Nias

Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Sat 19 Apr 2014 02:00
We left the Banyak Islands after a quiet night at Pulau Bangkaru--a nice peaceful calm anchorage despite only being a couple of hundred metres from a very big surf break (though if you surfed on it it would most likely be your leg--or neck--that you would break--landing on spiky coral and rocks!

And headed to Lahewa on the northern end of Nias--one of the larger islands in this island chain. This is on a large lagoon, but not the beautiful blue sort--I wouldn't go swimming here! But it's by a small, and very thirdly world, village where we got diesel, took in laundry and did some fruit and veg provisioning. Very poor, but lovely people. And of course we are celebrities wherever we go--hiya mister!

And inevitably some boat repairs. This time a leak in our main engine exhaust hose, which carries the raw cooling water. It was caused by friction against a protrusion on the generator cover--took ten years to show up, but it did so as we set off to Nias. I did a bodged up running repair mid-sea, and fixed it properly (I hope) at Lahewa. So the plumbing continues!

But we've done the work, and in about an hour we will set off for the small remote islands for some recreation, swimming, snorkelling etc. it will be good to get away from quasi-civilisation!

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