Two men from the Solomon Islands embarked on a boat trip and ended up having quite the adventure. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni departed from their home in Mono Island and intended to New Georgia Island, a distance of approximately 124-miles. Things quickly went sideways.
According to a report from Zee News India, the two men were traveling in a small, 60-horsepower boat. They had intended to follow the coastline of other islands to guide them southeast to their destination. Well, the notoriously rough Solomon Sea quickly brought difficult conditions. Heavy rain and high winds made it impossible to follow the coast. To add insult to injury, their GPS unit died. Lost and unsure of their location, the two men cut the engine to conserve fuel and simply drifted.
Out of sight of the coastline and helplessly adrift, the two men survived on the oranges they had packed and rainwater collected from a tarp. After running out of oranges, they found coconuts in the ocean and cracked them open with the anchor of the boat. They sighted land on the 27th day of this ‘adventure’ and on the 29th day they got close enough to get the attention of a fisherman.
Perhaps the best part of this amazing story of survival is the attitudes of the lost men. While this event could be described as traumatizing or nightmarish for some, Nanjikana took a different position:
I had no idea what was going on while I was out there. I didn’t hear about Covid or anything else. I look forward to going back home but I guess it was a nice break from everything.” – Livae Nanjikana
Indeed, 2021 is a strange time to be alive. Perhaps it isn’t the worst time to get lost at sea for a month.
Images From: El Noticiero Facebook Page, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation Facebook Page, Solomon Airlines Facebook Page
