Position: 23deg 56min South, 179deg 06min West � Minerva South
We could see the breaking surf on South Minerva by 8 am and as we got closer could hear the roar of the surf like an express train. It took us a full two hours to arrive, negotiate the coral heads (with Matthew up the mast pointing out the obstacles) and find a suitable anchorage � in 12m on a clear sandy bottom. The visibility is just phenomenal. We�ve been swimming, snorkeling and walked on the reef. Managed an afternoon nap and planning to spend the night at anchor. Mom�s cooking a nice curry. From a fish viewing perspective � a dive around any coral head reveals a plethora of brightly coloured fish, giving the illusion of diving in a tropical fish tank. There were three vessels here when we arrived and 2 Tongan fishing vessels (plundering the reef) another 6 have since arrived � mostly big cats around the 50 to 60 foot mark and mainly American.
It�s now high tide and some of the 3m swell is breaking over the reef and a small swell is now apparent in the anchorage. The reef area is enormous all very confusing (all of 3nm across � we could accommodate all of the Westhaven yachts here and still have plenty of room)� how you ever negotiated this in the past without a chart, I just don�t know. This is quite surreal � in the middle of the ocean here we are anchored for the night.
Skipper
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