A FATHER and daughter will spend the next 17 days together at sea aboard the Uto Ni Yalo, as part of the Wansolwara Voyage to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Eighteen-year-old Talei Ledua, from Lau, is the youngest member of the crew.
She is voyaging alongside her father, Kaiafa Ledua, the Uto Ni Yalo’s master navigator, in what will be her first open-ocean crossing.
“Sailing with my dad really means a lot to me,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people, learning new things on board, and just experiencing this whole journey.”
As the eldest and only daughter in a family of four children, Talei said the voyage holds personal significance.
She has been volunteering with the Uto Ni Yalo Trust for the past two years and has previously sailed with her father on domestic routes around Fiji, including Kadavu, Lautoka, and Suva.
“I remember my father asking me to go on this journey, and since then I’ve been very excited,” she said.
“We’re really close, and this means as much to me as it does to him.”