20th October 2007
Fliss…..
When we got up this morning and poked our heads out the cockpit it really wasn’t good news, torrential rain and headwinds, Pete said to me “do you really want to head off into this …. we can always wait another day” as the real window for departure was in two days time.
Decision was taken to stay put and watch how the day panned out, if the sky cleared and the wind backed and it was before 2pm we would leave, if not we would wait another day or two, it would be a shame as we would have to bypass Minerva Reef.
As the morning progressed the skies cleared and the wind moved slightly to the East so at midday Pete and I decided to make a run for it.
Essence had already left at 11am and went through the Eastern passage hoping that it would give them a better angle on the wind, Pete and I decided to take the short cut through the West pass.
Typical really, because as soon as we approached the narrow pass through the reef the sky clouded over and it started to rain. Thank god for GPS and the leading markers on a small island guiding the way out.
As we were making our way through the pass a Humpback whale broached only 25 feet away from Nadezhda I turned round and said to “Pete isn’t that a sign of good luck”. Pete was most concerned that the whale would become landlocked and confused and wouldn’t be able to find its way out, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
A few hours later we sail straight into strong winds, 25-30+ knots of headwinds and rough seas why do we always get a pounding? We pondered running back to Nuka’alofa but at 3:30pm there was no way we would make it back in daylight, we also considered hoving-to but we decided it was best to just keep going with seriously reefed sails.
A very uncomfortable night and not much sleep had by either of us.
We now know that the whale was heading for sanctuary!
21st October 2007
The winds eventually moderated last night and came more from the east the next problem we have is that we have been experiencing up to 2 knots of unfavourable current that is taking us NW and means that our current track will miss Minerva.
We heard on the SSB that Essence hove-to for 5 hours last night and another boat turned back, mad dogs and English men as we carried on.
22nd October 2007
The wind backed further East and the current subsided so we made a good track to Minerva and arrived at 13:00.
North Minerva is absolutely spectacular for the fact that there is no land above the high-water line! We have the cyans and brown/greens of the reef ahead of us with the waves crashing across the far side. Apart from that, there is nothing except the sight of breakers elsewhere on the reef fringe. The water is calm here and we are anchored in about 13 metres of water.
It’s coral lagoon 3 miles in diameter and its bizarre to think that all around you is ocean, Tonga is 240 miles away and New Zealand is 800 miles, amazing. The inside of the sunken reef is as quiet as a millpond.
We are really pleased to have had the opportunity to stop as really is a lonely isolated spot.
We are the only boat here at the moment and that's what we wanted for our arrival. "Essence" left Nuku'alofa about an hour ahead of us and will be arriving in about another 2-3 hours.
Fliss…..
When we got up this morning and poked our heads out the cockpit it really wasn’t good news, torrential rain and headwinds, Pete said to me “do you really want to head off into this …. we can always wait another day” as the real window for departure was in two days time.
Decision was taken to stay put and watch how the day panned out, if the sky cleared and the wind backed and it was before 2pm we would leave, if not we would wait another day or two, it would be a shame as we would have to bypass Minerva Reef.
As the morning progressed the skies cleared and the wind moved slightly to the East so at midday Pete and I decided to make a run for it.
Essence had already left at 11am and went through the Eastern passage hoping that it would give them a better angle on the wind, Pete and I decided to take the short cut through the West pass.
Typical really, because as soon as we approached the narrow pass through the reef the sky clouded over and it started to rain. Thank god for GPS and the leading markers on a small island guiding the way out.
As we were making our way through the pass a Humpback whale broached only 25 feet away from Nadezhda I turned round and said to “Pete isn’t that a sign of good luck”. Pete was most concerned that the whale would become landlocked and confused and wouldn’t be able to find its way out, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
A few hours later we sail straight into strong winds, 25-30+ knots of headwinds and rough seas why do we always get a pounding? We pondered running back to Nuka’alofa but at 3:30pm there was no way we would make it back in daylight, we also considered hoving-to but we decided it was best to just keep going with seriously reefed sails.
A very uncomfortable night and not much sleep had by either of us.
