According to a few sources, Tuvalu is one of the top 10 least visited countries in the world. (And it’s kind of funny that 2 others of the 10 are Kiribati and Marshalls, our next two destinations.) It is a Polynesian nation, being situated on the western side of the so-called Polynesian triangle. There is a total of 9 islands: six of them being atolls, with only 3 of those being suitable for a sailboat to enter.
The total population of Tuvalu is about 11,000 with 60% of the people living in the capital of Funafuti. Funafuti is where we started our Tuvalu adventure, and the other atoll we visited is the northernmost island, which is called Nanumea. You can see both islands on the map of Tuvalu below:
The island nation of Tuvalu
We have been to many atolls, but Funafuti is a very old one, much further on in its life cycle than any of the others we have visited. The lagoon is very deep and there are very, very few coral heads in it. The motus, or islets that form the perimeter of the atoll, are very low lying, and overall, it was not exactly the most picturesque place we’ve been to. Apparently, the atolls of Tuvalu could be the first geographical victims of higher ocean levels due to climate change. (Recall the story of the people from Vaitupu, Tuvalu who migrated to Kioa, Fiji in the 1940s due to poor soil on their home island). What I have read with the boys has said that by the end of the century these islands could be under water.
Overall, Funafuti was a very pleasant surprise, though. All of the reading I had done regarding our path north didn’t have much nice to say about the various capital “cities.” But Funafuti is a real gem. The people are very nice, even if a bit reserved at first (not unlike other Polynesian countries we’ve been in.) Things were pretty cheap and most things were available, so I really didn’t need to do 4 months worth of provisioning in Fiji.
The infrastructure is quite good and the roads are well-maintained, but you won’t find many cars driving on them. Most people get around town on scooters, or “motor-bikes” as they call them. Even though it seems like there are more scooters than people in Funafuti, you will often see several people piled on a single scooter, and helmets? Not a chance. Babies on scooters? Of course!
The air and water temperatures have of course gotten warmer as we inch closer and closer to the equator. In Funafuti we had water temperatures of approximately 89 degrees F and air temperatures even higher, so needless to say we spent a lot of time in the water. We even busted out the water hammocks from Mexico!
The main island in Funafuti, where most of the people live, is called Fongafale, and that is where we anchored most of the time. But we did venture to two other anchor locations, and you can see them all on the following satellite image.
Satellite image of Funafuti
On arrival we entered through the SE pass, and it was wide and easily navigable with minimal current and no obstructions. When we departed Funafuti, we left through the northern pass, not shown on the image above, but it was equally easy, and we actually went through it with minimal light at dusk.
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. If you’ve heard of Tuvalu, it’s probably in reference to the fact that their low-lying islands are in danger as ocean levels rise. We found Funafuti to be surprisingly pleasant for a port city.
Logbook – November 7, 2015 (Rotuma to Funafuti)
Passage Log Highlights
0548 engines on
0615 engines off main + genoa
1845 SB engine on to reef
1922 SB engine off. Main (1 reef) + genoa
1924 Fish on! Yellowfin tuna!
Daily Notes
T – naked tuna dance, caught a tuna!
Logbook – November 8, 2015 (Rotuma to Funafuti)
Passage Log Highlights
0410 main (1 reef) + genoa
0500 squall (25 kts)
Logbook – November 9, 2015 (Rotuma to Funafuti)
Passage Log Highlights
0300 main (1 reef) + genoa, squalls, lightning, thunder
0525 SB engine on (charge battery) – need to check SB engine alternator)
0600 SB off, P on, tack
0612 P off
0630 both engines on
0645 both engines off
0730 both engines on
1545 engines off Funafuti
Daily Notes
Safe arrival drinks with Navire
Rotuma (Fiji) to Funafuti (Tuvalu)Entering the atoll of Funafuti from the SouthNavigating inside the atoll… perhaps Tim forgot he’s supposed to be watching for coral headsAnchored near the main townReunited with our dear old friends from Navire, whom we had just met the week before in Rotuma
Email to Family and Friends dated November 9, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Arrived in Funafuti
This ended up being a very trying passage for me. From a weather and sea state perspective, we’ve had much, much worse, but overall my spirits were lower on this passage than any other. Perhaps it was the combination of upwind sailing, lots of squalls (thunder and lightening included), and the horrible heat and humidity. Needless to say I was happy to arrive. We enjoyed safe arrival drinks with our dear old friends from the boat called Navire, who we just met in Rotuma. But having shared the experience of Rotuma together, the connection is there, and it felt like they were old friends when they greeted us on arrival. Funafuti is an atoll, but in contrast to others we’ve been to, it’s much older, further on in it’s life cycle. The lagoon is deep and there are very few, if any, coral heads in it. The motus are very low lying, and overall, it’s not exactly the most picturesque place we’ve been. Apparently the atolls of Tuvalu could be the first victims of higher ocean levels due to climate change. What I read with the boys the other day said by the end of the century these islands could be underwater. We haven’t been to shore yet since we arrived late in the afternoon, but we’ll do our clearance in the morning and then explore a bit. Tomorrow is “plane day” when the weekly airplane arrives and apparently it’s a big deal on the island, so we’ll have to see what that is all about. Love and miss you all, -D.
