By Nazario Rodriquez Jr.
Horizon news staff

MANY thanks to the police force that brought us to Angaur last Friday for despite the heavy rains and the zero visibility while on our way we were able to reach the Island State safe and alive.
The trip was to cover what could have been the formal ceremony for the reopening of the airstrip there when nature strikes and almost ruined our daydreaming with the beauty of the Rock Islands.
It was a little past noon when we departed from the Palau International Coral Reef Center on two boats.
Initially, we were on the boat from the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) along with Vice President and Justice Minister Elias Camsek Chin, Governor Horace Rafael, VP Office Executive Assistant Jennifer Anson and other government and state officials. Our good friend Allan Tuppil, Tia Belau’s Salome Villaflor and Island Times’s Junhan Tudenio were also on the same boat.
After about several minutes, the NEMO boat operator decided that some of the passengers have to be transferred to the other boat, which was from the Bureau of Public Safety.
Me Junhan and another passenger decided to transfer to the other boat then after a few minutes, heavy rains blocked our way and our boat operator decided not to proceed. We were promptly informed that we could not continue since the police boat does not have any compass. We also lost contact with the other boat. The officer in charge also said we could not proceed because we might ram into corals since the tide was low at that time.
With no life support like jacket to wear, we wonder what would happen to us if the weather would become worst. Still we enjoyed the trip especially the mountainous waves on the channel separating the Island of Peleliu and Angaur. Those waves are much stronger than during our first trip in September maybe because of the windy horizon.
The officer in-charge of our group said sorry to us about the present dilemma but I assured him that we’re enjoying that unforgettable experience. In fact, this is probably the most enjoyable coverage I had. What do you expect when you are under the heavy rains? We were wet, really wet all the way down. Thus I handed over to Junhan my cellular phone, wallet, notebook and camera for safekeeping. And we enjoyed freedom at its best and its worst. In a tense situation like that, the police force did now show any panic, which was really very commendable. I just thought that perhaps, because of their social nature, Palauans are the best boat operators in this side of the world. And that has kept me calm and throughout the trip.
But that did not end our ‘ordeal.’
We arrived at the Angaur Dock at around 3 p.m. and learned that the Vice President and his group could not continue to Anguar because one of the motors broke down during the heavy rains. I called Allan, who said that they were already in Koror. There we met US Charge d’ Affairs Mark Bezner. And so the police force and the CAT officers decided that we just have to see the airport and checked the installed lights there. Since the NEMO boat carried the food provisions and the gasoline, we ran out of gas halfway through the trip back home. But thanks to a boat that carried a whole family on their way to the Rock Islands who lend us the gasoline as they passed us while waiting for rescue. Because of them we were able to join our officemates in our Christmas party at the PRR during the evening.
That experience has many lessons to learn. Actually it was not the first time that we were on the same situation. Sometime in August, we rode on the Peleliu Emergency boat after covering the commemoration of liberation day. Gov. Jackson Ngiraingas decided use the boat for us along with singer Liza Sandei and her group and Island Times’ Raquel Bagnol when we ran out of gas but it was good that we were already near the Long Beach when the incident happened. A tourist boat pulled us on our way home at the dock in Peleliu Club.
Those experiences should be an eye opener. It was an incident that we must not be ashamed of because from it, we learned our lessons well. Perhaps, there is a need to upgrade our emergency boats especially during official trips like this. Perhaps, all passengers on board should wear life jackets while sailing at sea. Is there a possible way of including a fund for such purpose into the ongoing COFA renegotiations? We’re just suggesting.