North Minerva Reef
Macushla
Mark & Sue Owen
Mon 16 Nov 2015 01:10
All is well on board and here we are anchored in the middle of the ocean - yes, it can be done!
With a series of complex and fast moving systems off the north coast of New Zealand forecast for the coming weekend, we decided to break our trip at North Minerva Reef and await a more favourable weather pattern.
North Minerva Reef is nearly circular with a diameter of approximately 3.5 nautical miles with only a single break 150 metres wide in its perimeter. After 2 nights at sea and fast sailing conditions we arrived, as planned, just after first light. We're anchored in 12 metres of water along with 7 other boats, all waiting for the same window of opportunity.
As we move out of the tropics we're noticing a distinct drop in night-time temperatures which has had us searching for our fleeces and woolly socks. These hadn't seen the light of day since we were in Maine off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard a few years ago. Reminds us of sailing back home...
p.s. You'll have to zoom in a long way on our Google Earth map to see exactly where we are.