Lots of swimming to keep cool. Busted out the water hammocks.
T/D – to shore for dinner – Filomona Hotel
Walk along the airport tarmac
Tying up at the dinghy dock. And by dock, I mean concrete stepWe were out of the trade wind belt and into the more unpredictable equatorial weather. A squall could hit at any time.The international airport…twice weekly flights to/from Fiji.What the airport runway is usually used forThe sports complexFunafuti is a very narrow island, and we were able to easily walk out to see the Pacific side.
Logbook – November 11, 2015 (Funafuti)
Daily Notes
D – 2 visits to Customes, scout the town for bakery & groceries
Plane day! D – visit post office for collectible stamps. Laundry day.
Drinks at Filamina w/ TBV
Back to schoolPlane day!What is this thing you call TV?Rainbow over our laundry
Logbook – November 13, 2015 (Funafuti)
Daily Notes
Filled propone (Sulani), morning Taiwanese market w/ Janet & Leann. Caught in rainstorm @ TY
Joseph visited – boys took him dinghy surfing
T/B – trolling w/ Craig
We enjoyed visiting the Taiwanese garden where we could buy fresh greens
Email to Family and Friends dated November 13, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Fun in Funafuti
I love this place! To write about everything we’ve been doing and seeing would take a couple pages, so let me just share about the airstrip here. The island is long and skinny and slightly boomerang shaped, and there is an international airport right in the middle of it. A plane comes from Fiji twice a week, and all other times the runway serves as a place of fun and activity for everyone. One of our first evenings here, Tim and I went for a walk before having dinner on shore, and there were rugby and soccer games going on, people running and walking, and people on their scooters buzzing down the runway. Then it’s always big excitement when the plane comes, and we caught the bug and went ashore to watch the plane land. A fire engine sounds three sirens to warn people to clear the runway because the plane is coming, and even then there are scooters crossing at the last minute. We stood right, and I mean right on the edge of the runway as the plane landed. Where else can you can you do something like that at an international airport? Overall, Funafuti has been a very pleasant surprise. The people are very nice, even if a bit reserved at first. There’s a small library and at the post-office they have an extensive Tuvaluan stamp collection, I even bought some as a souvenir. Things are pretty cheap here, and most things are available… I really didn’t need to do 4 months worth of provisioning in Fiji, but I guess at least now I don’t have to worry about it. We are still waiting to hear back from Customs and Immigration to see if our request to visit a couple islands north of here en route to Kiribati has been approved. One boat has already been denied, so I’m not exactly hopeful. Love and miss you all, -D.
Navire with Kailopa and Jacob on board. Kailopa is a man from the island of Kioa in Fiji, which is actually inhabited by Tuvaluans, not Fijians. Navire gave Kailopa a ride with them to Funafuti from Kioa, and Jacob is Kailopa’s grandson who lives in Funafuti. Jacob is 17 years old and befriended Alex and Brenden.We were fortunate to be invited to a family picnic with the people from Kioa.…and later the kids took over.Piled into the truck to go watch the rugby gameA traditional outrigger sailing canoeThis system knocked us around a bit with very strong unforecast winds from the west
Logbook – November 15, 2015 (Funafuti)
Daily Notes
Sunday quiet day
T – fixed and cleaned macerators
Email to Family and Friends dated November 15, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Picnics and Squalls
Yesterday was a lovely day until about 5 pm. We were invited to a picnic here with the people from the island of Kioa. Kioa is in Fiji, but it is not inhabited by Fijians. 67 years ago, a small community from the island of Vaitupu in Tuvalu purchased the island of Kioa and migrated there. Now, there are many people who migrate back here to Funafuti, either permanently or temporarily, and they make up one of the small subcommunities within Funafuti. They even elect a community leader, and they have many social gatherings, like this picnic yesterday. Why were we invited? Call it being in the right place at the right time. When we were in Rotuma we met another boat called Navire with a very nice couple from New Zealand. Well, they had a passenger with them, called Kailopa, and they were giving him a ride from Kioa to Funafuti so he could visit family. Kailopa is wonderful man, and we enjoyed getting to know him a bit in Rotuma, and now that we are in Funafuti he is including us in all the festivities. Also, he has a grandson who is 17 years old named Joseph, and Joseph is being very good to Alex and Brenden, and he’s even been out to Exodus for some dinghy surfing!
