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. Ongo teleki are a group of two submerged atolls located in the. On february 24, 1972, tonga laid claims to the minerva reef and the move was recognized by the south pacific forum later that year. Minerva reefs news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2018 learn how and when to remove this template message. 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 one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972. North minerva reef gc2ea3 was created by klaymen on 10122001. This was a very well written book on the survival of a ship wreck on south minerva reef. The reefs were named after the whaleship minerva, wrecked on what became known as south minerva after setting out from sydney in 1829.
Its a virtual size geocache, with difficulty of 5, terrain of 5. This was june 2019 on the way to fiji, an old friend justin had his new drone and took a few shots of us. 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. 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. South minerva entrance and west reef drone view youtube. 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. Many other ships would follow, for example the strathcona, which. This paper examines the dispute over minerva reef between tonga and fiji. By the time it could be stopped, one man lay slain on the reef. Whereas the reefs known as north minerva reef and south minerva reef have long served as fishing. Minerva reef is a great true story of men against the sea. It was nice to have an 11day break after the notsofun passage from tonga. North minerva is almost perfectly oval in shape measuring approximately 3. Threequarters of the way north from nz to samoa lie two reefs.
North minerva is almost perfectly oval in shape measuring approximately three and a halfnautical miles across. Tuna, jack and other reef fish are easy to catch in the passes or along the outside of the reef. Passage from new zealand to minerva reefs the life nomadik. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. There are six other boats in north minerva together with us. At the bottom of the tongan islands, are the noth and south minerva reefs. 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.
A sailboat wreck at north minerva reef, tonga, pacific ocean in the june of 2005. It is comprised of two parts north and south minerva reef, and it was discovered, rediscovered, and. You can read detailed information about every hotel in there and see the hotels on maps. Both north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by private. Book your hotel in or around using, our partner with a great selection of hotels and very good online prices. 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.
It is only accessible at half tide or higher by shallow draft dinghy. Entrance is about 100m wide, 9m deep and navionics charts position the location accurately. The north minerva reef has a navigable entrance about 400 feet wide. Your mission is to name the wreck, 50 mtrs to the north of this safe anchourage point of north minerva. All awash at high tide there was once a tower north reef i understand erected to save shipwrecked. The north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by yachts travelling between new zealand and tonga or fiji and is reportedly an. North minerva is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 5. Tales of tonga and minerva reef croz walshs fiji backup. South minerva is parted into the east reef and the west reef, both circular with a diameter of about 4. 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 latest confrontation between tonga and fiji adds to the significance of an odd incident on an unpopulated reef 1500 kilometres north of new zealand.
Fiji, tonga in talks over contested minerva pacific. The tongans call minerva reef menevateleki tokelau and teleki tonga. Imagine the rim of a cereal bowl barely submerged in a sink full of water. 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. Teleki tokelau offers the more protected anchorage, with a single. 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. It is also a profoundly moving document of human faith and endurance. Scientists believe they may also be the origin of some tropical species reaching new zealands northern waters. Northeast south minerva has a pass, southwest south minerva does not. 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. 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.
Unlike north minerva or beveridge, south minerva is actually two lagoons connected in a figure eight shape. 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. Minerva reefs prometheism transhumanism post humanism. Discovered in 1818, the reefs became known as minerva reefs when a ship called minerva was wrecked in 1831 on the southern reef. 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. 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. Gc2ea3 north minerva reef virtual cache in tonga created. North minerva reef is where we and everybody else stopped. 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. Thats minerva reef, located about 200 miles southwest of tongatapu.
All the others twenty or more are in the south reef, which is the first one to reach when sailing from new zealand. Just 14 miles southwest, right on the rhumb line to new zealand, is south minerva reef. It gets a bit rough at high tide in south minerva as the reef is lower than in north minerva. 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. Last night and this morning we were bucking around quite a bit when the big swell mixed in with the wind waves. The flag of the tonga was raised on 19 june 1972 on north minerva and on south minerva. The passage to new zealand is always one that requires careful planning as we had heard it can be extremely rough. 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. 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 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. North minerva can be a haven of refuge in winds up to 3540 knots assuming normal tides and absence of storm surge. 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.
North minerva reef is the larger and most preferred of two large. Two guys are talking on the radio discussing the local lobsters. 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. 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. From the accessories thread which morphed into blue. The reef is submerged at high tide and partially dries at low tide. Both north and south minerva reefs are used as anchorages by yachts traveling between. Adventures of maia minerva reef, south pacific ocean. The architect was las vegas real estate millionaire and political activist michael oliver, who went on to other similar attempts in the following decade. Next, they took us to a low spot on the reef between lagoons. The water goes from 2,000 feet deep outside to 30 feet deep inside.