On April 2, 2005, Sumatran Surfariis set out on the first wave of our second relief mission to northern Sumatra, headed by our founder, Chris "Scuzz" Scurrah. On a trip that was originally scheduled to be "just" a surf trip to northern Sumatra, Scuzz and his Californian guests stocked our largest boat, the Southern Cross, with as much essential survival material that they could fit, such as rice, noodles, fresh fruit and veggies, water, kerosene, and basic supplies for eating and digging. The trip is serving as a major surveying project so that the trips to follow can carry more specific products, and more of them, to the proper places. Tonight, April 9th, members of SurfAid and IDEP will take out Asia, our medium-range boat, to Gunung Sitoli and some of the small islands around Nias. Eric Lee of SurfAid and Sam from IDEP will be taking primarily medical supplies, and also picking up additional SurfAid workers on Nias. From there, they will attempt to reach the most remote islands and provide aid and medical care to the villagers that need help the most.

Again, this boat and relief trip would not have been available if it weren’t for unselfish acts by guests on our surf trips. Brad Turner, Steve Vanta, and Casey Cox from South Carolina graciously agreed to move their small crew from Asia to Afrika (the smallest boat in our fleet) mid-way through their surf trip so we could use Asia’s additional space and duel-engines to head up north. This is no small task one week into their trip in the middle of the Indian Ocean, especially when you consider group organizer Big Daddy Brad Turner is no small guy at about 6’5”, 250lbs. ;) But Big Daddy knew it was the least he and the others could do to help so we could free up Asia for the mission on the 9th. We originally hoped that Matt George and members of the SSRO would be on this boat, but his friends will be coming on April 11th. Hopefully we can arrange a boat from our fleet for them to us ASAP as well. They have been super energetic, positive heroes already since the tsunami first hit, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

As Scuzz is out to sea, and the Pasti sat phone network still down, much of our information for this update is coming from other sources. One of the positive aspects of this quake is that it has brought together companies that have been competitors in surf charter business in the Mentawais and northern Sumatra in the past, and gotten them to work together for a common goal and bigger cause. Many of the veterans of the surf charter business realize that we would be NOWHERE without the generosity and kindness of the locals on the many small islands in western and northern Sumatra in which we surf, and it’s great to see that many companies are working as one to give back and help those locals that have given us so much so freely in the past.

One of the key players in the relief effort has been Rick Cameron and members of his Electric Lamb Mission (ELM), http://www.electriclamb.org. Rick has been a big player in the surf charter industry in Indo pretty much since its infancy, and we’ve definitely jockeyed over a few potential customers in the past. ;) But it’s inspiring to see all the efforts he has made to help those in need. And Rick is far from the only one; many of the boats of the Quiksilver Travel fleet have come over to help, as well as countless smaller companies - too many for my brain to remember. Suffice it to say that EVERY BIT of aid from the companies involved goes a long way toward helping the local Indonesians back to their normal way of life.

The most recent reports from this area continue to be astounding, particularly in the realm of geographical changes. To put it bluntly, much of the coastlines on these islands look totally different. There will be more photos from Scuzz and his crew around April 16, but in the meantime you can see from the photo taken by Rick’s crew to get an idea of how things have changed. The shot was taken at high tide at Pulau Tepak in southern Simeulue. For reference, typical high tides would lap at the foundation of the house at the tree line before March 28. In an area where navigating, dockings, and beach landings were difficult BEFORE the quake, getting a boat close to land with relief and aid materials is nearly impossible now. Moving the boats at night is extremely high risk, so the window of time to get in and help is greatly shortened. It’s made the use of smaller boats and local fishermen imperative in order to reach the larger boats and carry in the goods bit by bit.

While some parties believe that worst is behind us, others acting on instinct are not so sure. Dr. Kerry Sieh, the geologist whom we’ve been working with since the December 26 tsunami, is the man who runs the GPS network in Sumatra. He feels there is no reason to believe that another big earthquake (or tsunami) are imminent. Dr. Kerry doesn’t feel villagers should take any special precautions that they cannot maintain over the next few months or year. He states that aftershocks will continue to be numerous, but they should last just a few seconds are very unlikely to generate another tsunami. However, though Dr. Kerry is more qualified than anyone to assess the situation, many boat crew and villagers are acting on their gut feelings and basically are scared. Rick stated that after seeing all the destruction and feeling the aftershocks shake his boat that he wonders if they are past the worst of this huge adjustment. And many of the villagers that have the means to leave are doing so, fleeing their islands in northern Sumatran and the Mentawais in huge numbers to what they perceive is safer ground.

