Was boarding my flight to Chicago and saw the plane.  Had just come from dinner with our good friend Patricia Hillebrand, was going to be picked up in Dallas by my brother Patrick and my wife’s name is Patricia and she was born on St. Patrick’s day so seemed pretty natural to be “riding” St. Patrick from Dublin to Chicago.  Just had to take a picture to share with my friends.

A lot of stories in Texas begin with the words “Sumbitch, you won’t believe this – but” and then the tails tend to grow from there but what I am about to relay to you is absolutely true and it happened on my way from Yap to Düsseldorf for the BOOT Show.  I left an island full of the colors green and blue and entered a land that was white.

My trip so far has taken me from Yap to Guam to Manila to Hong Kong to Zurich, Basel and now Düsseldorf.  I arrived in Zurich at 6:10 AM and was met at the airport Starbucks by my good friend, Capt. Tommy Kormalis of Swiss Air.  From there, it was a Swiss Rail train to Basel where I was met by another great friend, Chris Heim owner of Sea Explorers diving centers in the Philippines and Pura Vida Hotel in Daumagheti.  We went to Chris’ mom’s house for lunch, which was fabulous and included dessert of cherries, whipped cream, ice cream and homemade cookies.

Afterwards, Chris and I were joined by his manager Lee and good friend Benji for a tour of Basel, including the mountains and the old city.

We crossed the river Rhine on a ferry boat that has been operating for centuries and which has no motor or moving parts.  It’s tethered to a cable stretching across the river and moves from bank to bank via the current.  Here is a picture of me with the “new” guy operating the ferry.  He has only been there for 20 years and, as you can see, towers over me.  He is a giant of a man with a wonderful disposition and outlook on life who enjoys his job.

 

 

 

One of the more interesting stops on our tour of Basel was the “Tri Corner Pole” marking the boundary of France, Germany and Switzerland.  In this picture, if I step to my right, I would be in France and I am standing with one foot in Switzerland and one foot in Germany.  Pretty neat stuff and I can’t thank my good friend Chris enough for a wonderful tour of “his” city.

 

We also saw the smallest house in Basel which is one window wide!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, the trip got even better.  After a short 1 hour flight on Air Berlin, I was met at the Düsseldorf Airport by Herr Schneider, aka James Bond as in “Bond, James Bond”.  Seriously Frank is one of the world’s best photo journalists and underwater photographer and boy did he have a treat in store for me?  We first went to his house outside the city where his lovely wife Uschi prepared coffee and traditional German cakes and then he took me to the “cheapest” hotel he could find.  We drove about 30 minutes from his home and entered the grounds of the Schloss Lembeck (http://www.schloss-lembeck.de).  A castle surrounded by a moat and built over 1,000 years ago!

As I write this early in the morning before heading for the BOOT Show, I am the only guest in this GIANT building and am in a room which is easily 70 feet by 70 feet with a 30 foot ceiling, not counting the modern bathroom.

 

 

 

There is a fireplace, a four poster canopied bed and original wooden floors.  Breakfast is served downstairs in the formal dining room and I am off to meet Frank momentarily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I said above, “Sumbitch, you won’t’ believe this – but it’s true.  Nen, I sure wish you were here to share with me.

Lonely Planet author and photojournalist TIM ROCK just visited us this week and gave us some great news.

His beautiful books are now available in e-book format, to download to your iPhone or iPad.

He also has a NEW book out called the Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Palau & Yap. He highlights some of his favorite Yap dives in the book with beautiful color photos.

You can read through any of these online right now and download the e-Book from Blurb.com.

If you like you can also order the paper edition.

The Palau-Yap guide book will also be available soon on Amazon.com in paperback. We’ll alert you when that is ready to go.

Here’s a look at Tim’s Yap offerings. The list is extensive and they are all superbly illustrated. Just click to read.

DIVING GUIDE TO GUAM & YAP

YAP ENCHANTED ISLE, LAND OF STONE MONEY

YAP – MICRONESIAN MAGIC

MICRONESIA – PEOPLE, LAND & SEA

YAP’S OUTER ISLANDS – A DIVING GUIDE

By Tim Rock
(all photos copyright the owners)

Manta Fest 2011 had some amazing entries this year and they weren’t all manta photos despite the name of our Fest. The judges commended beautiful shots of sea turtles, reef scenics, macro like mandarinfish and goby potraits, lots of reef shark shots and some beautiful sunrises and village dance shots. They were shown to all aboard the Mnuw on Saturday Night, September 10, 2011.

In the end, it is hard to unseat the Judy Bennet with her great photography and fun attitude about diving. Last year’s overall winner was also this year’s top photog and the creator of this year’s Best of Show with her great Grey Reef Shark portrait taken at Vertigo.

But she had plenty of competition and here’s how it shook out:

Category – Land, Culture and People

Honorable Mention

Mark Grantham – Yap Sunrise
Audrey Voronin – Coconut Girl

Third Place

Mark Grantham – Village Weavers

Second Place

Karen Axelrod – Mnuw Sunrise

First Place

Judy Bennett – Stick Dance Girl

Category – Macro

Honorable Mention

Judy Bennett – Yellow Goby & Shrimp
Audrey Voronin – Mandarinfish Dance

Third Place

Mike Martini – Clownfish in Anemone

Second Place

Judy Bennett – Wire Coral Shrimp

First Place

Judy Bennett – Spotted Coral Crab

Reef Scenics

Honorable Mention

Shirley DeMan – Open Water Turtle
Shirley DeMan – Giant Puffer
Audrey Voronin – Hawksbill

Third Place

Judy Bennett – Finger Corals & Boat

Second Place

Judy Bennett – Anthias and Crinoids

First Place

Audrey Voronin – Reef Wave

Mantas and/or Sharks

Honorable Mention

Daniel Flormann – Turning Shark

Third Place

Mike Martini – Manta Above!

