After another 4.5 hour motoring session, we arrived at P.Asu around midday today, Saturday (00degrees 54'N:97degrees 16'E). 

It's a good thing that we won't be needing to take on water supplies in Padang (as would have been the case in the pre-watermaker days), because we will certainly need to be taking on gallons of diesel. If only we had a diesel maker!! Apart from our first 240-odd miles out of Phuket, the sailing has been a bust, but I pretty much knew that would be the case, at least until we pick up the South East trades at between 5 and 7 degrees south, hopefully.

P.Asu looks to be much more together than poor old P.Wangu, and the most "civilized" spot since leaving Sabang. Asu probably would have been whacked equally as hard as Wungu by the Tsunami, but it seems to have recovered well. It looks to be a popular surfing destination, maybe not right now because we are too early in the season, but has at least a couple of surf "resorts" in place, one of them run by an American. The anchoring is deep here, about 60 feet - always gets me a little concerned, but it looks to be a nicely sheltered spot. We will spend 2 nights here, hopefully getting some cooked meals at the resorts, and will go take a look at the surfbreaks. Maybe Tegue can have a bodysurf there!!

We then leave on a 90 mile overnighter for P.Sipika where we plan to spend 3 nights.

All's well on Galatea.

Neil, teague and mike

- S/V Galatea