Minerva Reef

Hi everyone,

We've spent 5 days at Minerva Reef.  What an absolutely wonderful place!  We spent our time snorkelling, socialising and completing hull cleaning.  We were anchored in 15m over deep sand.  Going in further would have put us amongst bombies and the sand is reputed to be shallow.  We shared the NE anchorage with 25 to 35 boats which some say is a record.

Anchored at Minerva Reef (sv Deriska photo)

View towards the pass (sv Deriska photo)

Great Sunsets

In NE anchorage

Anchorage from the shallows

There are a host of snorkelling spots around the reef.  Sadly our soft-bottom dinghy and electric outboard limited our options.  The best spot we visited was the "Aquarium".  Small but full of fish and one small shark.

The "Aquarium"

Small (1m) white-tipped shark circling

Fish!

Fish nursery under a coral ledge

On Monday afternoon we hosted a dinghy raft-up for OCC and friend's boats.  At least 17 boats attended including Aura, Bandit, Bengt, Beyond the Stars, Clair de Gouet, Deriska, Flora, Kerpa, Magic, Muna Nui, Paikea, Scout, Tarpan, Thestral, Wanderlust & Wild Iris.  Possibly others too!  Ralf of OCC sv Flora brought along his drone and got some great shots.

All aboard Zen Again

Raft-Up (sv Flora photo)

Raft-Up (sv Flora photo)

Insta360 view

The raft-up concluded after sunset

It was great meeting new folks whose boats we'd seen on AIS for months and to catch up with folks we've seen only intermittently across the Pacific.

Completing the NZ Biosecurity mandated hull cleaning started with an overall scrub of hull and appendages.  This was followed by thorough cleaning of: thru-hulls; cockpit drains; keel bottom; rudder top & bottom; skeg shoe; rudder-skeg gap; stern tube; shaft; and propellor.  The latter was the toughest due to its complex shape and moving parts.  We're happy with the result.  Hopefully the NZ authorities will be too.  We can only do what we can do!

Looking Good?

Bow View

Stern View

Stern Gear

We expect to depart tomorrow morning towards Opua.  It should be a 7-8 day passage.  Initially winds will be light and we may need to motor for a day or so later in the week.  Mid-passage we'll have to pass through a trough containing thunderstorms and strong winds.  Then we should have an E wind backing to N as we approach NZ.  The next front isn't expected until 2-3 days after arrival.  It's about as good as it gets for a little boat.

Trust all's well where you are!