INFORMATION STATEMENT
ISSUED 04 FEBRUARY 05
SSRO Phase One Completion/Summary
The
Sumatra Surfzone Relief Operation was formed on 09JAN05, deploying its
first ships on 13JAN05, delivering 37 tons of food and aid materials --
along with three doctors -- to the islands of Nias and Simeulue. The
SSRO ship Mikumba was the first fully-laden aid vessel to reach
hard-hit
in the northwest of Simeulue on January 18, the physically closest
settlements to the epicenter of the December 26 earthquake and tsunami.
Operations at Alafan continued unabated until all relief and medical
supplies were distributed, and the Mikumba and SSRO team returned to
the
SSRO founding members Dustin Humphrey, Timmy Turner and Dave Sparkes departed
SSRO Phase Two Implementation
SSRO
Director Bill Sharp returned to Sumatra on 24JAN05 for the second time
after a brief visit to the USA to rally financial support for the
cause, and together with Matt George began preparations for Phase Two
operations. An infusion of new team members had already begun to arrive
on scene.
New conscripts include Sam George, well known for two
decades of surf magazine editing and as the writer of the successful
Sony release Riding Giants, who joined the team in
to coordinate the "canoe-lift," the SSRO's plan to redistribute
urgently-needed fishing vessels from unaffected areas to those badly
damaged by the tsunami.
Also
signing on was Australian Zane Kamat, who through amazing coincidence
has spent the last four years working on a documentary on tsunami
survivors and is also a licensed sea captain and scuba diver. Kamat
will act as marine coordinator and also document the dramatic effects
of the seismic event both above the water and below. Kamat's associate,
Malaysian Yee San Loh, will coordinate the dispensing of relief
supplies, translate and document the activities in digital stills and
video.
The intense desire of two female doctors of SSRO's Indonesian
medical team to return as soon as possible to the tsunami afflicted
area was a great inspiration to all involved. Joining on this voyage is
Dr. Muhammad Fadil (the SSRO's original contact in the local medical
community) and new nurse "Patra." Dr. Alsyssa Scurrah will also rejoin
the team at sea.
Crucial
translation skills will be provided by Sherlie Yulvianti and Rina
Haryanto from the office of charter operator Saraina Koat Mentawai.
Most
importantly, the SSRO wishes to announce that this Phase Two voyage was
made possible by funding grants from SurfAid International and Aceh Aid
at IDEP (Indonesian Development of Education and Permaculture). The
SSRO gives its most sincere thanks those organizations for providing
crucial financial, logistical and moral support in this
surfer-organized grassroots effort to help the people of the tsunami
stricken outer islands of
Regards,
Bill Sharp
Director
Sumatra Surfzone Relief Operation
949-548-6740 SurfNewsTsunami@aol.com
DISPATCH FROM THE
TELOS CUT, SOUTH OF
It's been a day and a half since we left port at
and now the Mikumba is working its way through the Telos Cut, low
palm-fringed islets crowding around from all sides, making navigation
critical. But this is the shortest route north across the Siberut
Strait and on to Palau Simeulue, approximately two days' smooth sailing
to the north, and the course was planned so the ship would enter the
Cut at dawn.
Sailing weather fine, winds light, seas sheet glass
reflecting high cirrus clouds above. Quite a change from the vicious
local storm front which originally smashed into the early hours of the
SSRO's second voyage last Saturday morning, chasing us back into port
for repairs. But the storm did nothing to sap our resolve.
Yesterday,
January 31, Phase Two of the SSRO's relief efforts took on a new
poignancy -- quite literally. In the tiny Siberut Island village of
Simalepet, a half day's sail from Padang, 16 hardwood dugout canoes and
32 paddles were taken aboard our ship, all to be distributed to
stricken fishing villages in the north. Hand-carved with axes from
single logs, each is between 16 and 20 feet in length, light enough for
two men (or women) to carry, and handy -- if a bit tippy -- on the
water. This vital component of sustainable, culturally consistent
relief now lay stacked amidships on the Mikumba's deck, in stark
contrast to the modern 15-foot inflatable Feathercraft kayak used for
tending and exploration.
To
celebrate completion in the first small step of SSRO's Phase Two
objectives, a "canoe painting" party was spontaneously arranged. The
varied artistic capabilities and the collective best wishes of the
entire crew were cheerfully applied to each precious hull.
Cupped
in the hands of these myriad islands, small villages lay sleeping in
the morning haze. Thatch huts on stilts, typically surrounding a stone
mosque or church, canoes resting on a quiet beach below. So peaceful,
but we know all too well what devastation occurred on the exposed
northwestern coast of these islands where similarly picturesque
settlements were suddenly engulfed by a 30-foot wave and wiped off the
map.
