Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 392 is a conversation with Key West waterman Cole Harrison, who chased the South Pacific until he was living in Fiji. He explains how he went from guiding spearfishing and whale swims in Tonga to crossing roughly 2,500 miles of open Pacific by sailboat from Tahiti to Fiji, how he carries the spearfishing skills he learned as a Key West kid into waters full of dogtooth tuna and yellowfin, and what it actually takes to clear a boat into Fiji and be welcomed into a village.
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Cole Harrison is a waterman from Key West, Florida, who fell in love with the South Pacific and built a life in Fiji. He goes by triple-c dot Cole on Instagram, started out guiding spearfishing and whale swims in Tonga, and now spends his time spearfishing, surfing, and fishing on Fiji's west coast.
Cole's path ran from Key West to Tonga, where he worked as a spearfishing and whale swim guide, back to Key West, and then on to Fiji after a chance meeting opened the door. A big part of the journey was a sailboat passage of roughly 2,500 miles across the open Pacific from Tahiti to Fiji.
Cole crossed over 2,000 miles of open ocean, roughly 2,500 miles from Tahiti to Fiji, on a sailboat, a passage he made with two crewmates he had known for less than a year. He describes it as a blast despite the scale, part of a string of long passages crossing large bodies of water in the South Pacific.
Cole spearfishes for South Pacific species he never encountered in Florida, including the dogtooth tuna, a hard-fighting fish that does not exist in the Keys, along with an excellent yellowfin tuna bite. He brings the spearfishing techniques he learned growing up in Key West and applies them to these new fisheries.
Cole explains the realities of clearing in: sailors prepare for it by flying the Q flag, and there are import duties, with a tax he cites of around twenty percent or more on a boat. To be welcomed into a village you perform a sevusevu, a traditional offering of kava root, which the village crushes, grinds, mixes with water, and drinks together.
Cole describes a waterman's life on Fiji's west coast: surfing breaks when he can get out, spearfishing and fishing, and chasing the best yellowfin tuna bite he has seen there. He notes it can be hard to get out on the water, but once you are plugged in it is a rich, fun place to live the ocean life he chased from Key West.
My friend Jake Perry told me about Cole, and the moment I heard the setup I was hooked: what in the world is a Key West conch doing in Fiji? I looked him up and found a waterman doing genuinely amazing things on the other side of the planet. Fiji is a place I have always wanted to go, full of fish we do not have, like the dogtooth tuna. I wanted to hear how Cole got there and how he is fishing it. Press play in the YouTube player above.
Cole's route is a story in itself: from Key West to Tonga, where he guided spearfishing and whale swims, back home, and then on to Fiji after a chance meeting opened a door. He traces how a love of the South Pacific, sparked working for a spearfishing operation, pulled him farther and farther from Florida. It is the kind of follow-your-passion path a lot of listeners daydream about. Hear how it actually unfolded in the episode.
Cole crossed roughly 2,500 miles of open ocean from Tahiti to Fiji on a sailboat with two guys he had known less than a year, and he describes it as a blast. He gets into the realities of long passages, why boats hate sitting idle, and what those weeks at sea actually feel like. For a fisherman like me, used to motherships, the sailing side is a whole different world. Listen to him describe the crossing in the player above.
This is the part I most wanted to hear. Cole takes the spearfishing skills he learned as a Key West kid and applies them to South Pacific fish we simply do not have, especially the dogtooth tuna, plus the best yellowfin bite he has seen. He explains how the techniques translate and where they have to change for new water. Press play to hear how he hunts these fish.
Cole walks through the practical and the cultural side of arriving by boat: flying the Q flag, the import duties and the tax on a sailboat, and the sevusevu, a traditional offering of kava root that a village crushes, mixes with water, and drinks together to welcome you. It is a reminder that living somewhere like Fiji is about respect and relationship, not just logistics. Listen to that section in the episode.
▶ Watch on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
The day after this one, what stuck with me was how completely Cole committed. He did not visit the South Pacific; he sailed 2,500 miles and made a life there, carrying the skills he learned as a kid into water most of us will never see.
Fiji has been on my list forever, and talking to Cole moved it up. If you have ever wondered what it actually takes to chase the ocean to the other side of the world, listen to the whole thing.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Cole Harrison is a Key West waterman who fell in love with the South Pacific and built a life in Fiji, where he goes by triple-c dot Cole on Instagram. He started out guiding spearfishing and whale swims in Tonga, crossed roughly 2,500 miles of open Pacific by sailboat from Tahiti to Fiji, and now spends his days surfing, fishing, and spearfishing the west coast of Fiji, applying the techniques he learned growing up in the Florida Keys to species like dogtooth and yellowfin tuna.
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