Six men are safe in Suva after a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon spotted their drifting boat in fading light on Friday, the culmination of a search that had been running since Thursday morning.
Three boats left Namuka Island together on Thursday, all bound for Fulaga in the southern Lau Group. Two of the boats made it; the third – a white half-cabin fibreglass boat with a 40hp outboard – did not.
Learning of the delay, local vessels went out to find it first. They were soon joined by a foreign-flagged yacht anchored at Yagasa which had answered a Maritime Surveillance Rescue Coordination Centre (MSRCC) request and headed into rough water to sweep the passage between Yagasa and Namuka. A chartered aircraft followed. The Royal New Zealand Air Force No. 5 Squadron's P-8A Poseidon joined on Friday, replanning at short notice from a scheduled fishery patrol.
South-easterlies of 20 to 30 knots were running, with 3.5 metre swells throwing enough salt spray to cut visibility across the search area – conditions Flight Lieutenant Holly Graham, the Flight 5 Squadron tactical coordinator and crew member, described the weather as challenging.
Six hours in, at 5.30pm, Poseidon's crew found the boat 14.6 nautical miles southwest of Vanuavatu with the light nearly gone.
Royal Fijian Navy Ship Savenaca was already working near the area. The Poseidon radioed its position and held overhead while the Fiji Navy ship pushed through to reach them. All six of the lost sailors were out of the water shortly after 8pm. Once they reached Suva, they received medical checks before heading home to their families.
"It was a long day, but the crew was delighted with the outcome," Graham said. "Our thanks to all who assisted, particularly the crew of RFNS Savenaca. Our best wishes to the survivors and their families."
