Back on dry land after 50 days adrift

When Tanu Filo heard his son's voice on the phone, he thought it was a miracle.

He was at home on the atoll of Atafu, in Tokelau, when he received the call he never expected.

His 15-year-old son Filo Filo was alive and well after spending 50 days lost at sea with two friends, Samuel Pelesa, 15, and Edward Nasau, 14, both also from Atafu.

The boys left the atoll on October 5 in a small aluminium dinghy and hadn't been seen despite extensive searches, including by an RNZAF Orion.

They were rescued on Wednesday by New Zealand fishing boat San Nikunau and taken to Fiji, where they were last night recovering in hospital.

Mr Filo told the Weekend Herald yesterday how the family screamed and shouted for joy when the news came through.

His daughter got the phone call from Filo on board the ship. "Someone said Filo's on the phone and I said, 'Who?' I got on the phone and people were shouting and crying and hugging each other."

As he spoke to his son, family members around him broke into song. "It was unbelievable, I was not believing the news. It's a miracle."

Some of Filo's three sisters and five brothers who still live on the atoll "cried all day and all night" when told he was alive, Mr Filo said.

The whole population of Atafu, about 1000 people, were eagerly waiting to see the trio again. "We're just waiting for the return of the boys and we are planning for a feast; that's how we celebrate on the island."

The family didn't hold a memorial service for Filo but they did attend church and prayed for him. Mr Filo struggled not to give up hope but admitted it was hard as the days went on. "It was 50 days they were lost."

On the phone, Filo told him, "Dad, Dad, I want to come home." He said the weather was terrible - "they couldn't believe the weather" - and how their dinghy nearly capsized.

As he listened to the stories he immediately could tell the toll it had taken on his boy. "He was scared. I could tell [from how] he speaks."

Samuel Pelesa's uncle, Lakia, said the family were going to have a memorial service for him but prayed instead that he was alive.

"We thank God because we hoped he would be alive. We were keeping praying that he would be safe and to guide them. And it's happened."

The first mate of the San Nikunau, Tai Fredricsen, gave his satellite phone to the boys and watched as they appeared to grow stronger simply by speaking to their families.

"Just joy, totally happy ... Hearing them talking to family you could see the life coming back into them, it was incredible."

Physically, the boys were in a bad way but mentally they were as sharp as a tack.

"When you see the physical state, they didn't have any clothes on, you could see their muscles had deteriorated and their bones were sticking out ... Your heart really went out to them. I couldn't start doing things fast enough for them."

But he and the other crew members were blown away by the teenagers' outlook on life.

"They were upbeat, they were smiling. As soon as I had them in the room together I asked them their names and contact numbers and they were sharp, they knew the answers straight off. They were incredible.

"It was very uplifting for all of us. They were just great - three great teenagers," said Mr Fredricsen.

They told of how they took turns to keep a vigil so they didn't miss any passing boats. But the Wellington-based San Nikunau was the first they saw. They used all their rations over the first two days - not eating again until they caught a sea bird.

"They managed to catch a bird. I don't know how, I'm still amazed that they did that," said Mr Fredricsen.

"It's probably what got them through these last few weeks. Maybe that was just enough to carry them on."

As they headed towards Fiji, the boys talked among themselves. "I tried to keep them bedridden but they kept getting up, being kids you know, and they talked to the crew."

Using laptops on board, they watched movies, mainly comedies and cartoons, and listened to music.

"Samuel enjoyed hip hop. He blasted the tunes out there on my lap-top."

Mr Fredricsen, 34, didn't want to upset them too much so avoided talking about how hard their ordeal had been.

"Filo mentioned to me that two days before we rescued them, they started drinking salt water and, ah, I think it would have only been a few days before that would be fatal."

He gave the boys his clothes but they didn't fit.

"I'm a pretty large guy, and they tried to fit my clothes but they kept on falling down. But it only took a couple of seconds before the boys [crew] started bringing them their clothes."

Mr Fredricsen described the teenagers' mood as determined.

"That was the one thing about them. From the very first moment they stepped on to the boat, you could tell they weren't giving up.

"If it was gonna be it was gonna be, but they were definitely not going down without a fight."

The trio spoke of returning home to their parents and their rugby team, although Mr Fredricsen expected it would be a while before they were back on the field.
Survivor stories

1942: When Chinese sailor Poon Lim's ship was torpedoed in the South Atlantic by a German U-boat, he jumped overboard and survived 133 days at sea in empty life raft. He initially kept himself alive by drinking the water and eating the food on the raft, but later resorted to catching rainwater and fishing. He eventually reached Brazil where he spent two weeks in hospital.

1982: Steve Callahan spent 76 days at sea on a life-raft in the Atlantic Ocean and reportedly survived by learning to live like a "aquatic caveman". He was eventually found by fishermen. By the time he was rescued he'd lost a third of his weight and was covered with saltwater sores but was otherwise all right.

1989: Four men spend 119 days adrift on their capsized trimaran, the Rose Noelle, before washing up on Great Barrier Island. The men had set off from Picton for Tonga but storms flipped their boat off the Wairarapa coast.

2009: Two Burmese men climbed onto the waist-high floating freezer after their fishing boat sunk north of Australia. The men survived on rainwater and bits of fish for 25 days before they were spotted by a coastal plane who alerted a rescue helicopter.

andrew.koubaridis@nzherald.co.nz