Day 6 of our passage began with 25-30 kts of wind from the ESE and large 3-4 m seas as we turned nearly north for Minerva Reef. Sailing under tripple reefed main and half furled genoa we wereable to close reach in roughly the right direction at 7-8 knots. This is not something I would have done a year ago, but the boat seemed in control and we were comfortably ensconced in the salon as huge waves washed across the deck and sometimes over the cabin top. The occasional wave slam to the underside of the bridgedeck was horrendous and sounded likehand grenades exploding unde the boat. Nevertheless we were moving fast and the wave slamming seemed to be less art higher speeds.

Minerva reefs are a pair of coral atolls about 750 miles from NZ and 250 miles from Tonga. The north reef, where we areno anchored is like a perfect coral circle about 2 miles across with one tiny pass to come and go through. At high tide, there is no land above sea level. So it's kinda like anchoring in the middle of the ocean, except the waves are broken by the submerged coral. this is probably one of the remotest places on the planet. Accept of course for the half dozen boats here with us. There's even a geocache here! All they need is Starbucks to callit civilized. Still, i've never seen water this clear before.

Anyway, we are here safe and sound for a few days to clean the boat and rest up for the relatively short hop (250 miles) to Nukualofa on Tongatapu. All is well aboard the good ship Bangorang!