A Week of Traveling Lahewa Lagoon, Pulau Nias

Kilometer 0 monument under construction as we left Pulau We - this is the most westerly point in Indonesia

Fishing "houses" at Pulau Raya - they were towed out to sea each night for squid fishing

Wonderful anchorage at Pulau Lasia - beautiful water and sand

Beautiful sunrise over Sumatra

Maggie at anchor at Pulau Lasia - crew of Convivia in their dinghy

Hiking on Pulau Lasia

Harbourfront at Lahewa

April 19, 2016 

A Week of Traveling

Lahewa Lagoon, Pulau Nias

We left Pulau Wei last Monday and arrived here yesterday, Monday the 18^th. There have been 5 passages, only one of which was overnight. None of the stops had a town, so no internet, food or fuel. We have had to motor almost all the time. There is a small town in this harbour, where we hope to replenish the fresh food and find some diesel. We are getting cell phone coverage so will be able to send this as well.

The cruising is considered “idyllic” in this area. It certainly is from the scenery, clear water and space point of view, although it is isolated if you have a problem. We are enjoying a morning SSB net to hear where other boats are and to get suggestions. Convivia ran out of fuel before reaching their destination in Nias, and Gaia could give them some info on getting into the harbour. Helen also had researched info on Sumatran anchorages from other cruisers over the years and printed copies for us. Those notes have been invaluable. The only disappointment has been the lack of wind. It is typical of April weather by the equator. It is also typical to get severe thunderstorms, but we haven’t had much rain either. At least when you motor the seas are fairly flat.

Now for a short list of the stops. The first day’s trip was to the west coast mainland of Sumatra. We had been planning on getting further than the 35 miles, but had a chance that day to sail with a squall towards the coast. The bay at Seudu was well protected. The next day was also a short one to Raya. There we shared the anchorage with many local fishing boats. They go out at dusk and return at dawn. Some of these were like a floating house on stilts that were pulled out by a smaller motor boat.

There are not many anchorages along the west coast as there is a constant SW swell rolling in. The only ones are along this NW section.  After that you go out to the off lying islands, 75 to 100 miles away. These islands stretch in a chain for 400 miles. We are cruising through them until we go back to the mainland at Padang to check out. Wed am to Thurs pm we travelled to the west coast of the first one, Simelu.

These islands are most famous for surfing as there is that constant SW swell. It will be increasing starting next month. Our first anchorage was between Simelu and the smaller island of Simelu Cut to the west. You could see the surf wrapping around the corners but it wasn’t too rolly in the anchorage. Next day we stopped at the small island of Lasia. Convivia and Onvera were also anchored there. We could see why they had wanted to spend a few days there. Peregrine also arrived just before we left. We decided to spend Sat and Sun there. We were close enough to shore with a sandy, instead of, coral bottom, to just use the paddleboard to go in. The dinghy and motor are on deck for the trip.

The surf along the shore was a challenge on Sun, but Maggie wasn’t rolling. We did some hiking along the sandy beach and along a trail inland. We could hear the monkeys but didn’t see them. The snorkelling was very good. We especially enjoyed the coral colors as so much of the coral worldwide is fading. There are always boat projects to be done and this was a clean, quiet pace to get at some.

Monday we came across 55nm to the next large island of Nias and the northern port at Lahewa. I’ve rarely seen an ocean as flat as yesterday. Even before we finished anchoring kids were out in their canoes saying hi and wanting drinks. Later some swam out and climbed on to the deck using the anchor chain. No Regrets had sent us an email warning us to keep the boat locked up when we go ashore. We will be doing that later this am and seeing what is in town.