So, the picnic yesterday was great, I would say abut 50-60 people including lots of kids. They cooked a pig in a lovo and they also BBQ’d chicken. They apologized that there wasn’t any fish, but they said the boys who normally do the fishing were practicing rugby and didn’t have a chance to go fishing. Alex was OK with that. The picnic was down at the very southern tip of the island, about a mile away, so we took Navire and Exodus down there and anchored off the beach. It wasn’t a great anchor spot since it was steep to, so we were close to shore without a lot of chain out, but as long as the wind direction and strength stayed the way it’s been for the past week, nothing to worry about.
After lunch everyone piled into the back of a pickup truck and headed to the stadium for a big rugby game. Tim and the boys joined them, but I stayed behind “with the women”. Shortly after, I noticed that the wind was blowing from a strange direction, from the NW, so I headed back to Exodus. With this wind direction we were laying exactly perpendicular to a lee shore facing the fetch from across the entire lagoon. But the wind was only 11-12 knts, so I set an anchor alarm with a tight tolerance, and sat down to do some writing without worrying. I actually thought to myself, “If it were blowing 25 kts, then I’d have something to worry about.”
Well, pretty soon it was blowing 25-30 kts and we were hobby horsing in 4 foot wind chop. Exodus was doing fine, but I kept my eye on Navire, which was unattended because David and Janet also went to the rugby game, and after about 30 min of these conditions I could tell they were dragging back after a few particularly violent up and down movements of the boat. I started thinking about what I could do, and quickly concluded that I couldn’t really do anything. First of all getting to Navire would be difficult in these conditions, there’s no way I could drop our dinghy by myself so I would have to swim, and not being a particularly strong swimmer, that didn’t seem like a smart thing to do either. Plus, I would have no idea what to do when I got there. Maybe I could figure how to start the engine, but maybe not. And I’ve never driven a monohull, so would I just be making a bad situation worse? Plus, and this was really the decisive factor for me, I couldn’t very well leave Exodus unattended. We were also in a precarious position and I could just imagine getting to Navire and then Exodus starts dragging, and I’m on a boat I have no idea how to save while I watch the boat I do know how to save drag onto the shore. I wished to myself that it was Exodus that was dragging, because then I could do something. I got on the radio and called for assistance, but that was really an impractical thing to do since we were away from the main anchorage so I would basically be asking someone to dinghy down to help, but still, if by some chance someone was willing and able, I had to try. Then I looked to the shore and was so relieved to see everyone on the shore getting ready to head back to the boats. They had seen the weather rolling in and had come back early.
Navire got their anchor up first, and wow, did the waves toss them around as they headed out of the anchorage. I joked that even Lady Carolina had never provided such a show during our adventures together. Exodus tried to follow quickly, and we got the anchor up as the wind was still blowing 30 kts and the rain was pelting down (being the princess of the boat I got to stay dry under the helm bimini driving the boat, but don’t think that driving Exodus in 30 kts of wind is easy!) Not long after the anchor was up Alex started yelling that a surfboard went overboard. So, Tim jumped on a paddle board to retrieve it, and my job was to keep Exodus pointed into the wind while drifting back slowly to pick him up, since there would be NO way he could paddle back upwind to us. Alex kept a visual on Tim the whole time and let me know when he was near the back step so I didn’t engage the engine. At this point it was imperative that they got both boards and Tim on board very quickly, because without propulsion, Exodus is at the mercy of the wind and will get pushed back rather quickly towards the shore. The boys managed this operation flawlessly, and we were off again. I’m not kidding, not a minute later, our large plastic tub, that was full of rainwater to do laundry, slid overboard. Tim sees it slipping but can’t quite get there in time. So, he yells, “diver down!” and he’s back in the water. If weren’t in such a serious situation, it would have been funny. Perhaps with time we’ll laugh about this.
