Men lost at sea for 29 days say it ‘was a nice break’ from reality

Photo: The Guardian

Two men from the Solomon Islands set sail for a trip they have taken before, but this time, nature turned their plans around and they spent 29 days lost at the sea.

Livae Nanjikana and his buddy Junior Qoloni left Mono Island in Western Province, Solomon Islands, on the morning of 3 September aboard a tiny, single 60 horsepower speedboat, reports the Guardian.

Using the west coast of Vella Lavella Island and Gizo Island to their left as a guide, the two intended to go 200 kilometres south to the town of Noro on New Georgia Island.

"We have done the trip before and it should have been OK," Nanjikana said.

The Solomon Sea, which separates the Solomon Islands from its neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is famously turbulent and unpredictable. The two men faced severe rain and high gusts of winds just a few hours into their voyage, making it difficult to see the coastline they were meant to be following.

"When the bad weather came, it was bad, but it was worse and became scary when the GPS died," he said. "We couldn't see where we were going and so we just decided to stop the engine and wait, to save fuel."

They survived on oranges they'd packed for the journey, coconuts they found from the sea, and rainwater they captured with a piece of canvas. After drifting for 29 days, they finally saw a fisher off the coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

"We didn't know where we were but did not expect to be in another country," Nanjikana said.

The men were so weak that when they arrived in the town of Pomio on 2 October they had to be carried off the boat and to a nearby house.

They have since been assessed at a local health clinic and are now staying with Pomio local, Joe Kolealo, who told the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation: "Now they live happily with us."

After being rescued, Nanjikana said, "I look forward to going back home but I guess it was a nice break from everything."