We now know that the whale was heading for sanctuary!
21st October 2007
The winds eventually moderated last night and came more from the east the next problem we have is that we have been experiencing up to 2 knots of unfavourable current that is taking us NW and means that our current track will miss Minerva.
We heard on the SSB that Essence hove-to for 5 hours last night and another boat turned back, mad dogs and English men as we carried on.
22nd October 2007
The wind backed further East and the current subsided so we made a good track to Minerva and arrived at 13:00.
North Minerva is absolutely spectacular for the fact that there is no land above the high-water line! We have the cyans and brown/greens of the reef ahead of us with the waves crashing across the far side. Apart from that, there is nothing except the sight of breakers elsewhere on the reef fringe. The water is calm here and we are anchored in about 13 metres of water.
It’s coral lagoon 3 miles in diameter and its bizarre to think that all around you is ocean, Tonga is 240 miles away and New Zealand is 800 miles, amazing. The inside of the sunken reef is as quiet as a millpond.
We are really pleased to have had the opportunity to stop as really is a lonely isolated spot.
We are the only boat here at the moment and that's what we wanted for our arrival. "Essence" left Nuku'alofa about an hour ahead of us and will be arriving in about another 2-3 hours.
Minerva Reef Video
23rd October 2007
After a good nights sleep and a proper meal (we have been living on cheese sandwiches due to rough seas making cooking difficult) we upped our anchor at 10am.
Essence also left today and they took a more Southerly route. They are now beating us and must be about 40 miles ahead by now.
The winds are extremely variable one minute we a bobbing along at 4 knots and the next minute it’s time to reef. After about 5 sail changes we both decided that we would keep the main sail with two reefs in and just reef the headsail if and when the wind picked up.
24th October 2007
We are following the forecasts (which have been bloody useless so far) and are now taking the rhum line to Opua with 524 miles to our waypoint. The grib files show that we should be ok with a return of Easterlies a day before we arrive. However, the Grib files have not been much use so far since conditions are very different to predictions. When we left Minerva, Bob McDavitt said:
"For those of you in TONGA, now's the time to up anchor and head south... finally some highs moving along 30S latitude again. Probably still too much swell to go on Monday and a Tuesday departure will be better for anyone who gets queasy at the start of such as trip. Sure you can pop into Minerva if you like on the way... please arrange to be gone from there before 30 October if you want to avoid headwinds on the way to NZ.
The rest of this weeks weathergram will be written and sent on Monday--- It's a holiday weekend in NZ and I'll be driving Wellington to Auckland during the remainder of today. "
.........and so we thought that we had a really good window for the hop to NZ.............until we received his report just as we had departed......................
"After three weeks of windy westerlies a HIGH is finally expected to move onto central NZ this week. It should intensify to 1030+ by this weekend and that will make for a strong to gale force squash zone on its northern side between northland and New Caleconia/Fiji/Tonga from Thursday until something like Tuesday 30 Oct.
Tonga to NZ. If you have left on Monday or are leaving Tuesday and do not stop at Minerva you should miss the strong easterlies near 22S on Wednesday and have just a day or so of squash zone near 33S on your way to NZ . The window then closes and really doesn't open again in Tonga until the squash zone weakens mid-next-week. "
Well, the "Squash Zone" intensified today and we have had some interesting weather. I am hoping that not too many yachts took his original advice because they are going to be in for a few days of gale conditions as they make their way South. We know that Tony on "Checkmate" (and two novice crew) is already suffering just past Minerva but the only way out is to keep pounding South.
We have hopefully left the rubbish behind and are ploughing on as quickly as possible to make sure it does not overtake us.
We recorded a constant 35 knots, plus gusts. It was getting silly, it seemed as though there were three or four comedy clowns to windward throwing buckets of water into the cockpit. From inside, it looked like one of those old black and white b-rated movies of storms at sea with silly amounts of salty spray being chucked around.
The wind abated at around 23:00 and we eagerly resorted to a more upright position with deep reefs still intact and engine on.
Fliss….