So, by the time we’ve completed our man overboard drills it’s completely dark. We follow our track back to the main anchorage as Exodus bounces all around and things fly around the salon and galley, like books, apples, wine bottles. As we approached the anchorage we were able to make out all the anchor lights and one of the boats was broadcasting AIS, which helped get us oriented to the layout of the anchorage in the dark. We were able to make it close to our original anchor spot, but out a little further in order to have more room. We put out plenty of chain and got the anchor set and shut down the engines. At this point the squall passed and the wind died down.
This was one of mother nature’s reminders that we cannot get complacent and we have to be prepared for the unexpected. We are not in the tradewind belt anymore, we are up in squall alley, and a squall can blow in any time. Plus, in addition to squalls, the general forecast is somewhat less reliable. Down in Fiji during the cruising season, the weather is mostly caused by systems far to the south, the highs and lows as they travel across the southern latitudes cause the tradewinds and then the periodic backing winds as a trough from a low goes over. Since the systems causing the weather are relatively far away, errors in the forecast of the tracks of those systems result in relatively small errors in the wind forecast up in Fiji (land effects aside, of course). However, up here, the systems causing our weather are closer and less stable, so forecasts are all over the place and much less reliable. After thinking all of this over, I now have a full appreciation for how difficult it will be to pick a weather window for our next passage north.
Anyway, life is always an adventure and a learning experience out here.
Email to Family and Friends dated November 19, 2015
Subject: Exodus – Rain doesn’t stop bonfires
It turns out that the storm that hammered us the other day was the axis of a trough passing over us from the north. This is somewhat comforting news, in that it was forecast, if I had just been watching the right weather products. We had another trough go over yesterday evening, and because I had been watching I knew approximately when the rainy, squally weather would start, and I knew approximately when the axis would pass over. Thank you NWS-Honolulu. This one wasn’t as bad, we saw 20 kt for about 30 minutes at the most. And of course we were anchored in a better spot with enough scope out, since we knew it was coming. Most of the boats in the fleet here (we are 9 total now!) have moved down to anchor in the southern end of the lagoon to get away from the “big city” for a couple days. We’ve met a lovely couple from Sweden who cruised with their 3 boys when they were younger, and they organized a bonfire on the beach yesterday. They were going in to get the fire started, and they radioed to see if the boys would like to come help. I thought it was a very nice gesture, and I all of a sudden realized how important it is for the boys to have time with people without Tim and I around, so they can forge their own relationships. No, it’s not other kids, but there’s no reason they can’t get to know the adults too. Alex was happy to take his machete and get coconuts for everyone. After about 45 minutes they came back to get Tim to join the party too, while I stayed on board to enjoy the boat to myself. In case you were wondering, yes, I did walk around naked in the rain. Just because I could. The worst of the wind and rain happened during the bonfire, but when the boys got back, it was clear that it didn’t put a damper on any of the fun. The fire didn’t even go out! Love and miss you all, -D.
Way back when we departed New Zealand our plan was to spend the cruising season going from Fiji to Vanuatu to New Caledonia and finally ending in Australia. However, shortly after arriving in Fiji a realization came over us. It was already the end of May, and we’d need to be in Australia in less than half a year. That just seemed WAY too soon for us to leave the island cruising lifestyle again and go back to a culture oh so similar to our own.
So, our main options at that point were to stay in Fiji for cyclone season or head north out of the cyclone belt. I have to admit that the thought of staying in Fiji was tempting, especially since we had a few friends who were planning to stay, but in the end we decided the risk of a cyclone was still above our tolerance threshold. So, north it is!
There was one other consideration, though, and that was the sale of our beloved Exodus. Our three years were winding down, and one of the reasons we had always planned to end our journey in Australia was in order to sell Exodus there. Australia has a big sailboat market, and when we left California, we actually thought we’d be able to cruise for three years and then sell Exodus for close to what we paid. However, in the meantime the economy has changed, and the USD has become stronger, and while usually this would be a good thing for travelers, it was most certainly NOT a good thing when you want to sell your boat in Australia and the amount you owe the bank is in USD. So, this just meant that the argument for going to Australia was much weaker than before, so Marshall Islands here we come! We still had to think about selling Exodus, though, so we figured we would list it for sale when we got to The Marshalls, advertising that we’d deliver it anywhere in the South Pacific from Tonga to Australia. (Spoiler alert: it’s now May 2016 and the jury is still out on whether this is a good approach or not.)
