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ARE THESE CASTAWAYS REALLY WHO THEY SEEM? Picking up Strangers in The Pacific 😳

11 November 2024 · 17 min · 22K views · Vavaʻu Group

What this video covers

Max, sailing the 1970s Swan 37 *Elixir*, rescues three French castaways stranded on Niuatoputapu in the Kingdom of Tonga.0:48 The crew transports the passengers 180 miles south to the Vavaʻu group, a collection of low-lying islands characterized by deep channels and protected anchorages.0:58 During the 24-hour passage, the boat experiences fair weather with wind on the beam.3:59 Upon arrival in Vavaʻu, the crew uses a drone and binoculars to locate surfable waves among the remote reef passes.8:19 They identify a hollow, shallow-water left-hander breaking over sharp coral.11:01 Accessing the break requires paddling over extremely shallow reef, and the crew must navigate the area carefully to avoid injury on the coral.9:47 After the surfing session, the crew drops the passengers off in Neiafu, the capital of Vavaʻu, to catch a ferry.16:33 The castaways had previously been abandoned on Niuatoputapu after their own vessel was dismasted in the South Pacific.16:44

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Boats in this video

Swan 37Their boat

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