BEVERIDGE REEF

South Pacific Ocean

It’s hard to explain a mid-ocean, submerged atoll to someone who hasn’t seen one. They just don’t get it. I know, because that someone was me. When imagining what it would be like to anchor at Beveridge Reef, I pictured someplace eerie, a desolate circle of sharp coral that seemed to be there only so waves had something to collide with and make the ocean an even more frightening place than it can sometimes be. How wrong I was. Instead, Beveridge Reef was an oasis. Imagine being able to actually anchor in the middle of the ocean.

We arrived on a night without swell, wind or clouds. It was the most surreal place I’ve ever been.

While we were there, a huge pod of humpback whales happened to be passing through. We spent two days swimming with them, watching from a distance as their dozens of spouts shot off at staggered intervals, and hearing their song every time we put our heads underwater.

I wouldn’t blame you if you refused to believe that this place was real.