In this episode of Sailing Nandji, we are still at the island of Simeulue off the west coast of Sumatra. this sleepy laid back island is as close to a free range farm as you can get! With limited protected anchorages along this coast line, we explore the island by land. We hire a scooter and dodge all the farm animals and their land mines, as we take the hog down some jungle tracks looking for waves. It is pretty easy to make a stranger smile. We have an old surfboard we wish to give away and we head down the beach in search of some grommets to pass it on to. It was actually harder to do then it sounds! But we perceiver and one lucky lad is the proud new owner of a surfboard!!
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In this episode of Sailing Nandji, we arrive to our Ultimate Anchorage, the Bay of Plenty in the Banyak islands. This is truly our paradise. Surfing from a sailboat is much harder than you think and finding a place that has an all weather anchorage, zero swell and roll in the anchorage, beautiful white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and then pumping waves a short tender ride away through mangroves, which is almost as much fun as the surf itself! We truly have found what we are looking for! I think once we left we have now decided that we will sail around the world just to come back here!!!
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, we head to the city of Sibolga on the West Coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. We head into this city which is far from a tourist destination and are greeted and followed by many curious kids. With our jobs done, it is back to sea we go on passage north towards the Banyak islands. On passage Bonita cleans out her closet and we are surprised to find the goodies in store! Not So Grotty Yachty anymore!! Live aboard sailors are often referred to as grotty yachties and therefore in some areas giving us a bad reputation. We are all generally scruffy, our clothes are wrinkled and often smell of wet dog, we are always searching for something and then asking everyone for questions. We are covered in zinc cream, have big wide brim hats on that are firmly fastened under our chins, have sunglasses with a saftey cord around the neck and we drink too much... Yachting on the other hand is an upper class sophisticated hobby with wine and cheese platters, decked out in karki shorts and polo shirts. They are neat and tidy looking, no facial hair but if there is, it is perfectly trimmed 2 day growth. They never associate with the live aboards and rarely visit the land because the crew have arranged for a steak, caviar and seafood dinner on board every night... Bonita gets a little confused between the two...
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, we are faced with every sailors worst nightmare. We are under sail on passage miles off the coast when a vessel charges straight at us. We gybe, change course and the vessel does the same thing and continually charges straight at us... What do you do? Pirates? We have been sailing in Indonesian waters for the past 5 months and have now over the last 2 years sailed all the way through the Indonesian islands from East to West. We have not feared pirate attack, but should we have? At the end of the last episode, whilst happily sailing at 4 knots a boat charges at us and puts us under their spot light. What do we do? Lets discuss this situation and we would love to hear what you would do if in the same situation...
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, it is all about life as a liveaboard in remote Indonesia. Living on a sailboat means we need to be 100% self sufficient as we are travelling extremely remote areas of the far west islands of Indonesia where help is a very long way away. We go through the struggles of keeping Nandji in top shape, what we do to find fresh food to eat and then continue on our way sailing through the islands. We have been in the southern islands of the Mentawai archipelago for the last couple of months and it is time to make our way back north en route to Thailand. We enter into the stunning Telos Islands after being away from any kind of developed civilisation for weeks, hopefully here we can replenish our cupboards as they are very empty. We take Flubber the tender on our longest mission yet to visit the local village in search of food! We head back to sea only to be confronted at night by a bigger vessel charging straight at us. We are on edge as this is the closest and scariest call we have had on the sea...
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, it is time to show how we can afford to live on our sailboat and travel around. We sail on a monthly budget and living from the land is a major part of that budget. We arrive back to Snake island to do some work and relax for a while. The weather had another idea though as we arrived in the middle of a heavy Sumatra squall with winds at 50 knots. Bonita teaches us a little recipe that she likes to cook when we are very low on fresh produce as we had only a carrot, some garlic and an onion left... We go diving and spearfishing chasing that elusive Dog tooth Tuna.
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, after both Yosh and Bonita go separate ways to complete some solo challenges, they are reunited and back together again on Nandji. With Yosh's birthday around the corner he is determined to head south and surf a new wave he has dreamt about for years. With a massive ground swell forecast for the day, they bash their way south into the relentless strong trade winds and choppy seas... Don't fight the Weather... Just another day of boat life!
In this episode of Sailing Nandji, Yosh is left alone on Nandji to fend for himself for a couple of days whilst Bonita goes deep in the jungle to live with a Mentawai tribe. She is 100nm away from Nandji so Yosh heads offshore on his first ever solo sail! With strong relentless trade winds and big choppy seas, it is a challenging and rough sail across the passage from Padang, West Sumatra to Siberut Island in the Mentawai archipelago. I have always wanted to attempt a solo sail and finally the time had come where I had the opportunity. I have always really enjoyed challenging myself and the awesome feeling you have once you achieve your goal. I knew I was in for a bit of ride in this first ever solo sail as the weather was not ideal. But smooth seas do not make a better sailor! It poses the question of is a solo sailor crazy before he leaves or goes crazy at sea? Guess it is time to find out!!
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