Sadly, Niuatoputapu was in the path of a tsunami in 2009 that flattened the majority of the buildings in the three communities lining the north shore. Nine people died in the tidal wave, which also hit the southeast side of Samoa where it caused even more damage and loss of life.

Three years later, most of the homes on the island have been rebuilt with a mix of government and church aid money. A small workshop near the pier in our anchorage at Falehou village was cranking out identical prefabricated homes of tiny proportions and basic amenities, of which over 70 were already finished and ‘installed’ in the different villages.

People here are living with very little in the way of material possessions. Mats are much more common than chairs and tables as furniture. Most people had lost everything in the tsunami, but luckily the island’s food plantations are on higher ground and weren’t seriously damaged. Most people seemed to be surviving on local produce: taro, coconuts, manioc, papayas, bananas and lots of mangoes as well as fish and pork – the pig population was truly impressive.

So was the friendliness and attitude of the people on the island. On our second day there, we got a ride in a flatbed truck to a rugby tournament -- the first ever on the island –held as a kind of cheerful memorial of the three-year-anniversary of the tsunami. We sat with the Falehou village fans, who were cheering on their team with great volume and enthusiasm. Behind the ‘stands’, Mike and Chris from the Canadian boat Ladybug had a game of pickup rugby with some of the kids.