Minerva Reef consists of two sunken atolls, Minerva North and Minerva South. There is no other way to get here, but on a boat. There is no landmass, no plants or anything. During low tide, the reef pops out of the sea, but during high tide, the waves wash over the reef. It is, however calmer inside the lagoon than outside, as the reef stops most of the wave action.
We arrived at Minerva North reef after a two night sail from our last stop, Kelefesia, at the admiral’s birthday, October 4th. There were 5 other boats in the lagoon when we arrived. It is still a bit early for when the main fleet of boats start migrating south before cyclone season kicks in, some years as many as 40 boats are here at the same time.
We were lucky to be invited to a sundowner at one of the boats when we arrived. They were all planning to leave in just a couple of days, so the discussions were running high on what time was a good time to set sail. It was nice to meet some faces we have seen before, as well as some new cruisers we haven’t met before. The admiral got a Happy Birthday song from the fellow cruisers as well, which was so nice.
This is the second reef we are visiting this season. The first one was Beveridge Reef, where we entered the lagoon in very different conditions from what we experienced here in Minerva Reef. We were so happy to see less wind, so we could explore more.
The name Minerva Reef comes from a whale boat which sank here in 1862. With bad charts, these reefs are hard to see, both during daytime and of course during nighttime. We could walk on the reef during low tide, and enjoyed several walks at the different areas of the reef.
There are several wrecks here, and we went snorkeling on one which was sitting right in front of where we were anchored. We were quite surprised how far into the lagoon this boat was. The bow and stern where not far apart, and we saw tons of marine life living on the parts from the wreck.
We also enjoyed scuba diving just outside the pass, where there was a vertical wall in about 40 meters depth, with lots of beautiful corals and fish life. Supposedly, someone has seen a Great White shark here at one time, but we only saw a couple of grey reef sharks.
The captain has looked forward to this stay all season – especially the lobster hunting. We have learned from cruisers who have previously been here, that they should be in abundance. And so they were…
The way to catch them, is quite spectacular, and not that easy. As the captain is an excellent hunter, many of the other cruisers wanted to learn how to do it. So, he gathered a group, and showed them how to. Not all of them were eager to do the grunt work, and it ended up being a fun outing on the reef for all.
We had yet another awesome trip to the reef, this time to a place called The Swimming Pools, which were pools in the reef, big enough for us to jump into and snorkel in. We saw lots of beautiful fish and corals, as well as lots of lobsters!
We stayed at Minerva North for 12 days, and enjoyed every moment of it. We watched a total of 20+ boats come and go as we were there, and during the last 36 hours, we saw more than 20 boats arriving! So, the main group of boats are definitely now on their way. The last two weeks of October is normally when most boats travel south, as the cyclone season starts on November 1st in the western part of the Pacific.
We spent the last few days preparing the boat for the passage. There are strict rules for how clean our hulls should be when we arrive, so the captain spent three days in a row scrubbing our hulls squeaky clean. We have heard many stories how the authorities in New Zealand are particularly strict this season, and many boats have had to pay for extra haul out costs as they arrive, due to dirty hulls.
We were very relieved when we received our pre approval from the authorities that our hulls are approved, based on the video footage we had sent them. We left Minerva Reef in the late afternoon, and think we have found a good weather window, that will take us safely the 800nm we will sail over the next 5-6 days.
We loved our stay so much, that we are probably looking to come back here on our way north to Fiji next season. So, Minerva Reef – see you soon again!
