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

APRIL 27th UPDATE

Hello everyone. Sorry for the slight delay on getting this update out, but as you’re about to read, there was a lot of information to sort through. First a quick note: there will be a gallery of Scuzz’s photos with detailed descriptions of each at the bottom of this update. The photos you’ll see as you read through this update were taken by Bowen Ota, one of the Californian passengers on the April 2nd trip – the first surf/relief trip after the March 28th. You can check out more of Bowen’s work at www.aframephoto.com.

Now, on to the update. The things that we continue to hear about and witness in person are simply astonishing. As discussed in previous updates, Scuzz set out on the first leg of our second relief mission on April 2nd, and even with all the stories and information floating around, nothing could truly prepare him for what he saw.

Before departing on their trip, Scuzz heard from Koen Meyers on Siberut, the northernmost island in the Mentawais. Koen, originally from Belgium, is a good friend of Sumatran Surfariis who lives on Siberut. He has spent many years on the island and speaks the language and dialect fluently – Scuzz describes him as “THE Man on Siberut”. Koen has been focusing his time primarily in Maileppet and Muara Siberut on the southeast corner of the island, assessing the damage and the reaction of the people. Contrary to many reports, there WAS some damage on the Mentawais, albeit minor compared to the areas in northern Sumatra. Koen said there is limited damage to the houses, with the worst affected area being the Maura Siberut School, one of only two high schools on the island, and the only public one (see picture at the bottom of the update). Koen said there is one doctor out there from a local yayasan with sufficient medical supplies, and he has treated those that needed help.

The main problem Koen talks about is panic. The locals are catching wind of every rumor and news report, taking them to heart regardless of whether they are blown out of proportion or pure speculation, and they have almost all fled into the hills for fear of a tsunami. Koen recently counted 2,862 people staying up the hills in a refugee camp near Maileppet. The villagers need mosquito nets and tarps/tents to protect them from malaria and the elements. Siberut is like any of the tropical islands in Indonesia – very warm, but rainy and moist – so this is a potential breeding ground for malaria and disease. Many villagers moved with such haste that they didn’t think to bring essential items to protect themselves and keep their living conditions somewhat sanitary. Koen says that the villages further inland are maintaining more of their traditional lifestyle. These villagers are self-sufficient subsistence farmers who are all fine. They live in low lying wooden uma houses and have been through this countless times over their history.

But the villagers that moved from the coastal villages of Muara Siberut and Maileppet are terrified to return to their normal lifestyle. However, this is everyone’s eventual goal, so Koen is somewhat against giving them food and adding too much to their refugee camp. The longer they get used to living like this, the more difficult it will be for them to return to their previous lives of fishing, farming and living off the land. Our boat The Budyadahri was anchored at a small island just south of Siberut when the quake hit and were thrown around a bit. But in terms of surf in Siberut, and the Mentawais in general, the reefs seem almost unchanged. Despite a lot of concern from family members, and rightfully so, our early season surfers have been really happy with the waves and have been scoring with virtually no one around.

As it came time for Scuzz and the guys from California to start their trip, they loaded the boat with and began by working their way up through the southern end of the Telos (also know as the Batu Island Chain). It was an unusual experience for Scuzz and the boys, as Southern Cross had never been that weighted down with supplies, gear, and passengers before. The guys were constantly climbing over sacks of rice, sugar, salt, water containers, noodle boxes, tarps, and baskets of fruit and veggies in those first few days. They were carrying roughly 9 tons of additional cargo on top of a full boat of fuel, water, boards and gear, which caused the boat to ride deeper in the water than Scuzz had ever seen, and definitely caused a loss of a knot or two in speed.

The villagers in the Telos were pretty haired out from all the quakes and could only attain news via radio. Much of what they were hearing was that there was soon to be a big tsunami centered near the Mentawais. The terrified locals told the guys other incredible and unfounded stories they had heard, including one that a big volcano was about to form and rise out of the water between Nias and the Telos. They were told Nias was about to sink under water. Nearly everyday they were told, “There is a tsunami coming tomorrow!” The boys often saw people run out onto the beach during the day and when they went in to investigate, the villagers would say they just had another big quake. Due to all the stories and actual tremors, it’s easy to understand why these people were so frightened, and virtually all the villagers were sleeping in the hills during the night. However, slowly and wearily they are beginning to come back down to the coast during the day to sift through rubble and attempt to build makeshift tents and shelter from the elements that would not cave in on them and kill them if another big quake came. It’s a good sign, but they probably will not return to permanent residence near the coast until the earthquakes and stories subside completely.