The
Telos Cut (a spectacularly narrow channel between the islands of
Tanahbala and Tanahmasa) is a challenge, but the Mikumba must get north
to Simeulue as quickly as possible. A lone fisherman in his own dugout
drifts by the starboard rail only feet away, balancing effortlessly as
the Mikumba slips past. A smile, a wave of the hand, wishing us "Semoga
Beruntung," or some local good luck.
And to you, too.
###
DISPATCH FROM THE
ABOARD THE MIKUMBA OFF TELUK BUSONG, PULAU SIMEULUE,
The mission continues. The Mikumba made a brief stop in the
on the east coast of Nias, and picked up a quantity of Vitamin A,
measles vaccine and other urgently-needed medicines which we will
deliver to SurfAid doctors in Simeulue for their ongoing immunization
clinics. Extra batteries and chargers to keep the bridge electronics
perky on the Mikumba were also brought aboard.
Eighteen hours north of Gunung Sitoli is Teluk Busong (sometimes mapped as Gosung), an idyllic bay on the southwest edge of the
After making landfall at dawn, the Mikumba dropped anchor several
hundred yards off a white sand beach, classic a vision of paradise. But
a closer look revealed the unmistakable mark of the December 26
tsunami, even in these protected waters. Most telling were the three
bare palm trunks sticking up out of the sea, approximately 100 yards
from shore. We learned that until recently, three houses stood under
these trees. The entire southern tip of Simeulue submerged some three
feet on the day of the great upheaval, nearly matching the stunning
uplift of reefs on the northern end.
While part of the team went overland to the Sinabong, the main town of
to complete the paperwork needed to work the waters of Aceh province,
the rest got to work, developing a plan to load relief supplies and
distribute them to the nearby
Although some are barely accessible by road, these coastal settlements
on the lower west coast of SImeulue are still reeling from the giant
wall of water. Salur, particularly hard hit, sits at the end of the
pavement just south of a washed-out bridge which makes further truck
passage impossible. Despite widespread destruction, the people of
Simeulue are cheerful and industrious, putting back the pieces of their
lives as well as possible.
The
SSRO team arrived in Salur with its population of approximately 500,
setting up its mobile medical clinic in the cramped office of the
Kempala Desa, or village chieftain. Foodstuffs, tools and school
supplies -- especially welcome -- were distributed outside, giving the
whole project a decidedly caravanserai atmosphere.
The biggest
surprise for Salur was the presentation of a two-man dugout fishing
canoe and fishing tackle -- the key components of SSRO's Phase Two
project. After a symbolic passing of a paddle, the handcrafted prahu
was given to the village's most experienced fisherman, a tall, wire man
of some 50 years, who giggled with gratitude, and took delivery of the
priceless vessel at his place along Salur's beach. Battered, but still
a home, still a community, somehow still intact.
The Mikumba lifted its hook at approximately
and is currently en route for the northwestern region of Simeulue, the
area hardest hit by the tsunami, and a coastline yet visited by major
relief operations. It is known, however, that these small villages
tucked in the lee of the forested headlands, ringing Simeulue's many
palm-lined bays, are still in dire need of assistance, both medical and
supplies. Morale aboard the Mikumba is high, energy and motivation
unflagging. With the operation's moniker "Surfzone Relief" in mind, the
SSRO team is ready to go where others can't in these reef-strewn and
wave-lashed coastlines. Cruising offshore, picking our way through the
coral maze, we look for the smoke of cooking fires, the only sign of
habitation along this primordial shore.
We are heading north to Delam, inshore of the
and then will work our way back south. There are many destinations on
our list, and we will be seeking a way to reach villages like Laayon,
where we are told 53 families are isolated, unable to fish and in great
need of aid. We intend to do what we can for them.
SSRO PHASE TWO TEAM
Matt George – Field Command
Sam George - Quartermaster/Watercraft Coordinator/Media Coordinator
Zane Kamat – Marine Coordinator/Media Operations
Yee San Loh – Supply Coordinator/Media Operations/Translator
Sherlie Yulvianti - Sea Ops Translator
Rina Haryanto - Land Ops Translator
Dr. Muhammad Fadil – Medical Coordinator
Dr. Pashiwati Azis – Field Physician
Dr. Ulya Uti Fasrini – Field Physician
Patra Rina Dewi - Field Nurse
Bukti Sihaloho - Security -
Raynul Mihiko - Co-Captain/Mikumba
Harudin - Co-Captain/Mikumba
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