North Minerva Reef, Tonga

North Minerva Reef

23* 37' S 178* 55' W

0810: Anchor down

This is a bizarre place. You can either go onto Google Earth or mmsn.org and click on the Satelite box after putting in our call sign to view it. I have also included the screen shot.

 There are actually two reefs however the north one has the better entrance and is most often used as a resting place for cruisers.

It is located 399.4 nm south west from Port Maurelle. It appears to lie on a submarine plateau and has a small opening (300 feet) on the north western side. The lagoon is clear of coral except at the edges by the reef, the bottom is sand and showing a light blue when viewed by the satellite. But basically it is a 3 foot diameter circle in the middle of the ocean. To put it into prospective - think of finding a life ring in Lake Superior. Thank goodness for GPS. The reef will not give very much protection from any winds but it does give protection from the seas.

At present there is a one foot chop, the sun is shining and we are about to lay down and get caught up with some sleep.

We got up a couple of hours later, enjoyed a BA scramble and reorganized the boat. Wet gear was put away though really for this passage it was mostly wind gear. We did notice a slight tear in the main so David and I spent a couple of hours repairing that.

TEAM WORK - I sew but David has to pull the needle through the sail material with the pliers.

11-Nov-2016 Remembrance Day - makes me think of Dad. I wonder what he would think about all of this - probably not relaying any of it to me as that was not his way - but probably bragging to the world!

We are comfortably enjoying our morning coffee and watching the flotilla of boats coming in from Tongatapu. We have gone from two boats to twelve!

Some thoughts on this crossing. 

The Radio Nets

We are following three nets as we do this crossing. Gulf Harbor out of New Zealand, Pacific Seafarers out of Hawaii and the Poly-Mag net started by one of our fellow cruisers 12 years ago when they started their circumnavigation. Gulf Harbor (YIT.NZ.co) and Pacific Seafarers (mmsn.org) plot our location on the Internet.

I cannot stress the importance of the Nets to all of the cruisers out there. They provide valuable information with regards to weather and course options - actual as well as predicted. David uses all of this information as well as our own data from GRIB files that we get from our winlink network. GRIB files contain data to predict wind flow, sea-state, wave and other information.

This is important information for us to have access to at this time as two lows are approaching the north end of New Zealand in the next week. If we were to leave now we would have been caught in the middle of them with 12 foot seas and 35-40 knot winds. Knowing this, Confidence, as well as the other boats here have decided to wait it out in relative comfort until next week when the predicted high starts moving in. 

Back to the net - the other benefit of the net is the comraderie that has developed among the cruisers. We are a mini UN with boats from Canada, US, NZ, Australia, GB, France, Germany and Sweden. Some cruisers we never get to meet. Others for a few days here and there. And still others we have become good friends with. Just having someone to talk to can be enough to give support or help someone troubleshooting a problem. Just lets all of us know that we are not alone.

12-Nov-2016. Update from the net this morning has some of the boats that carried on finding themselves heading right into those lows. A few will heave to and slow themselves down. Our numbers are now up to 25 and we will all stay here til Friday or Saturday of next week.

So we are all on diets. Most of us have limited stores, knowing that New Zealand is a stickler about what you can bring into the country. I took inventory and am sure that we have enough food to last us but we will have to ration. No eating a bag of chips in one sitting! No worries - we will still eat well.

We are happy to report that Velic has finally arrived. When you look at the 12 hour delay that we experienced having been forced to sail on a course that put us west of the reef you might appreciate the frustration that they have felt retracing their steps. It has taken them Three days to work their way back! We all gave them a warm welcome, blasting our fog horns to welcome them in! And kudos to them for realizing the potential situation they could be in if they continued. One cannot be too proud to realize that you did not make the best decision and have to regroup!

More examples of the camaraderie that develops. Remember that we are in a very small lagoon in the middle of the Pacific. Jade is a catamaran from GB with two kids on board. Their son Noah has decided to organize a pizza run to collect money for the Kiwi's for Kiwi's organization - a small bird that is becoming extinct. So today 8 kids from 2-10 got together on Jade to make pizza dough. Noah got on the VHF radio and took orders. Then Noah and his mom went around to the boats to collect donations for toppings. The two boys on Enough another Noah and Horatio) came over and they made pizzas - complete with cardboard and tinfoil boxes. They could cook three at a time. Then the boys as well as Noah's sister Ferne got in their dinghy with Dad (Alex) and delivered them! 

