“Nice change”: Two men have been missing on the high seas for 29 days

Solomon Islands
Two men are missing 29 days on the high seas – for them it was a “nice change”

Actually, they just wanted to take the familiar boat trip to Papua New Guinea: two men from the Solomon Islands island of Mono got on their 60 hp motorboat at the beginning of September to drive to the city of Noro in neighboring Papua New Guinea, 200 kilometers away. “We’ve made this trip before, and it shouldn’t have been a problem,” said Livae Nanjikana, one of the boat occupants after her rescue.

First a storm, then no more GPS

Nevertheless, the two men never reached their destination: Only a few hours after starting their journey, they were surprised by heavy rain and strong winds, and they could no longer use the coastlines of the nearby islands of Vella Lavella and Gizo, which they had wanted to use as a guide for navigation recognize. But it got worse: “When the bad weather came, it was bad, but it got worse and more frightening when the GPS failed,” recalls Nanjikana. “We couldn’t see where we were going so we just decided to turn off the engine and wait to save fuel.”

So the two men floated disoriented on the rough Solomon Sea – for a whole 29 days. They fed on oranges that they had packed as provisions for the crossing, coconuts that floated in the sea and drank rainwater, which they caught with the help of a piece of canvas. After almost a month, the rescue came: The two discovered a fisherman off the coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea – around 400 kilometers from their starting point. The fact that they had made it to the neighboring country – even if not to the desired location – surprised the missing very much: “We didn’t know where we were, but we didn’t expect to be in another country.”

Positive adventure conclusion

After almost a month at sea, the two men were so weak that they had to be carried off board. After examinations at the local hospital, all the necessary arrangements for her return home are being made.

However, Livae Nanjikana drew a surprisingly positive conclusion after his turbulent journey and was downright delighted about the forced respite from the events of the world: “I had no idea what was going on while I was out there. I have neither Covid nor heard of other things, “he said. “I’m looking forward to going home again, but I think it was a nice change from everything.”

Dangerous Solomon Islands

Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni are not the only ones who have suffered from the rough Solomon Islands. A boat trip in July was fatal for the Minister of Health of Bougainville, his wife, their son and four other people on rough seas. The boat disappeared, only one person could be found. Just a few weeks earlier, another boat with 13 passengers on board had disappeared off the coast of Bougainville. 36 hours later, it reappeared 50 km north of its destination. As a result of such incidents, it is said the government would consider banning boating in rough seas and inclement weather.

Source: “Guardian“

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