Days 3 & 4 in Yap and its producing more shark action. Check out Ai out in the blue with toothy friends.

Here’s the afternoon dive in Yap at Manta Fest. More good free diving sharks:
http://timrock.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yap-Vertigo-Reef-Free-Diving-Sharks/G0000wnWJtwg6U4E/

The Manta Fest days are officially underway with Andy and Ray and myself slated to be giving seminars starting this week.

The first day of diving was highlighted by a great gathering of reef sharks at Vertigo. Bill Acker brought down a small bait basket that kept the sharks interested while people snapped away and shot video.

Ai again tried some free diving with these gray reefs and looked right at home in the blue, clear water with her toothy friends. Our second dive also produced an eagle and some beautiful corals covered in a cloud of glassy baitfish.

Today we also saw five sharks getting cleanings and coasting in the current at Gofnuw Channel’s Car Wash. One shark had two pesky remoras that were driving her crazy.

This afternoon back to Vertigo and hopefully more great shark action.

What would Manta Fest be without mantas? Well, they showed up today to the glee of early visitors. And not without a bit of fanfare.

We returned to Miil under sunny skies and a bit of a breeze. Low tide was just at slack and the channel visibility on the first dive was fit mostly for macro. Guest Judy found wire coral gobies and some colorful commensal shrimp hanging out on bubble corals. Ai and I went to the deep cleaning station and found willing longnose hawkfish in the golden gorgonians there.

But no one saw any mantas.

While having our morning hot tea and banana bread, we discussed where we should go next. That was settled when a manta actually lept out of the water right next to our boat! After seeing this big splash and announcement of “we are here” from the rays, it was back into the water where we had a tango with three mantas, an eagle ray and a few sharks. The mantas were lazily cruising in the incoming tide, getting cleaned a bit and taking a few stabs at being amorous it appeared. JR’s group had all three circle overhead at touching distance (no they didn’t, but they were close enough to touch).

In all, it was a nice dive with clear water and we spent a lot of dive time with man’s & woman’s best friends… mantas.

Tomorrow we expect to see more divers and some full boats as Manta Fest officially kicks off. But for the early arrivals, it’s been fun already.

There was some rain last week, …but there is nothing wrong about that, unless your plan is to play tennis or golf. Fortunately we are diving here in Yap Island and the umbrella of the ocean’s surface  protects us from the cool showers.

While waiting for the Manta Rays to arrive at the cleaning station in Goofnuw Channel, I spotted my first Crocodile fish. Actually if I would have been the first diver to ever see a crocodile fish, I would have named it differently.  The first thing that came to mind when I saw this amazing animal, was a duck. When I moved around him, he remained motionless, only the eyes followed my movements. This gave him some personality, …kind of a special character. My next thought came with a big laugh and I almost spit out my regulator.  “Donald” I thought, …Donald (Duck) Croc , …Hi Donald, it is nice meeting you …”.

But before my fantasy could drag me deeper into Peter’s Wonderland, … a big female manta ray showed up on the horizon and glided into the cleaning station.  Opening her gill slits to let the cleaning crew in, …she was hovering above the coral heads, but today  only  express cleaning was scheduled as she left after a couple of minutes.  So did we, …moving to the second station.  I swam a bit in front of our group, when a second manta appeared, …swimming towards us.  I had no time to signal to the other divers and just laid down on the bottom and stopped breathing. The big ray didn’t show any signs of hesitation and continued its travels.  This has happened to me so often in my three weeks in Yap but I always get a rush of euphoria. Yes, I got in the mood.

Some minutes later the silhouette of another ray appeared above us. This time it was an eagle ray. Like a kite he was hovering motionless in the current.  Then turning and sailing a bit downstream,  …turning again and sailing upstream . With every circle he came a little closer, …closer and closer until his wing almost touched my camera.

Yes, these are the magical moments in diving, …. when you are just feeling like staying submerged forever. But as this is not possible we only can comfort ourselves by  looking forward to the next dive, …the next exciting encounter here in Yap island.  I hope to see you soon (again)!

And those, who unfortunately had to stay in the Hotel, ….they also enjoyed life, … despite the rain. Of course they needed the umbrellas to protect their beers from being diluted.

Cheers and happy bubbles,

Peter

Okay, we all know that Greece put the Euro into trouble, but who would have thought that our stone money makes it to the Azores in the mid-Atlantic. If you take a closer look you see that this disc is only a poor copy of our handicraft originals… At least it is located in front of a house – the way it should be – in Madalena, Pico Island.

