Samuela Laveti Ulacake has been with the Uto Ni Yalo Trust for about a decade. This attraction to his job has been influenced by his peculiar love for the sea.
He is a what you might call a water baby, despite him being a man in his mid-30s. A talanoa session with him revealed the strong feelings he had for the ocean and its abudance of marine life.
“I was hired as a consultant by an agency in Suva to cover a story on a group of scientists that chartered the Uto (short for Uto ni Yalo) for two weeks,” he said.
“That’s what brought me to the Uto, I fell in love with how things were onboard, how the crew were and the lifestyle on board.”
Before joining the trust, he worked as a graphic designer in the Fiji media industry, and for a time was a media liaison officer with the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC), before giving his office job up for the allure of the sea.
In his nine years with the trust, and after many nautical miles of travelling, Samuela has earned a few new hats to wear.
“I am now a sailing instructor and a canoe builder.
“The trust builds hybrid traditional sailing canoes that we distribute to coastal and island communities to help them with their fishing and travel.”
Based on the canoes built for the Eco-Challenge Fiji – an expedition race television series shot in Fiji in September 2019 (reviving the original series first broadcast 1995 to 2002), these canoes or camakau, are designed to help coastal and maritime communities relinquish their reliance on motorised sea transport and fossil fuel.
Also, the use of the sea crafts hopes to foster the revived tradition of sailing and sustainable sea transport.
After he builds a canoe, Samuela teaches the recipient communities how to sail.
“We also teach them the basics of our historical canoes and the differences in the canoes themselves.”
This ambitious campaign by the trust is the continuation of the work that began in the late 2000s, targetted at reviving traditional voyage and navigational methods, while promoting a culture of sustainable sea transport in the Pacific.
“The amount of work that has gone into the Uto Ni Yalo, not only the building of it, but the voyages themselves, were very important work.”
The crew believes the canoe has mana (magic), and therefore is worthy of respect.
“That’s why we don’t wear shoes onboard.
“We treat it with respect, just like how we would treat our homes.”
The canoe’s purpose is voyaging, and as a voyager, Samuela believes a lot of the problems we face with the environment these days arise from the disconnect between individuals and nature.
“We get too distracted with our phones, the western way of life, we get too caught up in the hype of watching the latest series, we listen to the latest song and play the latest video game.
“Some people go to the seawall and stare at their phones the whole time, they don’t appreciate the sea around them, they don’t appreciate nature.”
This appreciation of nature, and the ideals of life aboard the Uto, are what pulled him to the sea.
“If you sail long enough with us you’ll understand what we are talking about.
“You would be surprised about how little you need to survive, when you are on the canoe out at sea, as opposed to being on land, in the city.”
It’s a simple life, one that earns him a living while bringing him the fulfillment we all look for in life.
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NEWS / LOCAL NEWS IAN CHUTE 12 July, 2023, 9:00 pm
https://www.fijitimes.com/enchanted-by-the-sea-sailing-instructor-and-canoe-builder/