Second Place

Daniel Flormann – Shark Pair

Tons of prizes including a week stay at Manta Ray for the First place winners.
Second Place winners got Tim Rock’s books on either Yap or Micronesia.
Third Place and Honorable Mention got a lot of various Manta Ray Bay and Yap Divers prizes.

And Judy’s Grand Prize was a Mares Icon HD net ready Dive Computer.

This year’s judges were Tim Rock of Double Blue Images/Lonely Planet Author, Marty Snyderman of Marty Snyderman Productions, Frank Schneider of Tauchen Magazine and Ray Bullion Dive Computer Specialist of Los Angeles.

Manta Fest for 2012 will be from August 26th through September 9th, 2012. We hope to see you in YAP!!!

The Manta Ray Bay Hotel has added some new and updated wall images to enhance the boutique atmosphere of the hotel. As you may already know, each room has a theme based on a sea creature. Every bed spread is a beautiful work based on the room name showing that creature or fish. The motif of the entire hotel is marine life with each of the rooms individually decorated in tropical elegance. Each room bears a fish name, and is decorated accordingly, with photographs and paintings of that fish, hand-carved door, hand carved key chains and handmade bedspreads.

And now all of the rooms have photographic art from Micronesia’s most prolific marine photographer, Tim Rock, who often visits the Manta Ray Bay Hotel and Yap Divers. The halls also sport new images from Rock and also other famous photogs like Carl Roessler, Geri Murphy and the late Paul Tzimoulis.

The most prominent may be the huge murals of a Yapese dancer (taken at the Manta Ray 20th Anniversary party) and the extreme manta close-up up taken at Miil Channel. This manta passed over Tim nose-to camera at the speed of light one afternoon on an incoming high tide as part of a manta train. He got one shot off. The resulting image of this manta and clear sky above is hard to replicate.

In all, nearly 40 new undersea images from Yap by Tim can be found in the new wing, the rooms and the halls and staircases of the MRBH. Take a walk through this amazing gallery and enjoy the incredible marine life of Yap.

Story and Photos copyright Tim Rock

Believe it or not, Manta Fest isn’t all mantas. Yap has the most fascinating and intact culture in Micronesia and a visit to Kaday Village is the showcase of this unique culture. To get to Kaday, one can drive along the scenic west-central main road past traditional men’s houses and playing kids.

Finding both fruit and kids in trees is pretty standard stuff in Yap.

Upon arrival at Kaday Village, one gets to wander the ancient stone paths, get a taste of local fruits and see baskets being made.

Then a young boy will pick betel nut fresh from the high trees and scurry down. Guests are instructed by the affable village host Charles on how to have a chew. This is a staple in Yap. Some guests really like it. Others aren’t so sure. (check expressions on faces)

Then colorful fun starts. A traditional dance about a past historic event or person is performed by the village dancers.

The stick dance is an active, melodic affair full of well-choreographed movements that tell the story and entertain.

Young and old participate, making it a full village event.

Afterwards, people get to take photos of and with the dancers and enjoy more local treats.

A trip to see a real Pacific Island culture in action is a must in Yap. March 1 is always Yap Day and the whole island covenes for dances and events. It lasts about 3 days and can be combined with morning dives and afternoon trips to the dance grounds. Check for availability HERE as this is always a popular event.

Tim of the Deep

Story and Video by Tim Rock

Here’s a look at the mantas thrilling divers at Manta Fest this year.

The new cleaning station is a great place to watch cleaner behavior.

Click RIGHT HERE to see the Video:

More to come soon including village dancers.

Tim of the Deep

Story & Photos by Tim Rock

Divers had a wonderful sunrise this morning and scattered to all parts of Yap. Some will do Yap Caverns on an all day three-dive trip, a few will go back for mantas and others will try the northern reefs. That will be followed by a traditional village tour and trip to Kaday for Yapese dancing and some local food.

Last night Marty Snyderman gave a wonderful presentation aboard the Mnuw on the sea and its inhabitants called “10,000 Dives in an Hour or So”. It featured video and stills done by Snyderman throughout his storied career.

Tonight I’ll show the folks something about marine preserves in the region including Yap, Guam and Rota in the Marianas.

The judges are now all gathered and ready for the entries.

And Bill Acker is now back and in the mix. He is seen here with son O.P.

An added sidelight, longtime Manta Ray employee Detlef Trux in charge of keeping Mnuw in ship shape is now doing hydroponic gardening on the hotel grounds. They call the site the “Garden of Eatin’”!!
This means fresh herbs, salads, spinach and lots more is now coming out of the garden, through the kitchen and into the mouths of grateful guests.

Keep posted, more to come.

You’ll see stuff like this:

Tim of the Deep

Here’s a look and some of the images from the last 2 days of Manta Fest:

CLICK HERE to see them.

Story & Photos copyright Tim Rock
For Manta Ray Bay

The arrival of a lot more guests for week 2 of Manta Fest saw a few more boats leaving the docks today. Many came in via Palau and arrived at the wee hours, so we took advantage of the late high tide to visit the new cleaning station.

Others went to the beautiful hard coral walls of Gufnuw Channel and the old stand-by for macro, Slow & Easy.

Tonight will be a Week 2 orientation on the Mnuw and no doubt a few lies will be told and some libations drunk.

And so we kick off Manta Fest week 2 with a bang and a nice Micronesian sunset!!