Good morning, just 10 miles from Minerva Reef and a decision day for us. Winds and seas decreased and the sailing is slow today, but not wanting to motor and waste our diesel this early in the passage.
We ended up stopping at North Minerva Reef for a 4 hour rest. Mind bending to see masts of other boats on the horizon, tucked into the lagoon of the reef. We anchored inside the turquoise lagoon, a surreal place to take a break.
Minerva Reef does not show up on some maps, including our Predict Wind tracking page and we received questions about whether we hove-to in the middle of the ocean; what was going on?! Nope, just anchored in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, no land in site.
What does one do on a 4 hour break before heading back to sea? Chris transferred diesel from our jury jugs to our tank, made water, and took a nap. I made lunch and prepped a couple meals, exercised, and took a shower. Calder exercised and did his Geometry. Cora got to hang out with a good friend from a buddy boat.
Looking at the forecast ahead, we decided to keep going after our stop. We’ve had very rolly and rough conditions, not able to do much cooking in the galley so I’m glad that I prepped. Terikah is tackling these seas like a champ; what a great boat. We have 2.5-3+ meter seas and winds in mid-20’s up to gusts of 32. Overnight, eerie not to be able to anticipate the waves coming in the dark and feeling the boat roll up over them, then dip down into the next trough. My family reminded me that I like roller coasters. Our goal is maintain a 24 hour average of 150+ miles and 6.25+ knots for this passage to New Zealand to get ahead of two systems that are rolling through.
SV Terikah Adventures 