Both north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by private. Passage from new zealand to minerva reefs the life nomadik. Denham of the hms herald surveyed the reefs in 1854 and renamed them after the australian whaler minerva which collided with south minerva reef on 9th september 1829. Northeast south minerva has a pass, southwest south minerva does not.
On 21 june 1972, the worlds heaviest monarch, king taufaahau tupou iv of tonga accompanied by members of the tongan defence force, a convict work detail and a four piece brass band, set sail from his kingdom aboard the royal yacht olovaha. At the bottom of the tongan islands, are the noth and south minerva reefs. Your mission is to name the wreck, 50 mtrs to the north of this safe anchourage point of north minerva. The north minerva reef has a navigable entrance about 400 feet wide. Last night and this morning we were bucking around quite a bit when the big swell mixed in with the wind waves. Minerva reefs prometheism transhumanism post humanism. You can read detailed information about every hotel in there and see the hotels on maps. Tales of tonga and minerva reef croz walshs fiji backup. Both north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by yachts traveling between.
Olaf ruhens minerva reef halstead press, sydney, 1963 is a worthwhile, highly detailed account of the entire ordeal, and voyagers can pick up the brief recent account minerva reef by survivor fine feuiaki in tongan bookstores friendly islands bookshop, tonga, 1992. This paper examines the dispute over minerva reef between tonga and fiji. Discovered in 1818, the reefs became known as minerva reefs when a ship called minerva was wrecked in 1831 on the southern reef. A sailboat wreck at north minerva reef, tonga, pacific ocean in the june of 2005.
There is a small sand bar around the atoll, awash at high tide, with a small entrance into the flat lagoon with a somewhat deep harbor. Empire of the sea the distant and remote minerva reefsthe closest coral atolls to new zealandhave been the subject of political intrigue, a failed libertarian state and a naval showdown. The water goes from 2,000 feet deep outside to 30 feet deep inside. Minerva sailing directions south pacific voyagers, particularly those bound from tonga or fiji for largely cyclonefree new zealand, should keep north and south minerva reef in mind for a possible storm refuge, rest stop, adventure destination, or at the very least as a potential hazard to navigation. The republic of minerva was a micronation consisting of the minerva reefs. Unlike north minerva or beveridge, south minerva is actually two lagoons connected in a figure eight shape. Ownership is disputed by fiji and tonga, the reefs were reportedly occupied by the king of tonga and a 4 piece band in the 70s.
From the accessories thread which morphed into blue. Of all the elements of the story that stood out to me i think the most important is that by getting together and relying on each other and their faith they were able to survive an incredibly long time. Two guys are talking on the radio discussing the local lobsters. North minerva is almost perfectly oval in shape measuring approximately three and a halfnautical miles across. Teleki tokelau offers the more protected anchorage, with a single. The architect was las vegas real estate millionaire and political activist michael oliver, who went on to other similar attempts in the following decade lithuanianborn oliver formed a. South minerva is parted into the east reef and the west reef, both circular with a diameter of about 4. In september to november 1970, the 45 ft bermudan sloop aqualas sailed on a cruise from auckland to great barrier island, whangarei, kermadec islands, south minerva reef, tonga, vatoa island, on the day of fijis independence, fijis capital suva and other islands in fiji, before returning to new zealand. Threequarters of the way north from nz to samoa lie two reefs. The reef is submerged at high tide and partially dries at low tide. It gets a bit rough at high tide in south minerva as the reef is lower than in north minerva. Entrance is about 100m wide, 9m deep and navionics charts position the location accurately.
Its an incredible geological formation and one of the most amazing and unique places ive ever been even though its sort of invisible. We ended up being able to make it into south minerva reef s lagoon, in daylight, which would have not been the case if we had of continued the additional 24miles to north minerva. Minerva reefs news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2018 learn how and when to remove this template message. The north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by yachts travelling between new zealand and tonga or fiji and is reportedly an. If we were birds, we could soar above and see the thin circle of coral reef, the barely visible remains of a collapsed volcano, like the letter c penciled onto paper then erased.
Magique nz raoul, minerva, reefs, tonga adventure 126 may 2017. The tongans call minerva reef menevateleki tokelau and teleki tonga. Entrance is over 100m wide, 20m deep and navionics charts position the location accurately. Its a virtual size geocache, with difficulty of 5, terrain of 5. All awash at high tide there was once a tower north reef i understand erected to save shipwrecked. North minerva reef bay of islands, new zealand most cruisers know that weather plays a huge role in having a good passage or a lousy passage. This was a very well written book on the survival of a ship wreck on south minerva reef.
