We arrived at the South Minerva Reef at dawn. It is a figure of eight atoll. You can enter one of the circles but not the more southerly. You come in by following the reef round and then enter a circle of coral reef about 2 miles in diameter. There were quite a few boats there when we arrived including two Tongan fishing boats. The reef itself is best seen at low tide. Near the entrance there are some low sandy areas which go through from blue green to yellow. Although it is visually impressive we couldn't capture it well with a photograph, so we'll have to suffice with another fishing picture. We caught this quite respectable mahi mahi in the early evening before we arrived at Minerva. It's probably about 18lbs. Jackie made a gorgeous ceviche out of it.

It was good to be able to anchor in sunshine and a warm sea and relax after the long trip up. That evening we met Storyteller and Harmonie on their boat,and had an amazing lobster feast. The Tongan fisherman had been catching lobsters on the reef and traded a bucket full of 8 large lobsters for some rum and chocolate biscuits. Apparently the chocolate biscuits were the biggest hit. The lobsters were magnificent and were washed down with lots of wine and spirits. A good night being had by all.

Next morning it was good to get up after a proper sleep and we set sail for the North Minerva Reef, about 24 miles away. Or rather we motored up since the wind had died on us.

Tomorrow or the next day we plan to sail for Tonga which is about 2 days away.

All the best