In terms of scientific data, Dr. Kerry says the GPS station at the airport in Simeulue has moved by 2.3 meters to the southwest and 1.65 meters up. The receding of the water and the uplift of the GPS station means that the islands have risen up permanently, and thus this means that the sea has receded permanently along the southern coasts of Simeulue and other areas experiencing this uplift. This is consistent with the photos showing reefs that are now exposed and drying around the southern coasts of the island. His other reports indicate that the same has happened around Nias and Banyaks. Truth be told, I don’t understand exactly how Dr. Kerry knows this, but he repeatedly states in his writings that islands have risen up PERMANENTLY. Therefore, as stated above, there is no reason to believe another 8+ quake and/or tsunami will hit the area, though many aftershocks, including a few in the 6-7+ range, wouldn’t be uncommon.

However, the Bupati (similar to a regent, governor, or chief) on Simeulue gave us some insight into the mindset of the villagers that shows they are not ready to rely on scientific data at this point. He says most people on the island are now living outdoors in the hills or higher ground. After the quake, they saw the waters recede, exposing huge coral heads and large sections of reef, and, in their minds, this was a clear indication that another tsunami was imminent. The fact that the waters haven’t returned back to the normal levels has done nothing to calm the villagers, and has in fact caused a lot of additional anxiety and confusion. Rick expressed it well when he said, “They feel like they are in a suspended action tsunami that could come at any time.” Complicating matters, there was a CNN interview shortly before the second quake in which a seismologist predicted there would be a major quake on or around March 26th. The Bupati made a public statement proclaiming the prediction was nonsense. Now, after the quake the 28th, the villagers have essentially lost faith in the Bupati, and they are picking up on every story and assuming the worse. When Rick asked him about this, the Bupati just shrugged his shoulders and said, “The people won’t listen to me if I say the danger is past. I was wrong about the last prediction and now I have to take the new warnings seriously”.

In many cases, it’s clear the villagers are acting on instinct and rumor rather than factual data. As we’ve said throughout these updates since the first tsunami, education is the key to avoiding, or at least lessening, the physical and emotional damage these natural phenomenons can cause. We certainly cannot blame the Indo villagers for acting as they have, and RIGHT NOW is probably not the best time to sit down and have a class on seismology. The time now is for survival and rebuilding, but it will be imperative to educate the locals if they are to sustain and thrive in their homelands in the future

One point that we’d eventually like to get across to the villagers, or anyone traveling to Indonesia, is that Indonesia has, and has always had, many earthquakes annually because of its geologic setting. On average, there is approximately one 8+ earthquake in the Indian Ocean per year, and roughly every 2 years an earthquake causes a tsunami somewhere on the Indonesian coast. Most are small, and go undetected and unreported. The December 26th quake with its 9.1 magnitude was exponentially stronger than a quake in the 8.0 range, and was largest earthquake in more than 60 years. However, the fact that this is the worse quake in 60 years shows that it IS very rare. One key point we’d like to clarify to them is that once a tsunami hits, waves may continue to arrive for many hours, but there are no “aftershock tsunamis”. Once the main set of waves arrives and eventually dissipates, there will not be a follow-up tsunami (unless of course there is another new quake of high enough magnitude to cause one). It gets confusing for anyone, let alone villagers who are stuck in the middle of it all. But it’s essential to provide the villagers with the proper information so they can rebuild their lives and protect their future.

Surfers and aid organizations are not the only people who want to help the villagers in these remote islands. Around New Years Eve, we got a call from a very distraught and emotional man named Ray Williamson. Ray is the Captain and owner of Maine Windjammer cruises in Camden, Maine (USA), http://mainewindjammercruises.com, and it was clear from his tone of voice that he just HAD to do something to help. After many talks with Christina and myself (Slayer), Captain Ray began to organize a plan. He arranged to charter the 900-ton cargo vessel Maruta Jay through contacts he had in Indonesia and wanted it to be used in the best way possible towards a relief effort. Captain Ray ran into a lot of roadblocks and dead-ends trying to secure a crew and the materials needed to put Maruta Jay to its best use, until he finally decided the best thing to do would be go over there and do it himself. As of April 6, Captain Ray was loading supplies in Jakarta, with a projected arrival in Nias around April 13 – 14. They are expecting Care International to help them gather a full load. You can read more about Ray’s efforts on this page of his website, In addition, the boat is available for relief cargo transportation again on May 1, so if you feel you have a need for the vessel, you should contact Margaret Jones: relief@mainewindjammercruises.com, 207-236-0675 (USA).

It’s people with that kind of die-hard need to help that keep us motivated. We are just a small piece of the puzzle trying to help out, but we will continue to do our best to aid in the relief and rebuilding process. We’d like to thank everyone for all their emails and kind words of support. Special thanks to Matt Barbour and Kristin Doherty, as they were the first to send a check towards our relief efforts - the must have sent it the day after it happened because it arrived right away. If you would like to make a contribution to our relief efforts, there is information on how to do so here.

Thanks again, and we’ll keep you posted. Terima kasih banyak!!

SLAYER