Our anxiety level is high as we wait for a weather window to head to New Zealand. We are using the services of two different weather routers. We are ready to go as soon as they give us the go ahead. Several boats that started out for New Zealand have come back limping into the anchorage with torn sails and broken rigging from hitting high winds and seas. We are not alone in our anxiety as almost all conversations now are about weather the upcoming passage. After several months of sailing in the low latitudes and trade wind conditions, the voyage to New Zealand can be very difficult. Also New Zealand is smack-dab in the middle of the Roaring Forties which are prevailing west to east winds that buffet the country ranging from gentle breezes to tempestuous gales. The weather can change quickly in this part of the world so with the trip taking around seven days a yacht undertaking this voyage should be prepared to experience bad weather conditions somewhere along the way. The following is an excerpt from the New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority.
" The New Zealand Maritime Authority extends a warm welcome to international cruisers to New Zealand. We wish you a safe journey, however if anything should go wrong and you need assistance we need to be able to come to your aid as quickly as effectively as possible. New Zealand is one of the world's most isolated countries and consequently our search and rescue activity is spread thinly over a wide ocean. We have responsibilities under international conventions to provide search and rescue services for over sixteen million square miles of the southwest Pacific. The area is one of the largest under the control of any Sovereign State. The logistics of searching for a distressed yacht are enormous and without a satellite compatible EPIRB and a suitable radio, the chances of success are, in reality very bleak. Please be aware that the ocean in this part of the world is subject to higher winds and seas and more rapid weather changes than some of you will have experienced in your voyages so far. While New Zealand has many beautiful sheltered harbours and anchorages, our coastline can be very hostile to the unwary."
The only place between Tonga and New Zealand to duck into if the weather turns bad is Minerva Reef which is only 250 miles south of Tonga. From then on there are no other places to stop at for the next 800 miles. Minerva Reefs are two separate coral reefs forming an approximate figure eight and are nearly submerged at high tide, making them difficult to see much of the time. Once inside, the reefs block the large ocean swells accompanied with high winds and the holding is good for anchoring. We have been told by sailors who have stayed at the reefs that it feels like being anchored out in the middle of the ocean. Boats sailing between Tonga and New Zealand often stop at Minerva Reef to wait out bad weather although it is a little out of the way.