MEETING THE PACIFIC VOYAGERS,"BULA BULA"

Captain and crew of the Fijian canoe UTO NI YALO

First approaching the canoe off Dana Point

The Admiral making the introductions

Iva and the Admiral

They steer with this huge paddle

The canoes are 72 feet long and 21 feet wide

Average speed is 7 knots

We'll meet them again in January in San Diego

We dinghyed out of the harbor to greet a group of Pacific Islanders who were spending the night in Dana Point. They are on a voyage to strengthen their ties with the ocean and honor their ancestors who sailed before them. Before you knew it, we were on board meeting the crew, marveling at the ocean-going canoe and sailing into the harbor with them. It was quite an unexpected and unbelievable experience.