For interested surfers reading this, Scuzz and the gang surfed a few waves in the Telos, which seemed to have changed very little. If anything, Scuzz thought it was a touch deeper and that the islands may have sunk very slightly. They could see the erosion on the shoreline, the waves had more backwash on fuller tides, the waves seemed a little fatter – all telling signs that the land actually dropped a bit in this zone of northern Sumatra. This provides further evidence against the early theory that the land had uniformly lifted up throughout northern Sumatra.

As the boys moved further north to Nias, they began dropping supplies in the island villages at the southernmost tip of the island. The damage level was significantly less than Scuzz expected, and the reef was not drastically changed, again appearing slightly deeper. Still, the villagers were really shaken. The boys helped to treat many villagers with large cuts and bruises, many more than Scuzz saw after the December 26th tsunami. And, consistent with reports we’ve received from other parties, Scuzz said the people were also quite aggressive when it came to receiving and distributing the goods. At their first stop, Scuzz and couple of the boys went in and informed the village that they had brought food with them and they wanted to distribute it evenly. This caused all sorts of yelling and commotion, but this is what Nias is about. Scuzz said they are a culture where “the dog with the loud bark gets the bone, and that loud barking dog that doesn’t really think about tomorrow”. Scuzz didn’t take offense, saying it’s just the way they are. In the end it all worked out and they were able to distribute the goods evenly, and the people seemed happy as they moved further north.

Up at Teluk Dalam, however, it was a different story. This was the first time Scuzz had seen the devastation, destruction and death in person, and he painted me a very sad looking picture with a bleak future. The majority of people he saw milling around were military and police. There were piles of burning plastic and rubble all over. The power was very restricted and it was very dark. The houses that were still standing were cracked and badly damaged death traps, waiting to topple. Scuzz reckoned they would all be demolished virtually without a second thought in western civilization. In short, like many of the reports we’ve heard, it resembled a war zone. As the boys walked around with one our local friends, Andi, he would explain who lived where and who died and what had happened. Andi, along with the entire community, was staying up on the hill in one of the refugee camps, where villagers were packed like sardines; all sleeping huddled together under tarps with their few belongings lying next to them. There were a few people singing and playing guitar, but it wasn’t the usual happy singing - it was a kind of soulless dead feeling. The people seemed happy to see they guys, and they didn’t encounter the constant begging or hassling at all. Scuzz felt that was a reflection that these people were just beyond that and/or just numb.

Not far from Teluk Dalam in the famous Lagundri Bay, things didn’t look to bad from a distance as the boys motored into the giant cove. They could tell that some buildings had definitely incurred some damage, but they were still standing and appeared relatively in tact. The first thing they DID notice straight away was that the reef had risen substantially, lifted up by great force. The famous righthander at the bay was small, and what was once a great little peeling right was now just nothing but a burger. Scuzz estimated you’d see at least 40 people surfing on a day with similar conditions prior to the quake, but that day no one, not even the little groms, was giving it a try.

As the boys made their way to land, they got their first little rain squall of the trip, and the locals seemed relieved as they reported it had been stinking hot for the past few days. As Scuzz walked in through the Sibiyak Losmen (a losmen is like an inn or inexpensive hotel), he just couldn’t believe that the main house was gone - not just fallen down, but GONE, washed away, vaporized. This house was where a lot of the long-termers stayed, including our good friends Matt Sherman and Lee. Matt is now working for SurfAid, and we can only imagine how he felt when he saw what happened to his family’s place. This is when they began to realize that the structural damage to this area was far worse than they originally thought. As we mentioned in a previous update, Lagundri Bay suffered a very strong tsunami from the March 28th quake, while surrounding beaches in each direction did not. Lagundri Bay faces south, actually facing away from the epicenter. Yet, it got completely worked by the wave - a lot more than it got worked by the quake. Scuzz mentioned this was due to a funneling effect that the locals have known about for centuries, going back to a previous tsunami in 1833.