It seems that wherever we go we get strong winds and rough seas. I was amazed at the sea state and that we weren’t experiencing bigger waves but they started to really build up later on in the day.
It’s been ok and we have been in worse conditions but we worry about Nadezhda, she has been going for such a long time and has carried us through some rough winds & seas it is unnerving when the waves hit pushing us over. When we get to NZ Nadezhda is going to get a full refurbishment and a complete health check.
Noodles for dinner tonight as it’s impossible to make a proper meal as each time a wave hits we lean right over on our side.
When we finally sailed out of the trough the winds just died, complete madness, hero to zero in a few minutes.
26th October 2007
We have 8 kts of wind from the SSE at the moment and the seas are calm were motor sailing close-hauled into it at about 5.5 knots. The outlook is that the breeze will go a bit more Southerly tomorrow and stay light before turning more Easterly to North Easterly and increasing to 15-20kts on Sunday. So, we look like we will be motoring towards Opua until the wind becomes favourable on Sunday. With 5 knots motoring, and (hopefully) a decent breeze on Sunday, we should be in Opua by end of play Sunday or the early hours of Monday.
It is sunny here today but with a decidedly chilly nip in the air. I am really surprised at how the weather has cooled as we have tracked slowly South, I don't think we will be going for a dip when we get there! However, the cool is refreshing and will allow us to get out and do a lot more once we arrive. We are looking forward to getting some exercise and stretching our legs without melting from heat exhaustion.
The passage is now a matter of motor and boredom - just the way we like it except it will be nice to turn the engine off when we get the opportunity. However, we are certainly not purists and it will stay running as long as it is helping to get us along. Otherwise, there is little left to report apart from the fact that we are back to proper food after our little play with the elements a couple of days ago. Full English Breakfast for lunch today - yum, yum! The same is due tomorrow-in order to finish up the eggs and bacon before NZ MAF confiscate them.
Fliss…..
Anyone who reads our blogs knows that our shower room is our cockpit, which is open to the elements. After 2 days of getting soaking wet and having dreadlocks for hair we decided to brave the “Chilly” air and have a shower, Pete went first and said it wasn’t that cold, the goose bumps and the blue’ish coloured skin had me warming up some water in the kettle for mine.
Pete & I seriously need to buy some clothes for NZ. I couldn’t help but laugh when Pete got his evening attire on; three quarter length trousers light weight in beige, black socks and a new pair of really white trainers, he looked so funny! We both cracked up and he refused to let me take a picture, lets hope we don’t get boarded by customs tonight as he’ll be refused a visa on grounds that he has committed a crime against fashion.
A beautiful clear night tonight with a full moon and not a cloud in the sky, utterly perfect!
After a good nights sleep and a proper meal (we have been living on cheese sandwiches due to rough seas making cooking difficult) we upped our anchor at 10am.
Essence also left today and they took a more Southerly route. They are now beating us and must be about 40 miles ahead by now.
The winds are extremely variable one minute we a bobbing along at 4 knots and the next minute it’s time to reef. After about 5 sail changes we both decided that we would keep the main sail with two reefs in and just reef the headsail if and when the wind picked up.
24th October 2007
We are following the forecasts (which have been bloody useless so far) and are now taking the rhum line to Opua with 524 miles to our waypoint. The grib files show that we should be ok with a return of Easterlies a day before we arrive. However, the Grib files have not been much use so far since conditions are very different to predictions. When we left Minerva, Bob McDavitt said:
"For those of you in TONGA, now's the time to up anchor and head south... finally some highs moving along 30S latitude again. Probably still too much swell to go on Monday and a Tuesday departure will be better for anyone who gets queasy at the start of such as trip. Sure you can pop into Minerva if you like on the way... please arrange to be gone from there before 30 October if you want to avoid headwinds on the way to NZ.
The rest of this weeks weathergram will be written and sent on Monday--- It's a holiday weekend in NZ and I'll be driving Wellington to Auckland during the remainder of today. "
.........and so we thought that we had a really good window for the hop to NZ.............until we received his report just as we had departed......................
