Hello world from Caden's perspective!

Me and the extension of myself...my yellow waterproof bag and my worldly possessions- my camera!

One of the things I love most about Rebak marina:) The boat cats and their weird personalities! This one Tikka guards his boat like a watchdog, luring one in with the pretty kitty look and then striking out at you when you get too close to his boat:)

And so the journey into Indonesia for our fourth time:)...continues....leaving Malaysia Rebak Marina ...

With the wind in our sails, we headed out across the Malacca Straitts again to three months of wave hunting and surfing in Indo:)

Here is the plotter showing us leaving Phuket on the left and the ocean across the Malacca Straitts that we must cross to reach Sumatra:) It does not look far but it is a two day and two night sail with who knows what out there...ships...storms...perhaps the odd pirate:)?

Our first night after our crossing,we anchored off the East coast of Sumatra. The wind had picked up to 25 knots, and Brent scoured the coastline in the fading light, to find a suitable anchorage. We tucked Micah into a calm nook and slept really well after the two day and night crossing from Thailand.

Often we are the only ones out there- just Micah and the ocean...lovely;)

The next morning, we 

pulled up anchor quickly and raced past Banda Aceh to get to the pass of water that allows us a short cut through to the west coast of Sumatra. One has to get there at the right tide as the current in this gap is very scary if you go through with it against you! It was a bumpy windy crossing through with the swell on the nose... The rest of the sail to Seudu- a protected finger bay, went smoothly and finally we were in Indo!  Beautiful! Fresh air and blue blue oceans!

Yip- that is the wall of a blue blue wave about to break on Brent's head...unless he starts paddling now:)

The silhouettes of the many hills and mountains of Sumatra as we come around the tip after our crossing to Indonesia...When I see these valleys and hills, then I know- we are in Indo:)

As we sail closer to Indo so the style of the fishing boats change:) Here is Brent doing the Choomy Choomy sign for Squid trading:) If I see locals giving me that strange wave in Indo next time...I will know where it came from;)!

Here Brent is -negotiating a ride into Banda Aceh...it is just not easy to not have transport that you can just pull out your garage to go and do a grocery shop:)

A phi phi cat...:) Quite at home on the beach!

Brent wanted to go to Banda Aceh to get internet, once we were safely anchored in the finger bay of Seudu.The city was not close to where we anchored and we did not have transport but that did not stop us:) Cally bravely offered to look after the yacht and we piled Charl into the dingy and headed to shore. She did not know what she was in for:)

Charl and I waiting on the side of the road as Charl braces herself for hitching a ride to Banda Aceh...she took it all in her stride:)

Charl (Brent's mom) pondering what is going to happen next:)

Caden-On a boat on a boat:)

An Indonesian lunchbox:) This rooster was in the back of a little fisherman's canoe as he sold us a bunch of bananas...

 First we had to work our way with the dingy through rocks and boulders, then once ashore, we had to scramble our way up a hill to the main road.From there we had to ask people if we could pay someone to take us the 45 minute drive to town... Banda Aceh had recently had a 8.3 on the richter scale, earthquake (actually the night I was dying in hospital with my dengue fever! We felt that earthquake all the way back in Malaysia 3 months before our arrival here!) Back to our getting a lift to town, Charl cursed the tough boat life but it was not that bad:) Her and I got to sit in the front of the bakkie while Brent and the boys drove in the windy back.

 After our hour drive in a bakkie bin to Banda Aceh,I knew Brent spent most of that time dreaming about his Prado 4x4 back in South Africa;) 

Would you say that Caden is thriving in this way of life:)?

Cody!!

Recent photo of my Cally girl back with us for two weeks Dec 2012:)

Cally dropping us off on the shore at our first anchorage into Indo..

Here is a view of Micah as she waitly patiently in the finger bay for our return from Banda Aceh...

Charl is that the F for FUN-word I see on your lips?

Below is a photo I took of yet another beautiful child in Banda Aceh:) These little girls insisted Charl and I cover our heads with sarongs as they said that the police arrest the women who are not covered properly:) I think it is true so Charl and I draped ourselves in every sarong in my bag while Charl cursed again:) That alone could have got us arrested:)

 Ha!ha! Never a dull moment with Charl around:)

OK:) This is neither Charl's bottom or a hot bottom:) But it is a comical photo that I took at the Similan islands recently with an enthusiastic photographer taking photos of waves:) Magic seaweed -brace yourself for wave of the day;)! Love it!

By the time we got to town, Brent's mom Charl had a very hot bottom as the engine for the vehicle was under her seat:) Below is a photo of another wave of the day:)

These two lovely Banda Aceh girls shyly smiled for my camera when they saw the zoom focused on them:)

Welcome aboard:)

...