Later the boys met up with Uni, the Ding Repair King, and he walked around with the guys for a while, pointing out some of the drastic changes. Uni’s father was one of the bigger landowners on the point at Lagundri years ago, and he had given some of the prime real estate to his sons. Uni had built a nice big house with the help of Moose, a long time Nias resident. Uni had also built up a solid career doing ding repair and fixing the broken surfboards of the many surfers that stay in Lagundri. Over time, he saved up and built a big losmen for his guests out on the edge of the beach. As Scuzz would continually visit Nias, Uni would show him how it was progressing through it’s various stages of development, and he was obviously really proud of it. Today, like the Sibiyak Losmen, it is now flattened, demolished. This included his big stash of surfboards, a number of which had come from guests of Sumatran Surfariis.

As the boys walked up and down Sorake, they kept hearing the same story: there was big shake in the middle of the night, then about 15-20 minutes later, one BIG powerful wave hit. It moved in very fast and simply took out the village, washing houses, their contents and people around, displacing them in random, far-off locations. Somehow, no one was killed and the injuries Scuzz saw weren’t going to affect people in the long run, but the place is really beat up.
Similar to what Scuzz saw in north Simeulue after the Boxing Day tsunami, a few of the houses were literally washed off their foundation and there was nothing left but the concrete slab. Uni helped the boys help in whatever way he could. They eventually distributed all the supplies, and they boys said their goodbyes and moved on to Bawa.

Coming into Bawa, it was obvious to the guys that the place has lifted a huge amount. The reef was WAY out of the water, the keyhole is gone, and the wave has definitely changed. As a result of the lifting, the entire Hinako island chain is a lot larger due to the new expansive coral coastline that is now stretching hundreds of yards off many of the islands, bleaching in the sun. The lift must have been quick and dramatic as there are fish, snakes, eels and all sorts of sea life dead and dried on the newly exposed reef. The boys did about five different drops around these islands, with all the guys hand carrying heavy loads over sharp sun dried coral in tropical heat. Without reef booties or shoes their feet would have been hamburger, but they did it happily and gave out really good vibes and energy to the locals. It was a great effort, and the California guys really deserve a lot of respect and thanks.

Hinako village was really smashed up, and on a few of these islands such as Asu there had been a mass exodus and now few people remained. Many of the villagers still thought their islands were about to sink into the ocean, or that another tsunami was still on its way. The guys dropped off more goods and looked for new waves, and Scuzz finally gave me some good news to report back to the public. He said one island further north the visited was just amazingly beautiful, a lagoon of crystal clear water, with beautiful big coral heads. Overall, they found some new waves, found that some old waves were now impotent, while others were just “different”. In terms of a surf trip, the overall adventure was decent, but far from miraculous. But one thing we’ve learned time and time again about the waves of the Sumatran islands is you need to see them in many swells and conditions to really know their potential. Hence, this next year or two will be ones of discovery and exploration. That’s the reason Scuzz came to Indo, and the reason most involved with our company surf in the first place.

As of the time of this update, Southern Cross is back up in northern Sumatran with Aki, Yu, AK, and a couple of guests, and is again loaded up and delivering aid. They will hopefully have a chance to spend a decent amount of time in Simeulue and the Banyaks, and can report back their findings shortly. We have reports from various geologists that tsunami deposits in Langi Bay (near Alofan Bay in Simeulue) are stunning, with alternating layers of sand and mud. Scientists are saying that the study of these deposits will help determine the size of past tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere in the world. SurfAid is still in Nias using one of our other boats, Asia, as a makeshift hotel off Gunung Sitoli so that all their workers on land can shower and sleep in a safe comfortable place at night. SurfAid should be commended for their efforts on Nias – they are doing great work providing relief items and necessary medical aid to some of the most damaged areas. They also helped us load the cargo boat Mawar Indah in Sibolga so we could all distribute more goods to Sirombu and Teluk Dalam. Sumatran Surfariis’ own Ovi, who has just been a superstar in the relief effort, is also on Asia and doing all he can to help coordinate the relief effort in Nias.

Speaking of Ovi, he just got back from his home island of Bawa where he watched Kelly Slater and Friends tear up the place in what is now a completely different wave. Without giving too much away, Bawa used to do a fair imitation of Sunset Beach on Oahu when firing on all cylinders. Now, it is apparently a shorter, steeper, quicker version with more pockets and quick hollow barrels. Depending on who you are and your ability level, that could be good news or bad news. As a goofyfoot who has had his arse handed to him on big days out there, it doesn’t sound too shabby to me. ;) But, apparently the conditions were just fine for the pros, as Ovi said Slater was going mental in the conditions. As stated earlier, we’ve already found some new good waves, some improved ones, and some “different” ones. But part of our mission is to keep our secrets with our customers, so you’ll just have to take our word for it that waves are still out there, and we intend to find new ones. It will take us a while to get it sussed, but we look forward to that adventure.

