Uto ni Yalo Song (Update 23)
print this page

Update from Colin Philp
Onboard Uto Ni Yalo

Position: 23*48.2'South/147*44.9'West
Distance Travelled: 2615 Nautical Miles
Distance to Raivavae: 5 Nautical Miles South East

Bula Viti kei Rotuma

Finally we have Raivavae in sight at 10am but an e-mail from the Island
tells us the island will not be ready for us till tomorrow morning because
there has been a death on the island and a funeral will take place today.

The island looks majestic from our position and changes shape as we head
towards the North of the island. The island looks half the size of Beqa with
steep cliffs on the North East side that drop into the ocean just like on
Taveuni.

As we get closer, we can see there is very little sign of houses or
buildings. It almost looks uninhabited except for a few houses near the
shore.

We can see several small Motu's (islands) scattered around the island. These
Motu's are on the surrounding reef and I hope we have time to explore them
although I doubt we will.

So it is a day of leisure with some work thrown in. We remove the Bermuda
sails and booms in preparation of fitting the Traditional booms and sails
for the sail into Raivavae. We decide to tension the rig before we fit the
Traditional booms.

To do this we will set a drogue (sea anchor) off the stern so that the canoe
is facing downwind. I want to try and stand the masts more upright as they
have sagged back during the heavy winds we experienced down south. Because
the masts have sagged towards the stern, the aft shrouds and twin backstays
are quite loose even though I was constantly re-tensioning them during the
voyage.

Finally we catch some fish, a 6.5kg Skipjack and a 4kg Wahoo. Lunch is
Sashimi and Fish/lolo curry with rice. I skip the curry and dig into the
Sashimi, it is good to eat fish again.

We have found out that like New Zealand, we have to use up all our fresh
vegetables and eggs before we enter the harbour. Yesterday afternoon
everyone pitched in to peel the remaining onions, garlic and ginger and put
it in jars of vinegar. Rupeni has been using up all the eggs, potatoes and
pumkins. Tonight he is concocting a vegetarian dish using the last pumpkin
on board.

Ratu Manoa, Kai'afa, Paul (Vaitoga), Kelekele and Salome practice a song
Ratu Manoa has written for the voyage called "Taqomaki Au". Later other crew
joined in to learn the song. The lyrics are:


TAQOMAKI AU


1. Uto Ni Yalo
Marama ni Wasaliwa
Vutotaki au yalo
Luvemuni e wai
Taqomaki au

2. Liliwa ni bogi
Suasua voli au uli tu
Siga cila tu mai
Vula ni cabe mai
Maroroi au

Taletale (chorus)
Taqomaki au tu
Maroroi au....oilei
Isa vukei au

3. ŒU loloma vei Viti
ŒU dei ni'u kila tu, oilei
Biau lelevu tau ni uca
Uto Ni Yalo soko tu

4. Soko voli soko tu
E wasa Pasifika
Qara vanua me'u kila
Vutala ni ua
We ni yava mai liu
Me'u bau kila

Copyright to Fiji Islands Voyaging Society


Once all the work is done and before it gets dark, we will all be in the
ocean for a swim. We swam for nearly two hours yesterday when we were
becalmed without wind. Kelekele entertained the crew with his version of the
Penguin dive. The whole crew was watching with Oscar filming as he did a run
up the deck and jumped off the bowsprit doing his penguin impersonation. It
was absolutely hilarious and we watched the replay on Oscars Mai TV camera
over and over again.

At 9:00am in the morning, we will be meeting with the Tahitian Vaka,
Faafaite at S 23deg 49'400 - W 147deg 40'700 so they can escort us in
through the entrance in the reef. Other canoes from Raivave will also come
out to lead us in the pass.

Once we have tied up at the dock, we will be welcomed ashore and children
will sing for us. Then the mayor will offer a word of greeting. Our response
will be in performing the Uto ni Yalo "Bole".

Then the mayor will lead us to the Town Hall where there will be more
ceremonies performed. This is where we will present our Sevusevu. The boys
doing the Sevusevu will be dressed in traditional costume before we go
ashore. Photos of all the ceremonies at Raivave will soon be published on
our site www.fijivoyaging.com so be sure to check it regularly.

The crew are so eager to see the island up close. You can sense the
anticipation on deck. Tonight after dinner, I will show the Al Gore
documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". This is a "must see" documentary I
would encourage everyone to watch.

Until mataka, moce Viti!

Colin/Uto ni Yalo

Report by Satellite Phone courtesy of DIGICEL