Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set out from Mono Island, in Western province, Solomon Islands, on the morning of the 3 September in a small, single 60 horsepower motorboat.
The pair planned to travel 200km south to the town of Noro on New Georgia Island, using the west coast of Vella Lavella Island and Gizo Island to their left as a guide.
But even for experienced seamen, such as Nanjikana, the Solomon Sea, separating Solomon Islands from its neighbour, Papua New Guinea, is notoriously rough and unpredictable.
Just a few hours into their journey, they encountered heavy rain and strong winds, which made it hard to see the coastline they were supposed to be following.
Surviving on oranges they’d packed for the trip, coconuts they collected from the sea and rainwater they trapped using a piece of canvas, they floated about 400km northwest for 29 days.
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