A coral donut! Two days south of Tonga and five days north of New Zealand lies the unique and unoccupied Minerva Reef. Given its remoteness, inaccessibility, and need for a an appropriate weather window, Minerva has limited visitors. We have been so grateful to have this adventure, and on Minerva we felt that we should pinch ourselves to believe we were there.

At low tide, the reef provides protection from the surge of the Pacific Ocean and the interior of the reef is delightfully calm. At high tide, waves surge over the reef creating a somewhat rocky anchorage.

Exploring the Reef

We snorkeled inside the reef with beautiful live coral and plenty of fish. The crystal clear water within the protected reef made for an easy float.

Lobsters

Minerva is known for its abundance of lobsters and Herman received some instruction from Rusty of SV Pitu. Lobsters are nocturnal and find a place to hide and sleep during the day. Rusty’s trick was to look in the water under the big rocks at low tide. Although Herman’s hunt was unsuccessful, Rusty and Sally generously invited us to share their catch. Since I’m allergic to shellfish, I stayed topside on SV Pitu while Rusty cooked the lobster and Sally prepared the sides, then vicariously enjoyed their feast.

Halloween

Norhi and Larry, who we met in Tahiti, invited the boats in the anchorage for the “Halloween Party of the Century” on their catamaran SV Norhi. Several clever cruisers cobbled together nautically-themed costumes, some of which related to the New Zealand biosecurity that is top of mind for all of us.

What’s Next

Our freezer is restocked with passage meals and we’re ready to tackle the remaining 800 miles to Opua, New Zealand, which should take five or six days. Crossing yet another convergence zone, we expect a mix of sporty and smooth conditions.

Insurance required many cruisers to be in New Zealand by November 1, and we were glad to be able to take a bit more time. We haven’t seen any boats since our first night, and we were pleased Andy and Julie from SV Cushla shared a photo of Tieton in the distance.

We dug out socks, shoes, pants, and warm clothes that we haven’t seen since our crossing from Mexico. On night watch, I frequently knit to help stay alert and the lap blanket that I started in French Polynesia is almost finished, now also serving to keep me warm.