Right Now, Brent is deep in his book at the helm and Charl has taken over the passenger seat as she tries to shake off the drug like effects of her seasick tablets...Cal has been out of sight the whole day- probably on the sugar-scoop feeling ill from the rocking of the boat:) She often just sits there not bothering us with her sea sickness...she just sits there and sings to the dolphins and just gets on with it:)

The early days two years ago as we arrived in Indonesian waters for the first time:)

 The boys too have disappeared to avoid schoolwork no doubt;)

And motion sickness or not...I have a job to do...cooking dinner for this hungry mob!!

We have been sailing all day and finally sailed into a protected bay that we have anchored at many times before. All the eager surfers aboard and of course one enthusiastic photographer:) -all piled into the dingy and headed out to look for surf! All I wanted to do was take some amazing photos of waves! 

I waited apprehensively while the surfers namely Cody,Brent,Cal and Todd-our friend  from another catamaran, debated over which wave- the right or the left, was the better one....

 The surf was big and heavy and all over the place and I was nervous being out there on the dingy! Todd chose the one spot to surf in  and Brent and Cody opted for the other side of the bay...I in the meantime was getting my camera out of the waterproof bag when I heard a nervous "dad...." and I looked up to see the set approaching directly behind us! The swell was building up and we were quite far inside it...

Of course, Brent had it all under control but there is no ways that my nerves can take the sight of those waves about to break on us. One has no idea how big they are until you are sitting in the dingy and one with all its friends behind it...is rushing towards you! Needless to say...I "freaked out!" As Brent zoomed the dingy deeper inside the sets to find the way out.... I lost it and started to yell my now familiar sound of an hysterical- " take me back to the boat!!!" Which is just what Brent did and that was the end of my photo session before it had even begun:((( 

Sipping on a glass of wine with Charl while far from the surf... I admired the sunset and sulked at the thought of all the photos of the FIRST Indo surf session, that I was missing!!!

There is Micah -a tiny speck on the right of the photo:) Indo-Paradise:)

The view from under the sunshade on the front of Micah...

Our second anchorage on the West Coast of Sumatra...Not half bad:)

Brent found a perfect and safe wave for the children at our first surf anchorage. Just around the corner from here are the sets of waves that have won me a magic seaweed Photo of the day and week shot...too scary for words...

Here is Charl looking more like a pirate than a pirate could:)

Micah and Gone Surfing in a postcard perfect setting- where all yachts belong but thank-goodness never get to:)

Caden is up and surfing like a champ!

It is so good to see all three of our children  having a surf together...Cally  however will soon be flying back to complete her schooling in South Africa and my heart is heavy with the pain of her leaving us:(

Collecting Todd for the surf he will never forget:) 

The sets that I started yelling to take me back to the boat!:)

Gorgeous Cal!

Handsome Cody getting excited after waiting so long for this surf- months of waiting and now the day has arrived!

Todd thought this was his lucky day for surf:)...little did he realize that this was his lucky day:)

It ended up being poor Cal who sat in the dingy in a supposed no break zone or chanel and waited for the boys to finish their surf. She had a radio with her and she called to say it was really scary there. Eventhough it was not likely that an actual wave would break on her, she said that each swell got larger and larger and just when it looked like it was going to break, it would go under the dingy lifting it sky-high...

Brent and Cody surfed on...and on the other side of the bay...Todd surfed alone. 

Cal could not escape there if she wanted to as the anchor for the dingy was stuck in the reef so she waited and by the time Brent had finished his surf...it was getting dark fast and he too could not get the anchor up.

 So eventually he tied an empty coke bottle to the anchor line and the three of them left now in the dark, to find Todd...They could not find him in the dark! Brent radioed me to see if Todd had paddled the long distance back to his yacht but all the lights were off and no-one was home there. After coming back to Micah and getting torches, they set off again to search the rocks on the other side to see if Todd had swum ashore...but no Todd...Charl was beside herself wailing Todd is dead!

 I knew that he was not-he could swim:) Suddenly a voice in the dark waters called out...it was Todd- cold, tired about miffed but relieved to be back:) He said Brent roared right past him in the dark in his search for him...oh well...Will Todd surf with us again?:) Of course he will:)

Cally and I recently in the Similan Islands:)

Cody flirting with the elements and Cally laughing in the spray while cringing inside at what is still coming:)

Here is one of the larger swells we encountered! We dropped anchor in supposedly the perfect place:) and waited for the predicted swell and when it arrived, each wave sounded like a roaring freight train thundering toward us!! I snapped furiously as each beautiful monster of a wave rolled furiously past the yacht, leaving a taste of salt on my tongue at their close proximity:) Here, a brave surfer accepts the challenge!!

True Beauty!

True Beauties and fisherwomen of the sea!

And so this blog must come to an end as we are setting sail again tomorrow and I must share this with all of you:) Below are just some of my favorite Indo photos of adventures still to come...Enjoy until my next blog when fun on the high seas will continue with lots of fish, surf, adventure will happen!!

Ice-cream! I miss you-hope you are happy cat at Rebak Marina:)

Rosie and I having a glass of wine on the dock:)