Since yesterday the wind here in the reef is pretty weak. As a result of this, the waves inside the reef, are created by breakers rolling partially over the reef at high tide and not by the wind. These, up to about half a meter high waves have different directions and interfer either each other. This creates a choppy sea. Fully unstructured, like a Kartoffelacker (potatoes field) after the harvest. Without the wind shaping the waves perpendicularly to the wind direction and the boats at anchor being not aligned into the wind direction, the Kartoffelacker sea rocks MaRe a bit. While doing something on board, it feels sometimes a bit unpleasant. Such is sailing life as well.

Yesterday, we had another visit to the reef only with the crew of SV Donella. As Christian and Renate where here several times before, they know other interesting areas of the reef, which we visited. While looking for lobsters and big fishes for a dinner, we saw a few smaller sharks. Although I know they are harmless, and I get used to meet them, they always raise my adrenaline level for a short moment.

We neither found a lobster nor could Renate speargun a parrot fish, we found in a reef hole, thus we had “only” an excellent pumpkin soup with 5 (including Boh and me) people on board of MaRe.

The Minerva Reef is always a bit different depending on where you look at it or even better, walk on it. I also got some links to information about the Minerva Reef. At www.ghradio.co.nz/floatsome.html there is an article by Rich and Michelle of SV Pogeyan. They happen to be here as well. The article is based on their many visits to the reef. I got this information from Bob McDavid, in one of his weekly weathergrams. (His homepage is www.metbob.com)

I think I mentioned already the Wikipedia article about the Minerva Reef. There is some more to be read.

What is to be seen here?

Just a coral reef, which is at high tide always under water, and at low tides one can walk on the reef. In some parts there are some areas with smaller and larger pools of water being few centimeters to 50 cm deep. Small fishes escape into other areas of a pool when we came closer. But somewhere the water will be too shallow for them and they try frantically to go back into water just deep enough for them to swim and escape.

To express it with other words, there is no permanently dry area at the reef. Thus, neither land animal nor humans live here. Not even plants, except the ones growing in the sea water, are here.

What is this reef?

It’s only a nice and convenient place for sailors going to NZ or going N from NZ. Boats can go into the lagoon of the reef, drop the anchor, relaxe, do repair if needed, and wait for the right weather window for continuing their sail. It’s a refuge for boats and their crew. A quiet, peaceful place in the middle of the huge Pacific Ocean. It feels kind of surreal walking on the reef or being on boat in the – compared to the outside high swell and wind waves – quiet water of the lagoon of the reef.