North minerva reef has a more substantial coral rim to the lagoon, which makes it a better protected anchorage from the ocean swell. By the time it could be stopped, one man lay slain on the reef. North minerva reef is the larger and most preferred of two large. North minerva is almost perfectly oval in shape measuring approximately 3. Book your hotel in or around using, our partner with a great selection of hotels and very good online prices. Scientists believe they may also be the origin of some tropical species reaching new zealands northern waters. On february 24, 1972, tonga laid claims to the minerva reef and the move was recognized by the south pacific forum later that year. It is only accessible at half tide or higher by shallow draft dinghy. Minerva reef is the incredible true story of the wreck of the tongan cutter tuaikaepau on the semi submerged minerva reef, 380 miles south of fiji, and of the survival of ten of the original seventeen passengers and crew for two and a half months. All the others twenty or more are in the south reef, which is the first one to reach when sailing from new zealand. The republic of minerva was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972. The architect was las vegas real estate millionaire and political activist michael oliver, who went on to other similar attempts in the following decade. The reefs were named after the whaleship minerva, wrecked on what became known as south minerva after setting out from sydney in 1829.
The north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by yachts travelling between new zealand and tonga or fiji and is reportedly an excellent place for scuba diving, snorkeling and fishing. It is comprised of two parts north and south minerva reef, and it was discovered, rediscovered, and. Next, they took us to a low spot on the reef between lagoons. It is comprised of two parts north and south minerva reef, and it was discovered, rediscovered, and then charted, twentyfive years later, in 1884, by capt. There are six other boats in north minerva together with us. North minerva can be a haven of refuge in winds up to 3540 knots assuming normal tides and absence of storm surge. The latest confrontation between tonga and fiji adds to the significance of an odd incident on an unpopulated reef 1500 kilometres north of new zealand.
North minerva reef is the larger and most preferred of two large submerged atolls, popular as a stopover destination and place to await favourable weather for yachts in transit to tonga or fiji. This was june 2019 on the way to fiji, an old friend justin had his new drone and took a few shots of us. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. It was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972. On the kings stately mind was one thought, the invasion of the republic of minerva. Fiji, tonga in talks over contested minerva pacific. Ongo teleki are a group of two submerged atolls located in the. Just 14 miles southwest, right on the rhumb line to new zealand, is south minerva reef. Sailing southbound 240 miles due north of opua, new zealand household chores in paradiseour final passage to nz we are now on day 5 of 7 of our 900mile open ocean voyage from minerva reef to opua, located in the bay of islands on the rugged northern coast of new zealand, north island.
The strathcona which was sailing north after completion in auckland in 1914 also got wrecked at the reef and in both cases, the crew managed to reach islands in the lau group. Find more about using wikipedia, a great online encyclopedia covering many places of the world. Ont he night of 7 july 1962 the twenty ton cutter tuaikaepau, sailing from tonga to auckland, ran hard upon the outer edge of minerva reef, 380 miles south of suva in fiji. Minerva reef is a great true story of men against the sea. Adventures of maia minerva reef, south pacific ocean. Imagine the rim of a cereal bowl barely submerged in a sink full of water. The passage to new zealand is always one that requires careful planning as we had heard it can be extremely rough. Tuna, jack and other reef fish are easy to catch in the passes or along the outside of the reef. North minerva reef a beautiful coral reef atoll where you can find a small whitetip reef shark to go for a swim with, coral eating parrot fish and other tropical and colourful species such as clown fish, angel fish but not as much as i would have expected. The flag of the tonga was raised on 19 june 1972 on north minerva and on south minerva. North minerva reef is where we and everybody else stopped. Ian and malif we manage to claim minerva reef by virtue of fijis closest island being closer to it than tongas closest island then once weve got minerva well be able to claim raoul which will then be about 300km closer to fiji than to nz. Gc2ea3 north minerva reef virtual cache in tonga created. Thats minerva reef, located about 200 miles southwest of tongatapu.
North minerva reef kyleto break up the ten to twelve day passage between nukualofa in tonga and new zealand, we stopped for a rest of several days, about a quarter of the way, at a shallow enough spot in the ocean to drop anchor known as the minerva reefs. North minerva is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 5. South minerva entrance and west reef drone view youtube. It is also a profoundly moving document of human faith and endurance. One curious footnote to this incident states that as the convict work detail set about removing all trace of minerva from existence, a fight broke out between two of its members. It was nice to have an 11day break after the notsofun passage from tonga. Many other ships would follow, for example the strathcona, which. North minerva reef gc2ea3 was created by klaymen on 10122001. Whereas the reefs known as north minerva reef and south minerva reef have long served as fishing.
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