Forgot to mention in yesterdays blog that we past the geographic Dateline with our longitude going from 179W to 179E. So if we dug a hole through the earth we should come out at Greenwich in England on the other side -- assuming it didn't immediately fill with water and completely drain the South Pacific. Yesterday was good smooth sailing. It lasted till about 1am when everything shut down and we've been motoring. The boats about 300 miles ahead of us got hit by the front associated with the low we've tracking and have 25-30 knots winds. It looks like we will skirt around the low and not have to deal with that.
Got the watermaker running while the engine is on, so it just might be hot showers for the crew if they stay inline. Yesterday they tried to replace me with a flying fish that landed onboard and they named the New Kipper.
Paul
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Showing posts with label Minerva Reef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minerva Reef. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
N. Minerva Reef toNew Zealand - Day 1
We spent about a day and a half in Minerva Reef. At high tide the anchorage is a little rolly, with the waves sneaking across the reef. At lower tides it is really a very comfortable spot. In the morning the wind had laid down so we launched the dinghy and did a good snorkel on the reef and one of the wrecks. Lots of Giant Clams plus some really large lobster. There were the typical colorful reef fish, but not in great numbers. We didn't see any of the infamous shark population of Minerva.
We left yesterday at about 3:30pm. It was blowing 15 to 25kts all night, so our boat speed has been good. We are heading in a SW direction to get fairly far west to try and avoid the nastiness of a strong low that is headed over NZ. The boats that left Tonga with us and didn't stop in Minerva and are looking at the prospect of heading west and then having to sit out the passage of low before moving on. We'll see how it all develops.
All well onboard -- good soup/stew last night for dinner.
Paul
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We left yesterday at about 3:30pm. It was blowing 15 to 25kts all night, so our boat speed has been good. We are heading in a SW direction to get fairly far west to try and avoid the nastiness of a strong low that is headed over NZ. The boats that left Tonga with us and didn't stop in Minerva and are looking at the prospect of heading west and then having to sit out the passage of low before moving on. We'll see how it all develops.
All well onboard -- good soup/stew last night for dinner.
Paul
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Sunday, November 1, 2015
North Minerva Reef
We went through the pass at North Minerva Reef at about 9am today. The passage down was pretty easy with light winds, not too much in the way of seas, and a 3/4 waning moon for half the night. We started out sailing close hauled for most of the first day and then it clocked around to ENE winds, giving us a run for the second half of the last night in light winds.
Minerva is a 3.5 mile wide classic-looking atoll with a narrow, but very clear entrance. We entered using the leading waypoint of 23* 37.08S, 178* 56.247W with no real current in the pass. We are anchored in the NW corner of the atoll (23*37.5S, 178*53.9W) in about 45 feet of water over sand. At high tide it was a little rolly, but now the tide has gone down and it's very snug - even with a decent east wind blowing.
It is really strange to stop at reef with no land in the middle of the Pacific. I was hoping to get in here in time to stop at Denny's and get a Grand Slam Breakfast but it wasn't happening. There's no WiFi or cell service here either. Matter of fact, there's no land here, just a big circular reef the sticks up at low tide surrounded by water over 3,000 feet deep. Weird.
We crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn early this morning. The line where the sun goes to its maximum southern position. I tried to talk the onboard cooks into having Tropic of Capricorn Dogs as a celebration dinner tonight, but got roundly overruled -- think Captain Bligh.
Looks like we'll take off in the morning for Opua in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Its about a 6 day run from here if all goes well. The basic routing approach is to watch the succession of highs and lows that march from under Australia, past Tasmania and into the Tasman Sea. They then curve up and pass over the top of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a parade of highs and lows in swift succession. This means the winds clock around continually on the passage and often get their strongest and most contrary nearer to the north coast of New Zealand, where we're heading. You can take the direct rhumb line straight from Minerva Reef to Opua or head west to a spot about 250 miles north of North Cape, New Zealand, and then turn south toward Opua. The latter approach means that if you get hit by the strong SW winds from a system you take them further north where they are typically less nasty and you have a better angle to sail them into Opua. Of course, then there are the times when there are actually SE winds and going west will make it all much worse. Looking at the weather predictions we're seeing now, it looks like we will head down the rhumb line for a few days and then when we see S and SE winds from a low that is shown on the GRIB files we will head off west, probably going half way to the typical western point. Then as the wind clocks to the SW head straight down toward Opua. Best laid plans... We will see what the weather goddess has in store for us.
Paul
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Minerva is a 3.5 mile wide classic-looking atoll with a narrow, but very clear entrance. We entered using the leading waypoint of 23* 37.08S, 178* 56.247W with no real current in the pass. We are anchored in the NW corner of the atoll (23*37.5S, 178*53.9W) in about 45 feet of water over sand. At high tide it was a little rolly, but now the tide has gone down and it's very snug - even with a decent east wind blowing.
It is really strange to stop at reef with no land in the middle of the Pacific. I was hoping to get in here in time to stop at Denny's and get a Grand Slam Breakfast but it wasn't happening. There's no WiFi or cell service here either. Matter of fact, there's no land here, just a big circular reef the sticks up at low tide surrounded by water over 3,000 feet deep. Weird.
We crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn early this morning. The line where the sun goes to its maximum southern position. I tried to talk the onboard cooks into having Tropic of Capricorn Dogs as a celebration dinner tonight, but got roundly overruled -- think Captain Bligh.
Looks like we'll take off in the morning for Opua in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Its about a 6 day run from here if all goes well. The basic routing approach is to watch the succession of highs and lows that march from under Australia, past Tasmania and into the Tasman Sea. They then curve up and pass over the top of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a parade of highs and lows in swift succession. This means the winds clock around continually on the passage and often get their strongest and most contrary nearer to the north coast of New Zealand, where we're heading. You can take the direct rhumb line straight from Minerva Reef to Opua or head west to a spot about 250 miles north of North Cape, New Zealand, and then turn south toward Opua. The latter approach means that if you get hit by the strong SW winds from a system you take them further north where they are typically less nasty and you have a better angle to sail them into Opua. Of course, then there are the times when there are actually SE winds and going west will make it all much worse. Looking at the weather predictions we're seeing now, it looks like we will head down the rhumb line for a few days and then when we see S and SE winds from a low that is shown on the GRIB files we will head off west, probably going half way to the typical western point. Then as the wind clocks to the SW head straight down toward Opua. Best laid plans... We will see what the weather goddess has in store for us.
Paul
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
Enroute to Minerva Reef Day 1
After spending 5 days anchored off Big Mamas in Tongatapo and picking up our crew, Bill and Anne from San Francisco, we headed off for New Zealand. The plan is to sail two days to Minerva Reef, a 3.5 mile wide atoll in the middle of nowhere, spend a day or so there and then head off to New Zealand when the weather looks right. Last nights run was pretty comfy,with small seas. We had winds on the nose for the first 8 hours but then they clocked to the east a bit and we started making good time. We should arrive at Minerva Reef early tomorrow morning.
We celebrated Halloween with Peanut M&Ms. I broke into my Skittles bags for night watch. This time they are in big large bags, instead of the individual small bag servings. This makes it hard for me to figure out the exact daily dosage to ward off the scurvy.
Paul
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We celebrated Halloween with Peanut M&Ms. I broke into my Skittles bags for night watch. This time they are in big large bags, instead of the individual small bag servings. This makes it hard for me to figure out the exact daily dosage to ward off the scurvy.
Paul
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