Dear Sponsors, Supporters, Family and Friends

At 0700 UTC (1700 Australian Eastern Standard Time) on Thursday 5 October, Tom’s dad received a message from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to say that Tom’s EPIRB had been activated. Dad was told that a French plane would soon be taking off from Noumea to find Tom who was about 100 nautical miles WSW of Luganville in Vanuatu. In the dark, the plane spotted Tom who was standing on the upside-down hull of Maiwar.

Subsequently a cruise ship, Pacific Explorer, made a detour from its planned course to pick up a naked Mahuta who climbed a rope ladder to reach the deck. Soon after, and some 13 hours since his EPIRB was activated, he rang his family at home. He was being checked in the sick bay, and sounded well after a precarious night. Tom explained that his demise was caused by an unexpectedly large wave that came through the main hatch and flooded the cabin.

Our sincere thanks go to the Australian, New Caledonian and Vanuatuan authorities who all had important roles to play in his rescue; and to the captain and crew of Pacific Explorer who literally went out of their way to pick up Tom.

Now read the update below which the shore team was about to send when the EPIRB intervened.

On 1st October, local time, some three weeks after arriving in Vanuatu’s second city, Luganville, Mahuta slipped quietly down the Sarakata River into the Segond Channel from where he rowed south along the protected western shores of Aore and Malo Islands. From there he struck out to the south west across Bougainville Strait, known for its strong currents and gusty winds. Mahuta had commenced the fifth and likely last leg of his Pacific Row.

What an exciting time Tom had when he entered Vanuatuan waters – from his nerve wracking and unexpected arrival at the northern island of Gaua to his row from there down the rugged west coast of Santo Island, all the while refraining from going ashore because he had not been able to reach a designated port of entry where he could go through Customs. Nonetheless, he was able to communicate with the ever-friendly locals who greeted him from their ubiquitous dugout canoes as he passed.

Tom’s circuitous route around Northern Vanuatu

On the first working day after he arrived in Luganville Tom was processed by the efficient Customs officers. Able to now mix with the locals, he was welcomed by the staff of the Beachfront Resort where he could to buy food and drinks, have a hot shower and connect to the internet. After some time anchored in front of the resort, Mahuta was able to take Maiwar a short way up the Sarakata River to a much more protected anchorage than he had in the bay near the resort. It was also closer to downtown Luganville. Here, a new-found friend was able to organise the services Tom needed.

Mahuta was able to do many different things while at Luganville. The hardware store was able to sell him a replacement sea anchor, a local restaurant served up tasty Pad Thai noodles, he attended church, explored Aore Island which has a large expat population of mainly New Zealanders and Australians; and he visited the premises of a new-found friend’s timber business. That friend was also able to ensure that Tom had a comfortable bed and a hot shower before his departure.

One night, a few days before his departure, Tom, like the rest of the Luganville population was awoken by a minor earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale.

At the time of writing, Mahuta was approximately 1,000 nautical miles (1,850 km) from the nearest point of the Queensland coast and 1,250 nautical miles (2,300 km) from Cairns. Although Cairns is further away as the crow flies, Tom reckons that he will very likely find it much easier to reach Cairns than ports further south. He certainly does not expect to make landfall anywhere near Maiwar’s home port of Brisbane.

Finally, a big thank you to Peter Quattrocelli from ABC News for the story below.

Brisbane’s Tom Robinson begins final leg of quest to be youngest person to row across Pacific Ocean

By Peter Quattrocelli

Posted Thu 28 Sep 2023 at 5:57pmThursday 28 Sep 2023 at 5:57pm

Tom Robinson after he arrived in Luganville, Vanuatu. (Supplied)

Here’s the link to the above ABC News story:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-28/tom-robinson-rowing-rom-vanuatu-pacific-ocean/102914698

As ever, Mahuta is thankful to his friends, supporters and sponsors for their continuing support and assistance. Tom and the Shore Team would sincerely like to thank the people of Vanuatu for welcoming him into their community prior to commencement of the fifth leg of his Pacific crossing. He’s had a wonderful time over the past three weeks.

Yours sincerely

The Shore Team

Shore Team Update 13 - MAYDAY