🌅 Settling back into slow mode: Nai Harn, Phuket. Nothing like washing off the boat yard with some hard earned R&R.

Surfing The Banyaks ⛵🌊🏄‍♂️ 🗓️ April 2024 🌏 Banyak Islands, Indonesia One of our major life goals 🏆 was to surf off the back of our own boat. It's been a dream of mine for years, ever since I hopped aboard a random yacht in Timor years ago, before life got in the way. The idea has been subconsciously fermenting in my brain. Anchor up, jump off, surf your brains out, come home, relax. Freedom. 💛💚💙 But like everything, it's a fine balance of doing the things you want, and everything else. As responsibility takes over, dreams are de-priortised and suddenly you're old and locked into the monotony of 'life'. 🚫 Not us. 🚫 No thanks. 🚫 Rejected. After an overnighter to the Banyak Islands from mainland Sumatra (where we had a hectic 36 hour reprovisioning stop - see the last post) and we arrived. Welcome to the Bay of Plenty; the southern most point of Tuangku Island 🏝️, the Banyaks. A literal tropical surfers paradise. With waves flanking both sides of the bay, we dropped the hook in 10m of sand, right between the surf breaks. One of the true pinch-me moments of my life. The perfect place to truly lock in to reality, be present with the family and forget the world - not without help from zero internet coverage. The next week was a blur of surfing, snorkeling, sleeping, eating, rinsing and repeating. As a surfer it really doesn't get much better than this.

🌈 In The Spirit Of Adventure 🗓️ March 2024 🌏 North Sumatra, Indonesia Adventures are funny things. You can't really plan a real adventure. You can only put yourself in close proximity to one and hope it finds you. A real adventure is greater than the sum of its parts. A true combinatorial effect. It requires the good, the bad and the ugly to qualify. Tropical beaches + dirty cities = memories. --- Provisioning in Indonesia, especially remote Sumatra, is both a test of wits and tolerance. No marinas, no beachside tourist towns, no supermarkets. It's an extremely DIY adventure. As a privileged westerner, it tests your ability to withstand filthy water, rubbish strewn rivers, hot/stinky cities, and language barriers. It's one necessary ingredient to creating a true adventure, all the while knowing there's a tropical paradise just over the horizon, a day sail away. Main objective: Fuel, water, fruit, vegetables, pasta/rice & sauces, eggs, milk, toilet paper, soap. Side quest: Meat, yogurt, tuna, juice, cheese and bread. Just like a special forces strike team, you require a tight plan. Get in, carry out the objective, extract. Go. Go. Go! --- This particular adventure required a reprovision in Meulaboh - or MuesliBar as it got named - a few hundred klicks down the coast of North Sumatra, on the way to the Banyaks. MuesliBar is the capital of West Aceh Regency. It's regional shipping hub with muddy brown water and the smell of a thousand fishing boats basking in the sun. Sometimes we don't get to choose. You just play the hand you're delt. It's a filthy place to stop and restock. We arrived late so had to sleep on it. The sickly combination of fish and diesel fumes wafting through the hatches. --- Sunrise the next morning and operation resupply is a go. There's no time to waste. The sooner we get in, the sooner we get out. 0700 and the first objective is to head up the a rubbish strewn river in the dinghy. Find a spot between the local fishing boats. Slack tide. Small waves. No problem. No Uber here. Found a Tuktuk and head to the petrol station. 200L in jerry cans please. Return to boat, drop petrol and grab family. 0830: Back up river and find some transport to the local markets. Pick our way though the sunbathing fruit and veg. Eeeh. Onward to a shopping centre. Dry/cold goods, meat & snacks. 2 shopping trolleys full. 1100: Back to the dinghy and now it's low tide. The river is just rapids. Slight problem. There's no way we'll make it out with all of us + provisions. 1101: Shit. Risk analysis; too dangerous. 1102: Problem solving. 1110: Possible solution. A boat of local fisherman (pirates?) offered to take the girls & provisions, while I wrangled the dinghy. Risk analysis; sketchy, but with a 55% chance of success. 1111: Decisions made at 11:11 always turn out good. Let's go. 1120: Arrive at the boat with the girls, riding shotgun with pirates, close behind. Ahoy. We'll stow everything later. Engines on and a straight line through the tankers direction Banyaks. Direction paradise. Direction waves. Yeeeow! That's the spirit. This is adventure.

Thanks for the shout-out in your latest vlog La Vagabonde 🤙🌊🙏. We're currently hauled out working on all those pesky boat jobs 📐. We'll be back in the water again soon, surfing and posting more content!! Stay tuned! Until then check out the Sailing Malallo Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sailingmalallo?igsh=YjYzZzN4aDl3Yndo 🙏🙏

🌊🏄 Waves Ahoy!! 🗓️ March 2024 🌏 North Sumatra, Indonesia. Indo is a super magical place, but for a surfer it's paradise🏝️ But the perspective you get seeing it from your own yacht, with your family, is absolutely next level 🙏. 🧭 From the ocean it feels like you're a true explorer, discovering a new land for the first time. It's the pure definition of freedom and escape. In March 2024 we spent 3 weeks in Banda Aceh, anchored at some perfect, off-season reef breaks surfing our butts off. Literally. I wish I could convey the feeling of jumping off the back of your own boat, surfing all day, then coming back to the comfort of your 'home', and watching the waves from your back porch. It's something everyone should experience once in their lives. More recap posts coming soon, including pirates, mosquitos and shallow reef breaks.