SOLOMON ISLANDS, 12 Oct – For most people, being lost at sea would mean a great likelihood you’d have to survive on your basic understanding of survival. Some might even panic at the sight of being set astray due to mother nature’s sheer might of high frequencies of winds, heavy storms and the occasional whiff of big waves.
In unlikely circumstances, a duo from the Solomon Islands Live Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni, were rescued off the coast of Papua New Guinea on 2 October after their journey from Mono Island took a turn for the worse. Too weak to even walk, both were carried into the town of Pomio on October 2.
The duo was initially on course to Noro, a town on New Georgia Island, before encountering a storm that would later disrupt their GPS.
Surviving on rainwater to hydrate them, packed oranges they brought and drifted coconuts helped the duo to survive their 29 days of being lost at sea.
In an interview with The Guardian, Nanjikana said although the thought of being stranded at sea was frightening yet it felt like a getaway from the realities of the global pandemic.
“I had no idea what was happening on the mainland, no word of COVID or anything else,” he said. “I look forward to going back home but I guess it was a nice break from everything.”
As of current, both men are recovering in Papua New Guinea while they wait to be repatriated back to the Solomon Islands.
-TheGuardian-