August 1st, 2018

Reported by Mark Ullmann of MV Starlet

In July 2018 on our way from the Cook Islands to Niue, we made a stop at Beveridge Reef. Surprisingly there were already 5 yachts at anchor inside the reef when we showed up. During our stay, the winds were SE between 11 and 18 kts and anchoring on the east side of the reef was comfortable. Kite-surfing and scuba diving kept the group busy.

Before heading toward the reef, details on the location were sketchy. All of my navigation programs just showed a vague location. Neither Google Earth, not Bing Maps showed the reef in their satellite images. So we made our approach in daylight using waypoints previously posted on Noonsite and had no problem finding and entering the pass.

While there I generated a set of GPS position using my radar to read the surf over the reef. Those waypoints outline the perimeter of the reef:

BR-1

19°59.730’S 167°46.470’W

BR-2

19°58.020’S 167°46.290’W

BR-3

19°58.280’S 167°44.750’W

BR-4

19°58.690’S 167°44.190’W

BR-5

19°59.430’S 167°43.970’W

BR-6

20°00.600’S 167°44.470’W

BR-7

20°01.969’S 167°45.219’W

BR-8

20°02.256’S 167°46.506’W

BR-9

20°02.370’S 167°47.270’W

BR-10

20°02.220’S 167°47.640’W

BR-11

20°00.730’S 167°47.370’W

BR-Pass

20°00.034’S 167°46.730’W

Hopefully, these waypoints will allow cruisers to head to Beveridge with a better feel for the actual reef location.

Mark Ullmann
MV Starlet

April 28, 2011

Reported by Mike Dorsett of SY White Princess

We just visited Beveridge reef, between the Cook Islands and Niue.

This is not a good place to visit unless you need an emergency stop or run out of wind. There is no land, the snorkeling is poor to average, any diving would have to be done in very calm conditions and would have to be done outside the reef with boat cover. As the Pass is 2 miles from the anchorage this makes it a bit of a dubious exercise. The Diving at Palmerston is far better and can be done straight from your yacht at the moorings.

The pass is wide, with 8m or more at LW. Current in the pass is less than 3 knots. The lagoon is mostly free of dangers and has >10m. Lagoon is rough at high water as the swells cone over the reef. This will calm down at low water, but it will depend on the sea state outside. Anchor pretty much where you like, along the eastern edge of the lagoon.

There is a wreck of a blue steel hulled trawler of about 45′ lying on top of the northeast reef. This, together with the surf, can be seen from about 4 miles off. The wreck on the reef is different to that reported from 1996. This wreck is Liberty, with a ZM identification and is further north than the previous wreck, which is no longer there.

Waypoints:

Approaching from the NE: North of reef 19.57.078S 167.46.347W

Pass 20.00.00S 167.47.00W to 20.00.00S 167.46.60W

Anchorage: 20.00.894S 167.45.166W

The W.J. Gleeson (Odyssey, 1996) chart handed out by Rarotonga in 2005 is inaccurate, particularly as to the shape of the NW reef.

Mike Dorsett
SY White Princess