Tahitian Tells

Of 155 Days

In Open Boat

From Ed. Johnson in Pago Pago Villagers at Fitiuta on the northern side of the island of Tau in the Manu’a Group of American Samoa were surprised to discover a weatherbeaten boat and a man lying prone on their beach about midday on July 6.

THE man, about 30, seemed com pletely exhausted and was blackened by much exposure to the sun.

He said his name was Temanihi Tepa, and that he was a Tahitian from Maupiti, near Bora Bora, about 1,000 miles eastward.

As he could speak only Tahitian, plus a few English words, it was not easy to get his story from him, but when it was finally pieced together it added up to another epic tale of man against the sea.

Tepa said that on February 2 (155 days earlier), he and another man, Natua Faioho, about 40, set out in a 22 ft skiff with an outboard motor, to go from Maupiti to Bora Bora.

After a while, the motor gave out and they were unable to repair it

Mrs. Louise Senter, formerly of Papeete, with Temanihi Tepa in Pago Pago. Mrs.

Senter helped to obtain some of the de tails of Tepa's epic voyage.

1,000-Mile Drift To Samoa

with their only tools, a screwdriver and a pair of scissors.

As the boat had no oars or sails, the men drifted westwards.

After several days, they sighted a yacht but could not attract the atten tion of anyone on board.

Land Sighted

Later, they sighted an island (pos sibly Motu-One), but having no means of propelling the boat they could not reach it.

Meanwhile, they lived on a load of watermelons, vz (tropical apples), bread, watermelon seeds for planting, and water in two large containers.

The water supply was replenished whenever it rained, and after the food was exhausted, the two men lived on fish and sharks which they caught with spears made from strips of wood torn from their boat and the blades of their scissors.

During a storm, the outboard motor was thrown overboard to make the boat lighter.

Tepa said that his companion gradually grew weaker and lost hope, and that towards the end of June he died in the night. He was buried at sea at dusk next day.

Tepa claimed that he, himself, lost about 60 lb during the voyage—his original weight being about 230 lb (about 16i stone).

After being looked after at Manu’a, Tepa was sent to Pago Pago where, at the end of July, he was awaiting repatriation to Tahiti.

In Pago Pago, some people doubted that he could have survived for so long in an open boat. But a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, Tesese, of Satala, who took care of him, wrote to a clergyman in Tahiti and confirmed that Tepa had, indeed, left Maupiti for Bora Bora in February with Natua Faioho.

WHARF DAMAGED: The Burns Philp ship "Bulolo" (pictured) left a V shaped hole in Rabaul's wharf on July 6 while attempting to berth.

Her master. Captain Brett Hilder, said later: "Why she would not swing round enough is a mystery.

There was a strong tide then run ning that the harbour master and I had never experienced. Earlier, the 'Malaita' had trouble leaving the wharf for the same reason." (See also p. 99.)