Report #3 - 2012
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 Update #3/2012

By Robert Tuxson on board Uto ni Yalo

 

Date: Saturday, January 27th Local Time (Sunday, Jan 28th Fiji Time)

Time: 0600 hrs LT (0200 hrs FT)

Position - Latitude 31 02.5N/Longtitude 116 45.8 W

Course - 180

Speed - 1.0

Wind - Light

Sea - Calm

 

Let’s pause for one article and go back and ask what’s this Uto ni Yalo about? Why write about a canoe? Why? What? Where? When? and How? are all relevant interrogatives that will be answered by the time you finish reading this. The Uto ni Yalo is not new to many of you having its origin in 2010. Translated literally it means “heart of the spirit” an apt expression that captures the passions of all those that have been associated with its brief, but astounding life.

One glance at her design, sleek and simple, yet based on the collective knowledge of our seafaring ancestors that without university degree or formal maritime tuition created a vessel that out sailed anything early Europeans could develop! Those that came before her literally flew over the water on woven wings! The Uto ni Yalo has been known to exceed 20 knots!

The concept behind the re-introduction of the sailing culture to Fiji by the Voyaging Society involves a revival of construction techniques gleaned from remaining “mataisau” master canoe builders from Lau and now dispersed to all corners of Fiji. With their guidance the Fijian “drua” will once again ply our waters built and sailed by those apprentices who represent our many maritime areas.

The voyages of the Uto ni Yalo and her sister “vakas” [there are seven in all representing New Zealand, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, mixed island group and of course Fiji] while being intimately involved in the filming of a full length documentary film, The Blue Canoe, to be released in 2013, serves to publicise the plight of our beautiful Pacific Ocean and simultaneously promote the renaissance of our canoe culture.

By the time your canoe has returned to Fiji and before she sets sail for the Solomon Islands’ Arts Festival, she will have sailed from San Diego where she underwent refitting for the past four months and visited numerous exotic places. Aside from the development of traditional navigational methods the crew will hone their skills with sails; collect observational data on all marine life encountered [future articles will highlight a number of the most interesting ones]; and act as ambassadors for their home countries and The Blue Canoe, a metaphor for our ecologically troubled planet.

Continuing from San Diego and sailing south to warmer weather the crew will whale watch in the bays around Encanitas, Mexico and then proceed to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where they will be greeted officially. From “Cabo” the boats travel further south to Cocos Island, Costa Rica where they will investigate the aggregates of hammerhead sharks, manta rays and whale sharks. Upon departing Cocos there’s a short three day sail to one of the most famous islands groups in the world, the Galapagos Islands. These islands are a naturalist’s paradise containing a variety of plants and animals found no place else in the world! Marine and terrestrial iguanas abound. Giant tortoises still roam the interior [Fiji has fossil evidence that a tortoise or land turtle once inhabited Viti Leu].

 Look for the photos that will posted from there

The longest leg of the trip to French Polynesia and its several archipelagos will consume several weeks and see the crew experience cultural diversity of the region. The vakas will then visit their home islands [Cooks-Samoa-Tonga and on to Fiji] before heading to the Solomons to take part in the convergence of cultures from all over the Pacific.

For the intrepid crew that represents their families and friends and indeed all of Fiji it is the trip of a lifetime. You will learn more about each crew member in subsequent articles. If you have a spare moment visit  the Fiji Islands Voyaging Society website or if you happen to bump into Colin Philp its president don’t hesitate to ask him more about your Uto ni Yalo.

From the Uto ni Yalo – tabu soro – the journey continues……