Zita Martel
Vaimasenu'u Zita Sefo-Martel is a fautasi skipper in Samoa. She is also an honorary consul of France. Martel has also become a decorated officer of the National Order of Merit.Biography
Martel attended Canterbury University, where she had been a rower.
In 2000, her local church needed a skipper for their longboat, or fautasi. At first she refused the request, but was eventually persuaded to give it a try. When she became the skipper for her church, she also became the first woman to act as captain in the fautasi races in 2001.
Martel also speaks out against domestic violence in Samoa.