Okay, wir wissen ja alle, dass Griechenland den Euro in die Krise gestürzt hat, aber wer hätte gedacht, dass ausgerechnet unser Steingeld den Weg in den Mittelatlantik zu den Azoren findet. Beim genaueren Hinsehen enttarnt sich das gute Stück aber nur als schlechte Kopie unser handgertigten Originale… Immerhin steht es im Vorgarten eines Hauses – so wie es sich gehört – in Madalena auf der Insel Pico.

Today saw the first day’s training in the kitchen on board the Mnuw, our 100 year old floating restaurant moored by the Manta Ray Bay Resort.  The reason for the training you might ask?  Well, we are in the process of totally overhauling our menu and putting into place something that is exciting, fresh, tantalizing and unique for the island of Yap.  Not only will we  be offering the best diving in Yap, but also the best dining.

In the kitchen today Bill held two training sessions for all the staff on how to make the perfect fish taco.  I was there to sample one…well ok two or three and they tasted damn good.  I’m sure it was down to all the years of his legendary Texas BBQs!  The aim of changing the menu is to get good tasty food to our guests fast and to satisfy hungers that diving the great sites of Yap can only give you.

The sort of dishes you can expect to see on the new menu are, gourmet sandwiches, wide range of tacos, fish dishes, including catch of the day, our great appetizers (which we are keeping).  We will be offering good sized burgers, all made from 100% Angus beef, with a tasty selection of toppings.  We will of course have our pizza menu.  We have increased our selection of desserts too, so there will be something to please those with a sweet tooth!

Keep checking our blog for notification of the final menu and launch date.   So now there is another reason to come visit us here in Micronesia.

Here I am, at the Manta Ray Bay Resort on the island of Yap in the Pacific region known as Micronesia.  After a long journey from French Polynesia, my video equipment and I have arrived safely.  I had just enough time to set up my diving and video equipment, when Yap Divers announced  a Shark Dive. Yessss, I thought …that is the right way to start my new job as a photo/video pro at Manta Visions.  I was very excited to meet up with the local shark population for the first time and was wondering how many sharks we will see and how close I can get to them.  You know, …I have done more than a thousand shark dives before and honestly I thought it will be hard to impress me.

So how was it, you ask?

As a warm-up Bill Acker, owner/operator of the resort, brought down a basket of fish carcasses and placed it in a crevice in the coral at a depth of 10 meters (30+ feet).  The sharks, mostly grey reef sharks with a few blacktip reef sharks in the midst, smelled the bait but couldn’t get it.  They stayed really cool and the divers, …among them several photographers, had time to find a good place for taking their desired pictures.  The less experienced divers got time to get used to the presence of the sharks.  I started to love them from the first minute.  It was really easy to get close and they almost posed for us.  My camera was rolling and rolling, …didn’t dare switch it off so I would not miss a scene.  It was just beautiful,  the light was perfect and the water extremely clear.

After 10 minutes or so Bill, with the help of a couple of the Yap Diver’s dive guides, brought down a large ball of frozen chum attached to a line and float so that the “chumcicle” stayed in mid-water.  This time the sharks got a bit more excited as they could actually get to the food source.  Still, the entire feed was very controlled and the sharks were just interested in the chum and ignored the divers.  Ok, ok, …some sharks were a little more interested in cameras and strobes but isn’t that what we were looking for?  “Come a little closer baby …..c’mon gimme a smile …” and they did!

To get the feeling you have to be here of course, …even the best pictures cannot make up for the real thing.  So I hope to see you in Yap soon so I can introduce you to my new friends.

We were fortunate to have our good friend, Mr. Ken Kurtis from Hollywood, California back in Yap recently.  This was Ken’s 6th visit and he brought several of his best customers with him.  Here is an excerpt from his latest newsletter:

Bill,

We had a great week (ten days actually with all the travel time) diving in Yap.  Warm water, great weather (the only rain we saw – except for the final day there when we weren’t diving – was always between midnight and 6AM), wonderful animal encounters, fantastic friends at Manta Ray Bay Hotel (still my favorite diving resort in the whole world), and a good time was had by all.

Here’s an easy way of thinking about how special Yap is by looking at these four images from our dives on Thursday:

Dive 1 – Valley of the Rays @ 10:11AM:

Dive 2 – Vertigo shark feed @ 11:46AM:

Dive 3 – Gilman Wall @ 2:18PM

Dive 4 – O’Keefe Island @ 7:50PM

This is a collection of animals that most divers would be happy to see over the course of an entire week. We saw them in a space of less than nine hours on a single day. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You’ve got to go to Yap.

I’ll be working on the trip report and the pictures (and maybe a video too) and will send those to you separately, hopefully towards the end of the week. In  the meantime, here are a dozen more images from our wonderful week in Yap: This Week (in pictures) at Reef Seekers.

