Raro departure delayed (Update 41)
print this page

Date: Thursday 3rd June
Time: 1600 hours Cook Island Time (GMT – 10 hours)
Position: Avatiu Harbour, Rarotonga

Bula Viti kei Rotuma

It looks like we will be at courtside this afternoon for Fiji Netball’s first game against Samoa as our departure for Samoa has been postponed for 24 hours and possibly 48 hours while we wait for the right conditions.

This morning I tracked down Magnus Danbolt the skipper of the Te Matau a Maui at the Telecom office in Avarua. Rarotonga is such a small place it did not take long to find him.

We headed for the Avatiu Wharf where the Foftein is berthed to meet with the Captain, Andy Gardiner to get the latest weather reports. The Foftein belongs to our main sponsor, Dieter Paulmann who kindly supplied the Foftein as a support vessel for the voyage.

It was clear from the weather forecast that the winds would not be favourable for the three canoes heading West but they would favour Faafaite heading East to Tahiti.

So it was decided to proceed with the Farewell Ceremony at Avana Harbour at noon and then Hine Moana and Te Matau would move to Avatiu Harbour to be with us as we await the wind.

Faafaite will depart tomorrow for Tahiti from Avana Harbour, which is on the East side of the island.

From the weather reports, it looks like we will start to get consistent Easterly and South Easterly winds from Saturday (Sunday Fiji Time) onwards.

Last night was to be our final evening in Rarotonga so we had a huge turn out at the St Joseph Hall. The Rotuman community turned up early with food including their specialty, ‘Fikei’.

Then the rest of the ‘Fiji Community’ started to arrive in numbers bringing food and provisions for the next voyage.

Then there was a ‘Veisiko’ from the Burebasaga Confederacy presenting food for ‘Vakasoso ni Waqa’

Finally the ‘Bili ni Mua’ ceremony was performed later in the evening by the entire Fiji Community where a request was made for us to take more people for a sail before we depart. We will try to do this on Friday.

This morning the Burebasaga Confederacy also dressed up the Uto ni Yalo with fabric (Vakasulutaka).

All day today people have been dropping food by the canoe. Emma Williams who is a fellow Vice President of the International Va’a Federation dropped by with bananas and banana cake.

Our newest crew member Tevita, found out he had an Aunty in Rarotonga and she dropped by with a tin of breakfast crakers ironically made in Fiji.

Also dropping by last night was Tua Pittman, the Cook Islands Navigator extraordinaire. Tua gave a fantastic speech to the Fiji Community praising the efforts of the crew of the Uto ni Yalo.

Such a humble man who has achieved so much for reviving Traditional Navigation. Tua first sailed on the Hawaiian Traditional double hull canoe Hokulea in 1986, the canoe that started the modern revival of Polynesian Voyaging ten years earlier in 1976.

I would have to say that Tua is one of the most interesting and kindest people I have met on this voyage.

I need to make one correction to yesterday’s report. My apologies to Jason Marurai as I incorrectly called him James. Jason flew a goat in from Mangaia yesterday so he and his wife, Elma could make goat curry and palau for us. The curry and palau was to die for, a perfect wash down after a long night of kava.

Moce

Colin/Uto ni Yalo

Report by Satellite Phone courtesy of DIGICEL