Ovi also reported that our fruit and veggie garden on Bawa is still moving ahead nicely. They have cleared the necessary land, treated the soil, and the fence is coming along strong. Ajo the horticulturalist we will be looking at sending up all the seeds soon, and hopefully the villagers on Bawa will begin seeing the fruits (and veggies) of their labor soon. Again, this project is all made possible thanks the many teachers at the Woodleigh School in Victoria who donate a small portion of their salaries each month to help the villagers attain their goal of long-term sustenance. And the teachers at Woodleigh aren’t the only ones who are going out of their way to help. Troy Depuydt is heading up a crew of six Central Californian and Pacific Northwest surfers that are trying to raise money to buy as many relief and rebuilding items as possible to help those affected in northern Sumatra. However, not only are they raising the funds, they will be using the dollars raised to purchase and hand deliver the goods IN PERSON to the communities in need during their upcoming trip starting June 11th on Southern Cross. Some of their friends like Pablo Shute, Erin Breeze, and Hilary Edwards have already donated to their cause, and they expect more to come.

This is a truly amazing gesture, and we can only think that it would ADD to their surf trip. For any surfer considering doing a similar mission, but is worried that the hardships in northern Sumatra might taint or diminished their experience, I’d like you to read the words of Matt Carrillo and Mike Stenkilsson below. Matt and Mike were two of the passengers on this recent April 2nd relief/surf trip, and I asked them to give me their thoughts on their overall experience:

Matt Carrillo:
" I don't see how any other trip can be more gratifying than this. This was my first time to Indo and although we didn't score epic surf the whole time we were lucky enough to take part in the relief efforts. Visibly, Lagundri Bay and Tuluk Dalam were by far the worst off. It was hard to take in because even after our efforts you still wanted to be able to do more for these people who now live in what looks like a post-apocalyptic war zone. We learned first hand from the locals of Lagundri about the destruction that took place in their village. The devastation was enormous and I found it hard to believe that this town was once a thriving tourist stop. Even after dropping supplies we were compelled to help out by either buying a t-shirt, donating clothes, or just giving rupiah to those who desperately needed it. One woman in particular was moving what belongings remained from her house with her two little kids. After hearing her story, Darren went back to our boat and came back to the woman's house to give her 150,000 rupiah. This touching moment was expressed by the woman as she began to cry and gave Darren a hug. It would have been nice to help everyone out, but we did what we could and it felt great to achieve that. I must admit at first I felt like it was going to be an annoyance to help considering it was our vacation, but after dealing with it all it really added to the experience of the trip. When you step back and think about it, it is not so hard to help. You're on your way through the area anyway, so the time it takes to lend a hand is minimal in comparison to the time you get to spend surfing and enjoying yourself and friends. Despite their desperate times the people were all very happy to extend a greeting and a smile…. "

Mike Stenkilsson:
"When I decided that our surf trip would also be a relief effort to the effected island of Nias and some of it's surrounding islands, my mind started to create all kinds of scenarios that we may face. Like most things in life, my expectations were not completely on target. No amount of foresight can prepare you for a parent offering their eleven-year-old daughter in attempt to give her a better life or seeing a whole village destroyed. These people need immediate help! Food, water and supplies are definitely needed in the short term, but the thing that these people need most comes from within....HOPE! Resilience is a trait that humans have mastered but it doesn't come to fruition until there is some degree of hope. I had the wonderful opportunity to see it first hand on the faces of a mother and her young son after treating him for an infected burn on his foot. The mere fact that a westerner was present and showed compassion was enough to give them the inner strength to smile and express gratitude despite their overwhelming situation. The little things do count so get out there and an enjoy the people and....oh yeah, the waves are still perfect with new waves to discover!"

That pretty much brings you up to date with our latest findings and relief efforts, but I’m sure we’ll have more to report back soon, so keep checking the updates. We’d like to ask that you consider donating to our relief effort. There is information on how to make a tax-deductible donation directly to our mission through the Clean Ocean Foundation here. Clean ocean will issue you a receipt which you can file for your taxes, and we can personally guarantee you that we will use the money in the most grass roots way there is – by traveling to the most remote, inaccessible places in Northern Sumatra and delivering aid and medical attention in person to those who need it most.

Hope you enjoyed the update. Terima kasih.

SLAYER
Web Dork/Arch Angel of Relief