 They were asking $10 NZ per pizza. We gave him a twenty. After delivering the last pizza I heard a knock on the hull. They were bringing us back the change! We said to keep it - it was for a good cause - and complemented them on the pizza. It really was excellent! We had salami, lobster, mushrooms, olives, sun dried tomatoes, green peppers, onions and cheese on ours. Who ever thought we would be ordering pizza to be delivered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!!!

Noah is also the young man who goes to shore and collects and organizes our beach parties. Incredible young man but then we are finding all of these kids are incredible and very mature for their age.

More stories: Sandy was an IT systems analyzer in her past life. She came over in the dinghy and helped David with some of the computer data issues that he has been having. She also gave us a bunch of movies to down load and two 2 micron filters for our secndary fuel filter. It was quite choppy while she was here and the dinghy was hitting against our swim ladder, which we did not notice, was already loose. So we lost the ladder or so we thought. Sandy and her husband Rankin are divers so they came over the next morning and retrieved it for us! Big deal for us as that is how I get back on the boat after swimming!

And today several boats got together figuring out how to refigure the gas tanks on one of the boats as they had the European system and had run out of propane! Just as they were cooking their lobster! More success! 

Everyday their are examples of people helping people out. We met another wonderful couple, Werner and Christina on Wind Dance III. Our dinghy is all packed up so they were kind enough to come and take us for a couple of walks on the reef at low tide. We were also able to do a snorkel at the entrance to the reef with Belvanie and Sandy and Rankin. One shark, lots of convict fish ( yellow striped fish) and some interesting coral formations. The water was a bit cooler than Tonga but still acceptable. For me anyway - everyone else wore wet suits!

Now it is Friday morning and it is time to leave. Our boat is usually a little slower than others so we are heading out a day early. 

Time to leave this beautiful oasis of Minerva Reef.

Pictures of the reef.

Super Moon

Will have to add more photos later.

 

 

Port Maurelle to Minerva Reef

Port Maurelle, Tonga to North Minerva Reef, Tonga

03-Nov-2016: Hrs on Engine: 3935.3

                         Oil and filters changed

Customs and Immigration check out was completed. We topped up with Duty Free fuel at $1.25 per liter Paanga or .65 US. Regular price was $2.50 so quite a savings. We also topped up our wine and liquor and beer to the allowable limit.

Last game of the World Series was on at the Bounty Bar so we spent our last day watching the game with some local ex-pats - from Canada and the US. A game seven with extra innings and the Cubs winning by a narrow 8-7 score. Who could ask for a better way to end the season. We were not really vested in either team as we have only watched the last four games in the entire season. Almost hated to see either team lose as neither one of them had won the WS in many many years!

Next day we headed over to Port Maurelle to wait for our weather window and complete a few last minute chores. The rain forecasted for Friday did not materialize. As a result we were able to bring the dinghy on board, clean it, dry it and pack it up for storage in the v-berth. I also got a couple of good swims in and even managed to talk David into one.

Saturday's forecast was for rain and thunder and lightening which did not happen until the early morning on Sunday. There was major lightening - good thing we were not out in it! The anchor held with the change in the winds which was a good thing. Not so good was the fact that we swung around twisting our chain around some coral and bringing us closer to shore. We started the motor at 0500 just in case we needed to pull up and reset but we held and the depth stayed at 10 feet under the keel.

I spent Saturday making a crab pasta salad and Chicken Mirabella for the crossing. Then I fried up some fresh Mahi Mahi that we received from a fellow boater ( from Quebec) with a spinach stir fry (first time I saw fresh spinach at the market so I did not hesitate). Also had a wonderful spinach salad the night before. We spent a pleasant evening with Lynne on Amarula sharing more stories. We were also able to get some good Skype calls with my sister Susan, our friend Roz, David's mother ( it was her 91 St birthday), his daughter Michele and granddaughter Amelia in Australia. 

