Little Rina ready for Teuila

By Deidre Fanene 19 August 2016, 12:00AM

The crew of a fautasi from Toamua, Little Rina, can hardly wait for the Teuila Festival Fautasi Race next month.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Captain of Little Rina, Matua o Tofiga Fonoti, said the village has a lot to be thankful for.

“Little Rina was built in 1999 and so this time we are thankful that we were able to renovate the whole fautasi for the September race,” he said.

“We will be putting it into the sea sometime this evening to test it out and then we will be starting practice for the event on September.

“It has been a long time since the Little Rina has raced and so we felt that it’s about time that she gets renovated.”

Asked about the cost for the fautasi to be renovated, Fonoti estimated $6,000 tala.

“As you all know Little Rina is the granddaughter of some of the most well known business people and so they have also funded the renovation of the fautasi.

“So we want to thank the grandparents of Little Rina from both her father’s and mother’s side for supporting us throughout the years.

“Their support has made a big difference in our village and without them we wouldn’t be able to continue on with this fautasi race every year.

“So thank you very much.”

He also acknowledges the support from Maselino Ioane of American Samoa and Sonny Hall from Australia who helped renovate the fautasi together with the help of the crew.

“The fautasi consist of 47 seats and with new oars all been renew,” said the captain.

“So now we can’t wait to put these into work and make sure that we are ready for that race.

“The work took one month to renew the fautasi.”

By Deidre Fanene 19 August 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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