Pit stop hole in the ocean

By Aaron

Minerva Reef lies 250 miles southwest of Tonga.  We had hoped to sail past it and just go straight to New Zealand, but it was a rough and very wet couple days out of Tonga with big seas and wind forward of the beam so taking a little break sounded pretty good.  This would also allow us to shorten up the weather forecast window to New Zealand to 5 days from 7.

We ended up spending 5 days there in what proved to be a strange and alien-feeling place.  It’s a weird feeling being out there anchored in the middle of the ocean!

The reef is submerged most of the time so there are no trees.  You can see the small gap that allowed us to enter the lagoon.  It’s about three nautical miles in diameter.

You can’t see the reef until you are almost on top of it.  Fortunately the entrance to the lagoon was charted accurately and we had no problems getting in. 

Inside it was like a lake, at least at low tide. 

A couple days into our stay we heard that our buddies on SV Dream Time were having starter problems and were unable to get the engine started.  So we upped anchor and went out to give them a tow into the lagoon.  Fortunately Rick on SV Nyon was to arrive soon after.  It’s always nice when one of the 12 boats in the middle of nowhere happens to have a diesel mechanic on board.  Luckily, they resolved the problem so Dream Time would have power for the run to NZ. 

As we leave the tropics the water temperatures have been dropping of course, but it was still warm enough for Nicole to get a last South Pacific swim in, despite rumors of an aggressive tiger shark.  (I didn’t get in as I have a strict 80 degree minimum for swimming or snorkeling).  I was lucky to capture her doing the rare “freckled swan” maneuver off the sprit.

The shallows over the reef and crystal clear water made for some very pretty views.

Pick a reef anywhere in the South Pacific and at some point or another a boat has probably wrecked on it.

The clams have an amazing rainbow of colors, the blue and green ones being our favorites.

The lagoon was filled with fish and lots of lobsters. Nicole said the lobster in the picture above was the size of a small dog!

This French cruiser would just hop in a hole in the reef and come out with a lobster or two. 

At low tide, walking on the reef is like being on some other planet.  Colorful corals and sea life was all around us, and it was an incredible experience to just walk around on the reef looking at everything.  It really felt like we had landed on an alien world.

Nicole, Kyra, and me enjoying being able to stretch our legs a bit.

That’s Neville, Catherine, Rick, Nicole, Kyra, and me enjoying sundowners on Dreamtime.  Minerva Reef was a very special place, and we’re happy to have been able to share our experience there with these guys.