Our last sunset at Port Maurelle

06-Nov-2016 Sunday morning we unraveled the anchor chain - that was a bit of a challenge. We reset in the center of the bay. Final preparations were completed, sail cover off, jack lines secured ( safety lines),life jackets out etc. etc. We finished off the morning with a relaxed pleasant breakfast of French toast, Papaya, Pineapple and coffee. Dishes done. Anchor up.

1200: We got underway under gray skies. Winds are less than 5 knots from the East with a 1 foot chop. Main is up with one reef in place. Motor sailing to start Day One of the next leg of our adventure.

1425: Motor is off and Genoa is out at 60%

           One reef in the main.

           Course 220* T Speed 5.5 to 6.0 knots

           Seas with a one foot chop and 3 foot swells

           Occasional patch of blue in the sky.

           Abeam of Hunga Lagoon.

           Wind Monitor is engaged: Look Ma! No hands!

1600: David furled in the Genoa to 50% and out a second reef in the main. We turned on the engine to get ahead of a nasty looking squall that was coming up on us.

 Success. It looked like another squall was coming behind us but we were able to outrun that one as well.

1800: Everything collapsing around us. Up to 50% cloud cover. The motor is off and we are back to sailing. We are right on course at 220* T There are a couple of new Volcanic islands which have developed in the last 15 years so Captain just informed me to keep on this course - between 210 - 240*. Aye aye Captain. 

Winds are 12 knots from the SE. Speed 5.8 a 6.0 knots on a beam reach.

Daylight savings Time has gone into effect for Tonga which makes for a nice twilight. Remember that we are in the Southern Hemisphere and it is the end of spring here so clocks go ahead! People from the north are used to October and time falls back!

1930: Dinner is done - Chicken Mirabella and the Captain is down for the count. It has turned into a perfect summer evening. Moon is out at 38% and will not set until 01:10 . The clouds have moved off and I have settled down with my book as the wind vane monitor

is doing all of the work!

07-Nov-2016 0430 to 0630

We are passing along the west side of Koa and Tofua Islands. It was a good night with the winds picking up, allowing us to maintain 5.5 knots. The Genoa was at 80% and we still had a double reef in the main.

Some people may be questioning as to why we keep that double reef in - first reason it the fact that it is night time and we like to reduce sail in case any squalls creep up on us. Second reason - we do have a fairly large main and Confidence will maintain good speed with this combination of sails.

0630 and the winds have started to back around from the NE. 

Course is 190* and are speed is 4 knots. There is a very pink sky in the east - sure hope the sailors prediction of "Pink sky in the morn, sailors be warned" does not hold up!

0719: Valec (from Portland) are ten miles ahead of us. They left Port Maurelle a couple of hours before we did.

Noon Position: 20*09' S 175*29' W

    Course 230*T Speed 5.5 knots

     100% cloud cover

     285 nm to go to Minerva Reef

     Total distance covered in 24 hours: 124 nm

1500: A very black cloud is approaching from the east. Looks like there is a lot of rain falling from it. Will we be able to outrun this one? 

We decided to move things down below and put. On our wet gear.

Go Confidence Go!

And we did it again. We did get a very slight sprinkling from the edge of it but nit enough to even clean the boat. Those angels are working overtime!

1700: David managed to make radio contact with the Pacific Seafarers Net out of Hawaii. That means that family and friends should have been able to see our location on mmsn.org.

2200: I noticed some lights off the starboard side of Confidence, sitting on the horizon. The movement and brightness of them made me think that it was a fishing vessel. I had the running lights on but decided to turn on the tri-light just so we were lit up a bit more. We do not often turn this light on as it does not have an LED bulb and really drains our battery. But after a few hours it looked like the fishing boat was running parallel to us, either stationary or heading on a reciprocal course so I turned it off.

08-Nov-2016 David takes over the helm and I climb into bed. David started the motor shortly after midnight to give the batteries a boost.

0200: Winds had picked up and motor was turned off. 

0430: winds began dying off and moving into the NE so we were back to motor sailing.

Lots of chatter on the radio with regards to weather. We had contemplated sailing right on through to Opua, NZ but the development of two lows from Australia and heading for the northern tip of New Zealand influenced a change of heart. We are heading to Minerva Reef.

