‘I didn’t lose hope’: how Cook Islands fisher survived eight days lost in the Pacific Ocean

After the engine on his small aluminium boat died, Junior Apiuta Apiuta battled loneliness, huge waves and bitter cold – but he never gave up For eight days drifting alone in the vast Pacific Ocean, Junior Apiuta Apiuta battled towering waves, bitter cold and not knowing if he would ever see his family again. Twice he was thrown into the ocean by huge swells that threatened to overwhelm him. “Big waves, way higher than the boat, slammed [me] from both sides … but I wasn’t scared because I nev...

By Talaia Mika in Auckland