"After three weeks of windy westerlies a HIGH is finally expected to move onto central NZ this week. It should intensify to 1030+ by this weekend and that will make for a strong to gale force squash zone on its northern side between northland and New Caleconia/Fiji/Tonga from Thursday until something like Tuesday 30 Oct.
Tonga to NZ. If you have left on Monday or are leaving Tuesday and do not stop at Minerva you should miss the strong easterlies near 22S on Wednesday and have just a day or so of squash zone near 33S on your way to NZ . The window then closes and really doesn't open again in Tonga until the squash zone weakens mid-next-week. "
Well, the "Squash Zone" intensified today and we have had some interesting weather. I am hoping that not too many yachts took his original advice because they are going to be in for a few days of gale conditions as they make their way South. We know that Tony on "Checkmate" (and two novice crew) is already suffering just past Minerva but the only way out is to keep pounding South.
We have hopefully left the rubbish behind and are ploughing on as quickly as possible to make sure it does not overtake us.
We recorded a constant 35 knots, plus gusts. It was getting silly, it seemed as though there were three or four comedy clowns to windward throwing buckets of water into the cockpit. From inside, it looked like one of those old black and white b-rated movies of storms at sea with silly amounts of salty spray being chucked around.
The wind abated at around 23:00 and we eagerly resorted to a more upright position with deep reefs still intact and engine on.
Fliss….
It seems that wherever we go we get strong winds and rough seas. I was amazed at the sea state and that we weren’t experiencing bigger waves but they started to really build up later on in the day.
It’s been ok and we have been in worse conditions but we worry about Nadezhda, she has been going for such a long time and has carried us through some rough winds & seas it is unnerving when the waves hit pushing us over. When we get to NZ Nadezhda is going to get a full refurbishment and a complete health check.
Noodles for dinner tonight as it’s impossible to make a proper meal as each time a wave hits we lean right over on our side.
When we finally sailed out of the trough the winds just died, complete madness, hero to zero in a few minutes.
26th October 2007
We have 8 kts of wind from the SSE at the moment and the seas are calm were motor sailing close-hauled into it at about 5.5 knots. The outlook is that the breeze will go a bit more Southerly tomorrow and stay light before turning more Easterly to North Easterly and increasing to 15-20kts on Sunday. So, we look like we will be motoring towards Opua until the wind becomes favourable on Sunday. With 5 knots motoring, and (hopefully) a decent breeze on Sunday, we should be in Opua by end of play Sunday or the early hours of Monday.
It is sunny here today but with a decidedly chilly nip in the air. I am really surprised at how the weather has cooled as we have tracked slowly South, I don't think we will be going for a dip when we get there! However, the cool is refreshing and will allow us to get out and do a lot more once we arrive. We are looking forward to getting some exercise and stretching our legs without melting from heat exhaustion.
The passage is now a matter of motor and boredom - just the way we like it except it will be nice to turn the engine off when we get the opportunity. However, we are certainly not purists and it will stay running as long as it is helping to get us along. Otherwise, there is little left to report apart from the fact that we are back to proper food after our little play with the elements a couple of days ago. Full English Breakfast for lunch today - yum, yum! The same is due tomorrow-in order to finish up the eggs and bacon before NZ MAF confiscate them.
Fliss…..
Anyone who reads our blogs knows that our shower room is our cockpit, which is open to the elements. After 2 days of getting soaking wet and having dreadlocks for hair we decided to brave the “Chilly” air and have a shower, Pete went first and said it wasn’t that cold, the goose bumps and the blue’ish coloured skin had me warming up some water in the kettle for mine.
Pete & I seriously need to buy some clothes for NZ. I couldn’t help but laugh when Pete got his evening attire on; three quarter length trousers light weight in beige, black socks and a new pair of really white trainers, he looked so funny! We both cracked up and he refused to let me take a picture, lets hope we don’t get boarded by customs tonight as he’ll be refused a visa on grounds that he has committed a crime against fashion.
A beautiful clear night tonight with a full moon and not a cloud in the sky, utterly perfect!
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