‘Even in the teeth of a gale, she has time for a hula’: the sailor breaking barriers on the Pacific ocean

Ivanancy Vunikura was the first Fijian sail master on the Uto ni Yalo, traditional boat that sailed from Fiji to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum this week. Photograph: Lightspeed Fiji

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles from Tonga, the winds began to intensify. Sail master Ivanancy Vunikura was helping lead the Uto ni Yalo, a vessel that had set off from Fiji days before.

“The weather completely changed; the waves went up to four-metre swells and the wind went up to 25 to 30 knots. It was not easy sailing against the direction of the wind,” Vunikura says.