Fisherman Took His Chance
p. 36 · Read in the full issue
From Our Own Correspondent.
RAROTONGA, December 4.
A NATIVE fisherman, John Mani hiki, nearly lost his life recently.
He was fishing off the reef at night in a small, out-rigged dugout, when somehow his canoe was thrown up on the reef and smashed to matchwood in one hit. Manihiki was fortunate enough to get clear of the canoe with out injury and managed to struggle out to sea on the backwash of the breaker.
Manihiki’s only hope was to shoot in over the reef on a curler sufficiently high to clear the sharp coral forma tions. Failing an attempt to cross the reef the fisherman would probably have drowned before morning or before he could reach the reef passage some miles north or south.
Manihiki waited and took his chance on a high breaker. He reached the lagoon practically unhurt and swam ashore.