I n the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles from Tonga , the winds began to intensify. Sail master Ivanancy Vunikura was helping lead the Uto ni Yalo, a vessel that had set off from Fiji days before. “The weather completely changed; the waves went up to four-metre swells and the wind went up to 25 to 30 knots.
It was not easy sailing against the direction of the wind,” Vunikura says. After seven days at sea, the boat arrived in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, on Sunday, in time for the Pacific Island Forum leaders summit . The Uto ni Yalo blends various Pacific traditional and modern boat designs and its journey was in part symbolic – representing the unity of the region gathering in Tonga.
The group hopes to meet leaders at the summit and will also launch a project to share traditional boating skills and knowledge with Tongan communities. Vunikura was one of two sail masters on the vessel – and the first Fijian woman to be given the role. Working alongside the captain, sail masters are skilled at navigation and understanding winds, currents and how to manage sails to power the vessel.
“We need more female sailors; there was an all- female crew that sailed from New Zealand to Tonga not long ago; it is beautiful to watch that, and sailing can be challenging, but we need to encourage women to partake,” she says. The crew on the Uto fondly called her “Mama Uto” and Vunikura felt the challenge in what was “one of the hardest voyages” she had undertake.