Boaties tell of ocean plight

When Kiwi yachties were shipwrecked on a remote reef in the South Pacific, the natives on the island where they sought refuge at first thought they were pirates.

But the locals soon welcomed them after realising their plight, making them dinner and offering beds.

In exchange, they gifted their saviours a bicycle – along with anything else they could salvage from the wrecked boat.

Now, Wellington coffee and cafe pioneers Geoff Marsland, founder of Havana Coffee Works, and Roger Young, owner of Fidel’s Cafe and Havana Bar, along with Blenheim yacht owner Peter McLean and his son, are hoping to fly home from Fiji this week after living through a Robinson Crusoe-esque adventure.

Speaking from the safety of a hotel in Suva, Marsland said the group’s members were first shaken awake when their 61-foot yacht Jungle smashed into a remote reef more than 400 kilometres south-east of the Fijian capital, writing it off in the middle of the night.

They activated an emergency beacon, boarded a life-raft and sailed to a remote nearby island, Tuavana-Ira, which only received supplies from the mainland every three months.

They had no communications, and their water came from coconuts.

The island’s four inhabitants were initially apprehensive. ‘‘When we were approaching them ... they were standoffish. They thought we were pirates with guns and knives.

But upon learning the Kiwis’ fate, they treated them like first-class visitors.

‘‘It was like Survivor in real life ... beautiful beaches. They caught a couple of wild chickens and made an amazing broth.’’

They were given beds, warm clothing, and had ‘‘an amazing night’’.

The island chief was wearing bicycle shorts so they gifted them a fancy bike from their yacht – along with other valuables including alcohol and egyptian sheets.

The yacht itself was a ‘‘write off’’, and not the only wreckage in the area, Marsland said. ‘‘It’s a very remote part of Fiji, that’s closer to Tonga than Fiji.’’

An RNZAF Orion maritime patrol aircraft earlier located the stricken yacht and dropped a radio and fresh water to the crew soon after they arrived.

A Fijian Navy boat picked them up yesterday.

The boat was initially unable to contact the men by radio, but a rescue party was dispatched in a smaller boat to an atoll where the crew of the SV Jungle were found safe and well.

The crew waited until high tide, about 5pm New Zealand time, before heading to Suva.

The yachties had a few details to work out with the Fijian government, but aimed to fly home in a few days.