24 November 2011

Before I start, I just want to say Heartbeat were able to find a solution for their forestay and have actually continued on to NZ without stopping at Minerva reef - they must have given a wrong position yesterday as their current position put them to the South East of Minerva.
We arrived in Minerva at lunchtime. What an amazing place. I was quite nervous about heading to a reef in the middle of the ocean, but as it was day time, we could see the other 3 boats anchored and then the turquoise patch of water in the middle of the deep dark blue.
The pass into the reef was wide enough not to be a problem and we joined the others in the South East corner of the reef. As the rocks were uncovered, we dinghied over to the reef and had a little walk. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean! What a zoologist's paradise. As soon as we arrived at the reef, then a white tipped reef shark came to say hello, then we saw octopus, sea cucumbers, sea slugs, large clam shells; one of which squirted Mia in the fave with sea water, perhaps the funniest thing we have seen together as a family! (Although the Gibraltar ape peeing on Mark's bag came a close second!)
It seemed quite amusing to see the other crew also on the reef and to stop for a chat. Apparently the snorkelling here is amazing, but the sea was so clear we didn't need to snorkel, but the kids had a swim off the back of the boat in the afternoon. Mark and I caught up on sleep whilst the kids did their school work by themselves and now we're just planning what to have for dinner and then take a look at the weather. I'm very pleased we stopped off here. What an experience. Current position: 23.38S 178.53W