Minerva Reef

 After a week of hard sailing we arrived at North Minerva Reef.  

Minerva Reef is a coral atol forming an almost complete circle of reef enclosing an approximately 2 mile wide lagoon.  The reef is just above water at low tide and is about 1 metre below water at high tide.  The reef provides good protection from the ocean swells but does not provide any wind protection. During our 5 day stay winds ranged from a low of 20+ knots to 49.5 knots.  The wind pushed large water flows over the windward side of the reef causing strong currents at the entrance passage on the leeward side.

We were glad to get out of the large waves and take a rest for a while however the overcast and windy weather threatened to make the stay uneventful and boring.  This turned out not to be the case as we got together with several other yachties to participate in lots of activities and social events.

On our first day we went snorkeling on the bow section of an old wreck.  The current was strong but there was a lot of fish life and a few corals at the wreck.  Another group was snorkeling and scuba diving at the wreck and they invited us over to their boat for a get together.  We spent a lovely afternoon and were invited to join them scuba diving the next day.  They have an air compressor aboard to fill dive tanks so we were able to have two dives one outside the reef and the other just inside.  The fish and coral were spectacular with many species including clownfish, butterfly, angel, moorish idol, hawk, wrasse, goby, damsel and many other fish along with anenomes and hard corals.  Lunch was provided and the day passed quickly.

The next day we tried to go to another dive site on the outer edge of the reef.  We were unsuccessful because it was to rough to access the reef.  Not to be deterred we put out fishing lines and quickly caught two yellowfin tunas.  These were filleted and our hosts made two huge trays of sushi followed with delicious seared tuna steaks.  To say thanks we invited our new friends to True North the next morning for a brunch of waffles, bacon, fruits, whipped cream and Canadian maple syrup.  The brunch was well received and we did another scuba dive that afternoon.

Waffle brunch aboard True North at Minerva Reef

The following day we headed out to the highest point of the reef at low tide to walk across the reef to the windward side.  It was difficult to get the dinghy up onto the reef because of the waterfall of water coming off the reef.  We persevered and got the dinghy secured and set out for our walk in ankle to knee deep,water.

Walking on the reef

The dinghy safely secured

The reef walk crew

Our yachts at anchor seen from the reef

To say thanks to some of the other yachties who showed us such great hospitality we hosted a pizza night aboard True North.  There were 12 people present and the party was a great event with natcho and homemade salsa appetisers followed by many delicious pizzas.

The pizza night crowd

The last two days had a strong low pressure system pass over us with winds up to 49.5 knots.  Everyone hunkered down on their boats and didn’t venture out.  We finally departed for Nuku’alofa Tonga on the backside of the storm with 30 knot winds and large waves both which were forecast to drop over the day.