Heading north was not going to be easy. First of all it’s a long trek:
Fiji (Rotuma) to Tuvalu (Funafuti) = 270 nmi
Tuvalu (Funafuti) to Kirbati (Tarawa) = 700 nmi
Kiribati (Tarawa) to Majuro (Marshall Islands) = 360 nmi
Total = ~1330 nmi
For some perspective:
Fiji to New Zealand = ~1100 nmi
Second of all, it has the added complexity of crossing the equator and all the funky weather that entails.
And lastly, it would be some of the most remote cruising we have done, making provisioning and maintenance that much more challenging.
But in the end, we decided: Challenge Accepted!
The islands of the South Pacific with Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Marshalls highlighted
We said good-bye to Fiji with an early morning departure from Rotuma on Saturday, 7 November. A two and a half day passage brought us to Funafuti, the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. We spent 11 days in the atoll of Funafuti, mostly at the main island of Fongafale, but also with a couple brief visits at other anchor spots. Picking a weather window to leave Funafuti turned out to be a difficult task, but in the end we were compelled to leave in order to avoid bad weather in Funafuti. It was another two and a half day passage up to the northern most island in Tuvalu, called Nanumea. We thoroughly enjoyed Nanumea and ended up staying there two weeks before departing on Monday, 7 December northbound for Tarawa, Kiribati.
After departing Rotuma, we spent about a month in the island nation of Tuvalu. In the next narrative you’ll meet The Northbound fleet, including The Mighty EOS II and find out what a Sparklebox is.
Rotuma was supposedly an official port of entry for Fiji, so we were intending to clear out of Fiji from there. The government facilities are not near the Oinafa harbor, rather they are on the other side of the island at the village of Ahau. We were planning to just walk there (or hitch a ride) when we were ready to clear out. However, one day while on shore near Oinafa we were visited by some officials, and we made arrangements for them to come to the boat a few days later to clear us out. That seemed easy enough.
But then the drama began. True Blue V emailed us from Savusavu and told us that the customs office in there was now saying that Rotuma is not an official port and that the customs official had been recalled, however, immigration was still operating on the island. We decided to take no action, because the officials we had talked to on shore had said nothing about there being any issues clearing out, and we didn’t want to start asking questions only to be told that we had to go back to Savusavu to clear out.
So, the day we cleared out and the officials came to the boat we noticed that Immigration and Bio-Security were represented but no Customs. They were pleasant, told us to be sure to tell other cruisers that Rotuma is an official port so more people come there, gave us some clearance paperwork, and stamped our passports. I noticed that the paperwork they gave us was only immigration. So, I asked if this was all we needed for our next port and they said yes. So, I decided to get more specific and asked if there was anything we needed from customs in order to clear out, and they all said no. In the end we clearly departed Fiji without completing all of the official outbound clearance requirements. Luckily, we didn’t have any trouble clearing into Tuvalu, but that’s only because the customs official in Funafuti wasn’t too much of a stickler. Of course, we don’t know if this will impact us if we ever want to clear back into Fiji.
The day we were planning to clear out we decided to venture into the main town to check out the Friday vegetable market on the other side of the island. Tim and I set out quite early, walking along the road, hopeful that someone would stop and offer us a lift. The people that we passed along the way were all very nice, and they all wanted to give us stuff. I had a bag full of kasava and papaya before we ever got anywhere near the market
However, after walking for about 30-40 minutes, we were still hoping for that ride. Then we came across a couple with a teenage son waiting by the side of the road. They were Bula and Betty and their teenage grandson. Bula and Betty were dressed up to go to some traditional celebration, and I think their grandson was just hanging out with them. They were waiting for the transport truck to come by to give them a ride and they invited us to get a ride with them; they were certain we could get a lift to the town. We quickly accepted that offer, so we stayed with them chatting for awhile. And then a little while longer. And then longer still. They didn’t seem concerned or irritated at how long it was taking for the transport to come, so I tried not to be either. Finally, it arrived, but it was going the opposite direction, back the way we came. They motioned us in anyway assuring that we’d have a way to get to the main village with the market. So, we piled in.
