The Uto ni Yalo voyaging canoe, with a regional crew from Oceania finally arrived in Lata, Santa Cruz, Temotu Province this morning, Sunday 31st August 2025.
The team left Fiji about eight days ago bound for Honiara ahead of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting. Their first stop over was at Lata.
The beautiful weather had allowed the team to berth without much difficulty at Lata around 10am.
Soon after arriving the members of the crew underwent customs and bio-security clearance.
They will be joined by Tepuke and will set sail together to Honiara.
The forum leaders meeting gets underway next week from Monday 8th to Friday 12th September at the Friendship Hall in Honiara.
From Lata the crew will accompany the Taumako TePuke canoe to Honiara, honouring Solomon Islands’ navigation heritage and supporting the Motalava Treaty between Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which aims to recognise traditional ties and establish joint Ocean, cultural and development initiatives, including large, connected Marine Protected Areas following continuing consultation and due process.
In 2024, Uto ni Yalo undertook The Sautu Voyage from Fiji to Tonga with a Fijian and Tongan crew.
Like last year’s journey, this year’s voyage is a symbol of Pacific prosperity and unity, retracing the ancient routes of ancestral Pacific leaders while reinforcing the inspiration and importance of traditional knowledge in addressing modern environmental challenges.
The Uto ni Yalo and the TePuke vaka are expected to arrive in Honiara early morning on September 8 and will be received by PIFLM hosts – Solomon Islands and Pacific Leaders as part of the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Key messages of the Wansolwara Voyage:
· A healthy ocean is essential for a healthy climate
· A call for a fossil fuel free Pacific and 100 per cent renewable energy future
· Advocacy for 100 per cent ocean management and 30 per cent Marine Protected Areas across Pacific waters
· Recognition of the Pacific as An Ocean of Peace, resisting militarisation and affirming Indigenous guardianship
· Support for ratification and implementation of the BBNJ Treaty (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction)
The voyage is part of a three-year Wansolwara Sail Plan, endorsed by the Pasifiki Voyaging Alliance—a network of voyaging societies from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Aotearoa, Micronesia, and the Torres Strait. Future voyages will sail to COP31 in Australia (2026) and into Pacific High Seas areas to strengthen global ocean advocacy around the BBNJ.
Prime Minister, Jeremiah Manele, said the voyage exemplified the enduring strength of our shared ocean and ancestral ties.
“As host of this year’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, we reaffirm our vision of a Blue Pacific that is peaceful, prosperous, and united,” Mr Manele said.
“The Wansolwara Voyage exemplifies the enduring strength of our shared ocean and our ancestral ties. It reminds us that our future lies in honouring and drawing from traditional and indigenous wisdom, strengthening regional solidarity, and protecting our ocean as a source of life, stability, and peace.”
The Uto Ni Yalo Trust said its grateful for the support of Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji, who ensure the highest maritime safety standards are regularly maintained and adhered to.
Their due diligence and readiness to advise and assist is why the UNYT Board and crew are confident about continuing to undertake blue water sails.
The Forum meets annually to develop collective responses to regional issues and deliver on a vision for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity that ensures all Pacific people can lead free, healthy, and productive lives.
The Pacific Islands Forum comprises 18 members – Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