1050: The sun has decided to show its face but the skies are still about 90% cloud cover. David has finally laid down and I hope not to see him again until later this afternoon. In the meantime I read, wrote more in the journal for entry into the blog at a later date and daydreamed while looking out at the grey skies and grey seas!

Noon Position: 21* 43' S 176* 53'W

          161 nm to go to Minerva Reef

           100% cloud cover with the occasional drop of rain

           Speed 6.6 knots

           Winds are 5 knots from the SW on our nose

1430: Winds have shifted again from the NE and pulled out one of the reefs in the main. We just got settled with the changes and then we noticed a dark squall line approaching. So the Genoa was rolled back in and the second reef was also put back in. The winds then shifted to the east!

But we missed another one!

We decided to put the stay sail out to increase the draft on the main, which in turn created a low pressure at the front of the main sail and to increase its efficiency.

1535: The skies are brightening up a little with a few blue patches. The winds are now from the SW. Where did the trade winds disappear to? We are still running with the motor on. 

Wishy washy winds all afternoon - either on the nose or 10* on either side.

1700: The winds finally settled in from the SE but less than 10 knots so we were still motor sailing.

We received more weather predictions from the radio nets and made a definite decision to head to Minerva Reef otherwise we would be right in the middle of the lows. We are continung to motor sail at 5 knots for a late arrival into M.R. or we might give the motor a rest and drift along this evening.

Good news - the skies have cleared somewhat and the moon is at 53%. I get another moonlit watch. 🌛

🎼 What a difference a day makes. 24 little hours  " . Though at sea you do not usually have to wait the 24 hours. By 1700 hours, the sky is clear, the sun is glistening on the water and the moon is shining above Confidence. The.  Sea is rippled and the swells are pleasant at 1-2 feet.

09-Nov-2016 Our speed is 5 knots and the wind is starting to pick up a bit so we have out the stay sail back out. The winds are from the SE at 7-10 knots and we are managing to steer our course. 

105 nm to our destination. We tried putting out the Genoa to see if we could pick up a bit of speed but no such luck. But at least we could turn off the motor and give it a rest. In the meantime David checked the levels. The overflow cup for the secondary fuel filter was getting a bit full so that was emptied. It took a couple of extra hits on the starter coil before the motor would turn over - a few tense moments. But she started and I went to bed.

It is interesting - the sound of a glass clicking in the cupboard can drive me crazy and prevent me from getting to sleep. However the hum of the motor does just the opposite and I sleep like a baby!

0200: during the night the winds started coming around from the south so it was getting a little difficult to maintain our course without bashing and going nowhere. The seas had also risen to 6 feet. We only had 63 miles to go to Minerva and if we could have sailed in a straight line we would be there in daylight hours. But we could not sail in a straight line. We were having to zigzag across our case line, virtually doubling the distance we had to travel.

0830: David sent our position report. We were on a course. 130* but we wanted to be on a course of 220*. We are talking a BIG zigzag. The sky has cleared and we are looking at 30% cloud cover. The sea conditions and weather are not bad - we just are not going anywhere fast. Looks like we will be spending another night on the open seas!

Velic, who was ahead of us, is now 100 nm behind us but they had decided to continue right on to Opua. We are both experiencing the same conditions with the winds not expected to come around to the SE til tomorrow. Time to tack and make a course alteration. 

Noon Position: 23* 01' S 178*18' W

     Speed is 5 knots

     Winds 20 knots from. SW

     Seas 6-7 feet from the SW

     50% cloud cover

     Distance to Go is 50.25 nm

Unfortunately the winds were not cooperating. If you couod look at the screen shot you will see a black line. That is our preferred course line. The red line is our actual curse line. Hopefully this will help you understand why it is difficult to predict ETA's! The wind has put us 25 nm west of the entrance to the lagoon. 

Once we tacked we were able to put us in line with the entrance to the lagoon but the wind was on our nose. So the motor is on and we are on target.

10-Nov-2016 

0747 and we are finally entering the pass with no difficulty. We had to dog leg it for the better part of the last 24 hours. That slowed us down but it also kept us out of any uncomfortable seas and rain. But we made it, relatively rested but still looking forward to a break.

Two boats leaving.

And here is the reef!