heading up through the Telos and Hinakos, eventually to Nias, Simeulue, and the Banyaks, surveying the scene the scene and reporting back to us daily. We will then use Asia to depart on April 6th for a full-on relief mission with the information we gather. We will follow that up with another relief mission on Southern Cross on April 18th. On Asia, we will be taking (at least) essential survival items such as rice, noodles, water, kerosene and basic supplies for eating. It should be pointed out that April 2nd trip scheduled on the Southern Cross was set to be JUST a surf trip, but the 8 Californian guests have graciously agreed spend part of their time helping with the aid and clearing of rubble. In addition, the Southern Cross trip departing on April 18th was scheduled to do a changeover in Sinabang (Simeulue) on May 2nd. We are canceling this changeover, as it would be taking planes and fuel from those who need it more. We are not sure that it would’ve been possible to fly anyway, as we have heard that area is badly damaged and the airport may actually be out of use.

In terms of damage to “our” islands, meaning the islands in Northern Sumatra that we’ve surfed and pioneered consistently for the last 5 years, the damage is probably WORSE than the first quake. The national news agencies may not be reporting the issue with as much passion as the December 26th quake because it did not cause a subsequent tsunami that spread throughout the Indian Ocean, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. However, for the citizens of Nias, Simeulue, and the Banyaks, the impact may actually be worse. When you see news reports that 2,000 – 3,000 people may have died, you have to realize that these are not heavily populated areas, so 2,000 – 3,000 casualties is actually a very large percentage of their population. If this quake actually happened off the coast of India or Sri Lanka or any other heavily populated area, the world would definitely be talking about it with greater fervor. We at Sumatran Surfariis hold these islands and it’s villagers sacred, and we will continue to do whatever we can to help provide relief and rebuilding aid. The death toll may not be as high, but the physical damage to property is enormous. In Teluk Dalam for example, not too many deaths have been reported, but early information is that the town basically been leveled. A large percentage of the facilities have been destroyed, and it’s rumored that people are essentially begging for, and it some cases stealing, food. The situation in Gunung Sitoli, an even larger city, is essentially the same, with reports of up to 80% of the buildings being destroyed. The same is being reported in Sinabang in Simeulue.

Something not yet really touched on are the actually geographical changes to these islands. Dr. Kerry Sieh is a geologist at Caltech in Pasadena, California who has been helping with the aid projects, and helping us to understand what’s actually been happening, since the December 26th quake. He recently appeared on just on TV in California and said some very interesting things. Kerry said it was basically an aftershock because its location in the same general area as the Dec 26th quake, but that it was a great quake on it's own due it's size. A British scientist published an article Nature Magazine that said that the December 26th quake put stress on the same fracture zone, but further South. They didn't know how much stress it would take before it failed, but Kerry said it looks like it just failed with this 8.7 quake on March 28th. Again, we’ll have some very specific details about this in our next update set to go out tonight.

As a result, early reports are that there are MAJOR changes to the geography in Nias, Simeulue, the Banyaks, and the Hinakos. The most dramatic change is that portions of ALL these islands have been lifted significantly. Some of the areas in the Banyaks have risen up to 2 meters, Simeulue has reports of being lifted 3 meters, and Asu in the Hinakos has varying reports of being lifted from 2 to 5 meters! When you consider that the most significant lifting due to the previous earthquake was, at most, 2 meters in only the northern end of Simeulue, you’ll realize just how drastic of a change this is. For an idea of how significant a 1 – 2 meter change looks, take a look at the pics from our January 28th update. The first few photos we’re getting in show that the geographical changes are much MORE significant than this, and on several different islands. This had made travel to and on these islands very slow and dangerous. There are many roads that have not been sussed out yet, many bridges are down or unsafe, and there is a massive amount of driftwood in the water. A trip that normally takes 10 hours from Sibolga to Nias now takes 18 – 20, and pretty much all the nautical maps have been rendered inaccurate.

What does this mean for us as a surf charter business? Well, our first priority is doing what we can to help the people affected by this quake. We employ a large crew of 30+ that is almost entirely local Indonesians, and several have family in the affected areas. Additionally, we employ and additional 30 villagers on the island of Bawa in the Hinakos that are building a sustainable, long-term fruit and vegetable garden that in the future could be an essential resource to providing fresh food to their neighbors. This is all made possible by the selfless donations from the Woodleigh School in Victoria and the Clean Ocean Foundation. We know these areas very well, and we are already setting in motion a plan to help the rebuilding efforts that stretches BEYOND the April 18th trip on Southern Cross. In other words, we’ve already got 3 relief trips scheduled, and Scuzz has almost locked in a couple more boats to do additional relief projects after that. We’re going gung-ho on the relief mission once again.

But in terms of surfing these waters, we are looking at things in a positive light and are expecting it to be a year of discovery. This is why we all started this company in the first place: to find and surf beautiful, remote, untouched waves. With all this movement and lifting in the islands of Northern Sumatra, things will undoubtedly have changed. We expect that many of the reefs we surfed will be gone or worsened, while others could be improved significantly. But most exciting to us, we hope to find new breaks. As a company (Scuzz primarily), we have found, surfed, and named many spots that are no longer a secret. We do the best we can to keep the secrets in house, but inevitably they leak out somehow. With all the changes, we hope that “followers” will be playing catch up for several years to come. We will have to be careful, considerate, and cautious while navigating these waters in the beginning, but we have the best captains and crews in the business, and we’re confident we’ll find many new gems while being helpful and conscious of the needs of the villages during our travels.

Lots of people have already asked what they can do to help. At this point, the most efficient way to help is by sending a donation to one of our recommended organizations here. In time, we will probably have opportunities for those adventurous souls who wish to travel to these islands and help in person. But for now, your donations go a long way. Several have started very creative fundraisers, such as art auctions, movie premiers, cookie drives at work, and monthly withdrawals from their paychecks through a program organized at their companies. If you’re truly passionate about helping out, we encourage you to pursue a similar avenue of your own. A big thanks goes out to Mark Willet and Gary "The Dad" Schuberg (again!) for their unbelievably generous donations almost immediately after the second quake hit.

We wanted to get out some information to our readers as soon as possible so they are not left in the dark. But again, we will be providing you much more detailed and specific information, and photos, in the update that should go out roughly 12 –15 hours after this one, so keep checking back. As always, thank you for your support and positive vibes.

-SLAYER the Web Dork