	© 2010 Reef Seekers Dive Co. All Rights Reserved.

WWII Memorial to be dedicated on Pacific Island of Yap

Yap Island, FSM, June 12th, 2010:  The Yap Visitors Bureau (YVB) and the Missing Air Crew Project (MACP) announce the dedication of one of the most unique World War II memorials in the Pacific. The newly constructed site displays the wreckage of a plane flown by Ens. Joseph Cox (from Idaho) and will be dedicated July 27th, symbolizing the tremendous sacrifice and loss of human life near this Pacific Island during WWII. The YVB and MACP have been working together for several years to preserve and remember this very special group of soldiers.

In the historical context of WWII and the Pacific theatre, American losses near Yap (now part of the Federated States of Micronesia) were substantial yet continue to be overlooked even today. Strategically located between the Philippines and Guam, Japanese occupied Yap was targeted almost daily from June of 1944 to August of 1945 at the cost of hundreds of American men, 110 of which remain classified as missing in action (MIA). Pat Ranfranz (from Cameron, WI), founder of the MACP has spent over 20 years researching Yap during WWII and the stories behind each soldier and his mission, hoping to preserve their memories for generations to come. Pat’s uncle is among the soldiers that remain MIA.

The memorial to be dedicated on July 27th displays the actual wreckage of an F6F-5 Hellcat flown by Ens. Joseph Cox, one of 36 planes American planes that fell near the island. Joseph’s plane was shot down with three other Hellcats from the USS Enterprise on September 6, 1944 and was only recently recovered moderately intact. “It is truly one of the most unique wrecks and now memorials in the Pacific,” explains Pat. “After the war, most of the wreckage throughout the world was picked over and removed. Fortunately in this case, the Yapese have respected the wreckages as grave sites and taken care to preserve them and remember the American men who lost their lives during the war.” Joseph’s plane was spared from the expanding Yap landfill in 2008 and relocated to government held land. Displayed on a concrete pad next to an all-weather sign and memorial marker describing the man, the plane, and the mission, the YVB together with the MACP were able to construct one of the finest memorials to American men lost in WWII’s Pacific theatre.

Pat Ranfranz is extremely grateful for the work that has been done to make the memorial come together. “This would not have been possible without the work done by the people of Yap and the Yap Visitors Bureau to save and preserve the American crash sites and wreckages that remained after the war. Too many people have forgotten the men who gave their lives for our freedom during WWII. This memorial and others on Yap Island will help to immortalize the forgotten and bring meaning to their sacrifices.”  Attending the dedication will be Yap Governor Sebastian Anefal, US Ambassador Peter A. Prahar and other dignitaries along with the 90 year old brother of the pilot, Ellis Cox of Idaho.

The memorial dedication, open to the press, will take place from 2-4pm near the Public Works building on the Island of Yap. Please contact the YVB for assistance if your organization would like to attend. Both Pat Ranfranz and representatives from the YVB are available for interviews between now and July (see the contact information at the top of this release). Pat Ranfranz will also be available in Tokyo July 19-20th and Guam July 20th while traveling to Yap. For more information about the memorial dedication and Missing Air Crew Project, visit: http://www.missingaircrew.com or www.mantaray.com.

Peter A. Prahar, U.S. Ambassador, Federated States of Micronesia standing in front of the Ens. Joseph Cox F6F-5 Hellcat Memorial on Yap Island.	Patrick Ranfranz stands next to the Ens. Joseph Cox F6F-5 Hellcat wreckage after it was saved.

Contact Information:

Pat Ranfranz started researching his uncle’s (T/Sgt John R. McCullough) downed aircraft almost 25 years ago while in college. First traveling to Yap in 2005 to find his uncle’s missing plane, Pat has researched, located and documented numerous other missing American planes lost over Yap during the war. The Missing Air Crew Project is thrilled to be joined this summer by two members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They volunteered to help the Missing Air Crew Project this summer after hearing a talk from Pat Ranfranz at a dive show last winter. Bringing with them additional deep water search equipment to locate T/Sgt John R. McCullough’s B-24 bomber, the project hopes to bring closure to this decades long search.

Pat Ranfranz, the Missing Crew Project, and the Woods Hole volunteers will be in Yap this summer from July 18-28, 2010

and…

On July 27, 2010 the island of Yap will dedicate the Ens. Joseph Cox F6F-5 Hellcat memorial. The Ens. Cox Hellcat is one of 36 American planes shot down over Yap during World War II. Although the plane was shot down with three other Hellcat’s from the USS Enterprise on September 6, 1944 the plane remains relatively intact. It is truly one of the most unique wrecks and now memorials in the Pacific.