Tonga to NZ via Nth Minerva reef 3/11/16 to 25/11/16

On Thursday the 3rd of November we took on duty free diesel and grog, cleared customs and immigration in Va Va'u, Tonga and said goodbye to our friends Elke and Werner from the blue lagoon.
A day sail south took us to Maninita  island (bird island) the southern most of the islands of Va Va'u hoping to have a break in the weather to go into the lagoon but it was too risky so we just observed the friendly boobies and noddies from the cockpit.

An overnight sail with "Leto" took us to Uoleva island in the Ha apai group where we rested for a couple of days waiting for a weather window to North Minerva reef.

We had a good 3 day passage with variable winds and Eric was happy catching this very large Mahimahi

We had to slow down and wait for the daylight to enter North Minerva reef. There were 3 other yachts other than Leto and ourselves arriving and 3 yachts in the lagoon and after a few days we had 25 of us there.

A week spent in the lagoon waiting for suitable weather to do the jump to NZ was a real highlight. The reef is a perfect circle, 2.5 kms across giving protection from the seas and swell.
It covers at full tide and is uncovered at low exposing beautiful coral and rock pools with fish and shellfish

 We spent many hours ashore exploring and walking.

The water was so clear and the colours surreal

At night under the "super moon" we picked crayfish off the reef as they foraged for food. Many were females which we put back, but there were enough males for everyone to have a taste.

There was a newly erected lighthouse which we walked down to see. The workers had engraved their names in the concrete pad so Eric added ours

These pretty white terns were a great photo opportunity

A NZ airforce Orion flew over one day which was awesome doing a boat check. As kiwis we felt very proud and safe knowing they were looking out for us.We all called out our boat names and asked for Hokey pokey Icecream!

We listened to Gulf harbour radio each morning for weather predictions. This husband and wife team give their time voluntarily over the yachting season. David is a meteorologist and they have their own yacht and are blue water cruisers so their knowledge is invaluable. They also run a roll call and enter info and positions of yachts onto a website called "yacht in transit"
With deep lows in the southern ocean near NZ and tropical lows threatening to form into cyclones in the north there was a lot of anxiety among the fleet. Everyone was keen to get underway but the weather windows were short, particularly for the slower boats.
We listened on the radio as boats who had left Tonga and Fiji  turned back or ran for shelter as fronts and low pressure systems were close on their heels. 9m swells and high winds were predicted so one yacht headed north for New Caledonia, another west for Norfolk Island and another back to north Minerva reef.
This was an ominous looking morning sky

While we were here the conditions were just right to see the Green flash phenonemon at sunset three times in a row

But after 7 days of bliss in the shelter of the reef we left for NZ. Two  of the slower boats left in the morning. We were going to leave the next day as the wind angle became more suitable but decided to set off in the afternoon.
Most of the yachts headed West with the wind but with lumpy seas and wind on the nose a NW course was taken. We decided to get south as quickly as possible by motor sailing and putting in a couple of tacks which paid off. Leto did the same. We are not a fast boat but with this tactic it put us in front for a couple of days. The faster boats who left the next day started overtaking us on the 3rd day. It was a good passage riding a high pressure system but there was pressure to get into the shelter of land as another ridge from a low passed over NZ.

Before getting into the shelter of Cape Brett and the Bay of Islands we caught 3 albacore which refilled the freezer.

At 0200hrs on the 25th of November we tied up to the floating Quarantine dock at Opua. There were several other boats there and the officials had 27 to process that day. A record number in one day!

Waking to sunshine and a vista of green rolling hills, pohutakawa coming out in Crimson flower made us feel we were truely home, but we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure it was real. Our circumnavigation complete with 3 others celebrating theirs as well.

We spent a day in the company of Mike and Maureen Trotter. Mike had spent hours on the computer with Eric's design many years ago CADing our yachts lines.

There were lots of festivities over the weekend with the Island cruising rally events and a celebratory dinner at the yacht club. A wonderful end to our round the world adventure sharing with newly made friends and old cruising friends.