Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The 125th Flag Day Fautasi Race ran Wednesday April 16, after bad weather conditions delayed the regatta, on Tuesday.

It was decided Tuesday afternoon by the Flag Day Committee, after the delay, that 2 elimination heats and a final race would be run for the winner of the Flag Day regatta. All races would be run about 2 miles out, not the traditional 5-mile, which would have involved all 11 fautasi.

Wednesday’s regatta began around 10 am, and as planned by the 2025 Fautasi Race Committee, led by Sen. Gaoteote Palaie, the top four finishers in the first heat and top three finishers in the second heat qualified to race in the Final. Lanes for the final race were drawn after the second heat ended.

The first heat began at 10am, and the lane placings for both heats used those drawn on April 7th.

The two heats that ran in the morning had the following line-up:

HEAT ONE

Lane 1 – Paepaeulupoo*

Lane 2 – Iseula o le Moana*

Lane 3 – Alao

Lane 4 – Aeto*

Lane 5 – Fealofani Samoa

Lane 6 – Manulele Tausala-Low Rider*

HEAT TWO

Lane 1 – Taema*

Lane 2 – Manu’atelel Matasaua*

Lane 3 – Manulele Tausala #2

Lane 4 – Lupelele*

Lane 5 – Fale o Latia

(*Indicates qualifying for the Final Race)

An aside: Aua’s Paepaeulupoo won the first heat, while Manu’atele Matasaua won the second heat.

The Final Race ran in the afternoon, after 2 p.m., as the difficult task of fautasi having to line up in their chosen lanes.

Hats off to the Committee that worked hard and consistently to keep the fautasi aligned in their lanes and with each other. This involved a decision, delaying the race, by the Committee in order for the fautasi to reposition themselves in their right lanes, spaced properly, with each fautasi helm ‘even’ to the starting line.

Rules were in place to disqualify any fautasi that ‘jumped’ the gun or became involved in unsportsmanlike behavior.

The following fautasi with their lanes listed as chosen in the Final Race were as follows:

1 - Pago Pago’s Aeto

2 - Nu’uuli’s Manulele Tausala- Low Rider

3 - Fagatogo’s Iseula o le Moana

4 - Leone’s Taema

5 - Aua’s Paepaeulupoo

6 - Iliili’s Lupelele

7 - Manu’atele’s Matasaua

Results of the Final Race, confirmed by the Flag Day Committee are as follows:

Winner: Pago Pago’s Aeto, under the leadership of Ailao Taulaulelei

2nd Place: Aua’s Paepaeulupoo

3rd Place: Nu’uuli’s Manulele Tausala- Low Rider

4th Place: Manu’atele’s Matasaua

5th Place: Iliili’s Lupelele

6th Place: Fagatogo’s Iseula o le Moana

7th Place: Leone’s Taema

While there was confusion due to some mis-information from the heats, the Final Race was deemed one of the best run by a Flag Day Committee, with rules met and decisions clearly and fairly made.

Congratulations to all fautasi for a successful 2025 Flag Day Race!

We can all proudly say the this year, American Samoa’s Flag Day fautasi race lived up to our long held ‘Faigamea a le Sami’ tradition — when we travelled as wayfarers throughout the Pasifika.