Transcript
ANDREW KILVERT: They managed to get their engine going and come along side. So the skipper stopped the boat, which is very difficult and very dangerous to do in those sort of sea conditions because the boat turns to the side and it starts rocking wildly. So as the boat rocked towards the 23ft banana boat, they were able to throw the two young children up onto the deck and you have to remember this was done in pitch black, with spray and whitewater breaking over everyone and people's eyes. You know what salt does, that sort of wind and spray, you can't see anything. What they did then, they said 'well look it's going to be impossible to load everyone like this so we will break the way and you just keep running your engine and follow in our wake'. Anyway after about an hour or so, what happened then is their engine just konked out completely. The seas were getting progressively worse as well. So what happened then was, we have got a, like a 25mm woven rope that floats on the back of our boat. They then kept the torch on that boat and then came around underneath and deployed the safety line. So the six remaining passengers on the boat were then told to try and get to the safety line and as this process was going on, their boat was getting swamped and then it sank. So we had six people in the water, in the pitch dark. Luckily we had two police on board and the person who chartered the boat, who were absolutely up to the task of working with my crew. The passengers had to make it to the rescue lines. The skipper and my navigator, they hauled in six people and you know what it's like hauling in a big fish, imagine hauling in a rope that has got six people, in heavy seas.
KORO VAKA'UTA: So it could a real tragedy with, as you say, the conditions, but also the location, you mentioned that it wasn't too far from being swept out to sea.
AK: Where they were, with the wind and the tide carrying them east, they were lost. They were dead. It was absolutely a million to one chance that we just happened to intercept their course. When our boats get swept east, they are lost. When they get swept west, they get swept down the side of the New Britain islands. When they go east, they're dead.
KV: Those conditions, how come that banana boat was out there?
AK: The banana boat was out there because it had engine problems. We've got a strait which is 42 nautical miles of open ocean and it was a skipper who didn't have a lot of experience and big seas. Down to the east there are really strong winds to the east of the Solomon Islands that are picking up a big swell so even though it might feel like light winds when you are in sheltered water, when you go out you are dealing with a big swell.
KV: This is not the first rescue that your vessel has been involved in. Is there a need for more maritime safety awareness and that sort of thing?
AK: There's an absolute need for maritime safety awareness. So I, along with a bunch of Nissan Islanders, have put together a maritime safety report. On small craft, we need radios and because I understand how culture works on the island, I have set up a system where it's actually not too hard to manage. You check out, you pick up your hand-held radio. With my own money I have set up a system of VHF radio through our Nissan - Pinipel Islands, which gives us coverage of about 500 square nautical miles, so all we need is hand-held VHF radios which means that when boats get into trouble, they are actually able to contact us. The other problem that has happened to us as well is that our telephone system doesn't work on the island, so a banana boat can be missing for a week before anyone realises that it is missing. So these are the really basic issues.