The transport was a big pickup truck with a covered bed, and there were already 15 or so people in the back, mostly women, and all dressed up for the occasion. I sat next to a woman who was clearly part of the upper class, judging by her manicured nails, her shoes, and her jewelry. She was talkative, and her English was excellent, so she was obviously well educated as well. Soon she was telling me that “I needed to tell my husband to come down from there. Doesn’t he know the condition of these roads?!” I realized that Tim was standing up at the open back end of the truck almost leaning out the back while holding on to a rail at the top. Clearly, he was trying to have a good look around as we drove along. At first I just smiled and ignored her, trying to pass her comment off as a joke. But she kept after me, and so finally I told her there’s no way he would listen to me even if I did say something. She was clearly a little disappointed in my unwillingness or inability to control my husband.
When we arrived at the location of the party, Bula helped us arrange another ride to the town, which was now about as far away as you can get from somewhere on this island. We took the north way around, so in the end we got to see the entire island in all its beauty. When we got to the village we went straight to the biosecurity office, because it was getting somewhat late and we didn’t want to miss them if they went to the wharf to clear us out. It turned out they were just getting ready to leave, so we hopped in their car with them and got a ride back to the wharf.
A woman stood on the wharf and called to us to get our attention and gestured for us to come to shore. So, we dinghied over and met Rakiti, a friendly, talkative woman, and she invited us to come to shore that evening for some music and some kava. It turns out that although they don’t do the sevusevu ceremony in Rotuma, they do like to drink the kava. It turns out that Rakiti was actually a Tuvaluan from the island of Rabi. She used to do dancing at one of the resorts on Viti Levu in Fiji. Her husband is from Rotuma, and they were enticed back there by an offer for her husband to be the music teacher at the local high school. So, her husband Jonathon is a music teacher, and a pretty good guitar player, so he entertained us with his playing while we passed the kava cup around.
OK, I need to start with a little bit of background on this one. There is an SSB radio net called Gulf Harbor Radio run out of Auckland New Zealand by some former cruisers, and since the husband is a meteorologist and gives the best weather forecast information out there, most of us in the South Pacific, especially when going to/from New Zealand, tune into their net religiously. While still in Fiji, I e-mailed David, the meteorologist, and told him that we’d be heading north for cyclone season this year and asked him which weather products he thinks would be the best to monitor for crossing the convergence zones. He must get tons of emails, but he responded promptly, and the rest of the story about my dialog with David isn’t really relevant here, but I will mention that he put me on to monitoring the “streamline” weather fax, an excellent visual which clearly shows convergence zones along with all other major weather phenomena.
Anyway, during our passage to Rotuma, as I was brooding about being alone without any buddy boats, I received an email from a boat called Navire. They are Janet and David from New Zealand, and they got our contact information from, you guessed it, Gulf Harbor Radio. They were already in Rotuma, and would also be heading up through Tuvalu and Kiribati up to the Marshalls, and they were looking forward to our arrival. So, halfway through our first passage alone, we instantly had a buddy boat again.
But that’s not really all I want to say about Navire. I need to introduce Kailopa, and that requires even more background information. Rabi isn’t the only island in Fiji with transplanted Polynesians. There is another island in Fiji just to the south of Rabi called Kioa, and on Kioa is a community of people who migrated from the island of Vaitupu, which is north of Funafuti in Tuvalu. Their story is a far less tragic than that of the Banabans, in that their relocation was totally voluntary, and a little farsighted, in my opinion. Back in 1947 they purchased the island Kioa as an alternate homeland, due to weak soil and overcrowding on Vaiutup. They used money they earned during WWII from the US military who occupied their island. Kioa was initially settled by 37 people, and later a couple hundred more followed. On both Rabi and Kioa, there are now third generation inhabitants who consider these islands their home, where they are from, and in 2005 they all became full Fijian citizens.
So, while Navire was in Fiji they visited the island of Kioa, and they struck up a friendship with a man named Kailopa. To make a long story short, they ended up bringing Kailopa along with them, giving him a ride from Kioa to Funafuti, Tuvalu, so he could visit with friends and family he hasn’t seen for a long time, including his teenage grandson, Joseph. So, Kailopa became their crew for the journey from Kioa to Rotuma and then from Rotuma to Funafuti. We had the opportunity to meet him and spend time with him in Rotuma, and he was easy going and nice to be around, and he would spend much of his free time fishing off the back of Navire. But it doesn’t matter how easy someone is to be around, once you are together in a small space like a boat 24/7, easy can easily become not so easy. Many of us struggle with sharing this small space with the family members that we love. So, it takes special people to do what David and Janet did for Kailopa, and it takes a special person to do what Kailopa did to go with them in order to see his family again.
Gresham Family Exodus 