We left right after first light, but we were still beat there by a couple of boats that were lifting their anchors as I was still removing our sail covers. When they got there, they picked up the two public mooring buoys. That was fine. We had inside information from a diver friend that those moorings were far from the good stuff at John Brewer. He gave us coordinates where he had anchored near the Museum of Underwater Art, near the northeastern tip of the reef.
Both the charts and satellite images of the reef are vague and of poor resolution. Maryanne was able to find one good areal image that matched up somewhat with our coordinates, so with a little bit of plotting, I was able to figure out what looked like a safe way in, provided we went slowly with Maryanne at the bow looking-out for coral bommies.
It worked out great. We ended up being the only boat there. Conditions were still pretty miserable and rolly, though, probably because we led the trade wind drop by a day.
John Brewer Reef from anchor
By morning, things had calmed down quite a bit. We started by snorkelling from the boat right at sunrise to the Museum of Underwater Art's Coral Greenhouse. It consists of a pathway leading to an open structure of steel frames with various statues and other pieces of art within. It is mostly for the enjoyment of SCUBA divers, who have the luxury of being able to spend time at its eighteen-meter depth (60ft). I was able to get down there while snorkelling, but then I only had a few seconds to snap as many photos as I could before the urge to gasp for air compelled me back to the surface.
Coral Greenhouse, Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) was a short swim from out anchored boat
We were there to snorkel, and the reef was spectacular
Following that, we swam over the intervening reef to the outside wall. That was amazing. All of the coral here seems in especially good health, with loads of vibrant colors. Sometimes, there were so many fish feeding that they would practically obscure the reef altogether. It was definitely the best reef system we have seen in years. We followed it for what must have been almost a kilometer before cutting back across to follow the inside to Begonia.
In the afternoon, Mahana showed up with their friend Pedro as extra crew and with our encouragement, picked their way in to a tiny spot just ahead of us. Maryanne had made me a big dinner, which she had been planning would actually last two days instead, we took it over to Mahana to split five ways. They supplemented it with a dessert of fruit and ice cream. They have a freezer. We also found out that Nick has perfected the Sea Breeze cocktail. We all raised them in a toast to Maryanne's birthday, which was technically not until the following day. That was the best use of seconds that I could hope for.
Mahana joins us and we share a lovely evening
By morning, the wind was gone completely. Begonia and Mahana were both pointing random directions over anchor chains that hung straight down with no pull at all. The water was so smooth and clear that it hardly seemed to exist at all. Our anchor was in five meters, but Begonia was floating off of the shelf at thirteen meters. We could see the sand on the bottom, along with the milling fishes, all of the way to the anchor.
Kyle cooks up a birthday breakfast for Maryanne, before a 2nd long snorkel, and Mahana swings by with a surprise birthday gift before we depart
Days like this are when everything takes too long. Coffee takes too long. Breakfast takes too long. Getting dressed takes too long. We want to go swimming!
We rushed through our whole routine and went into the water as soon as we could. The visibility was incredible – at least twenty meters. Since it was still a little over an hour before low tide, we followed our former route backwards, to get us to the Coral Greenhouse just then. That made it a meter and a half closer to the surface and thus easier to get to.
By the time we got there, dinghies from the other boats had arrived and our peaceful, private spot was now taking on more of a theme park feel. We retreated to Begonia to prepare for departure. Before we left, though, Mahana came by with a birthday gift for Maryanne. Plus, Nick was kind enough to repair a second of our oar locks that had broken way too early in its young life.
It took us only an hour or so to make it to adjacent Lodestone Reef. A few boats were there, clustered around the single public mooring. Most were likely overflows from John Brewer or boats that had diverted once they learned how many were already there.
One of the main reasons we wanted to stop at Lodestone was because we knew our next leg was going to be an all-day one and a five-mile head start would come in handy. Also, anchorage at Lodestone is in the lee of the reef, not requiring a crossing of a pass to get in. That would make it a straightforward affair to leave in the darkness of early morning.
To help ourselves a little more with this, we skipped the main anchorage and headed for a largish looking sandy spot we found on satellite photos that was farther east and thus closer to where we were trying to go.
What we found was glorious. After coming out of the inter-reef trench, the bottom climbed to a plateau of white sand ten meters below us. The wind was completely gone by then and the sea was gently undulating. It looked like a mirror of mercury in the distance and like clear glass when viewed straight down. The visibility was even better than it had been at John Brewer. From the bows, we could see all seventy-five meters of chain until it disappeared into the sand at our anchor. Most tantalizing of all was the gentle swell that was breaking over the nearby reefs. As the waves formed, their backs tilted toward us and acted like a prism, flashing us a kaleidoscope of colors from the coral below.
Snorkelling at Lodestone Reef was just as rewarding
We got done with our arrival checklist as quickly as possible and then struggled into our still-damp wetsuits for a look. Wow! John Brewer has the reputation, but what we were seeing now was even better. There was blinding white sand, crystal-clear water, giant walls of multicolored coral and fishes galore. To be fair, it was a beautiful, clear, calm day and the silt had had two days to precipitate out. On a normal day, our beautiful idyll would be a churned up, rolly mess, making protected John Brewer the much better option. Days like this might happen once a year. We were so lucky to be here. We stayed in until we were sore, dehydrated and pruny and emerged with beaming smiles impressed with the outlines of our face masks. Wow, what a spot! We then got to see the sun slide behind the mountains of the mainland and then turn the sky pink. Happy Birthday, Maryanne!
Begonia and crew happy in their own private corner at Lodestone Reef
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