Every diver will have their favorite dive site or most memorable dive.  But being as fortunate as I am to be working at the Manta Ray Bay Resort here in Yap, I feel I am spoiled for choice.  But still, as spoiled as I am, I still have my favorite dive site.  And for me it has to be Vertigo…by miles!  Located on the Northwest side of the island, it is always protected from the wind and thus is good to dive pretty much all of the time.  It is easy to get to as well, just a quick dart through the German channel and you are pretty much there.

For me, I love to dive where I have a wall on one side and the blue on the other and of course good visibility is a must.  Vertigo offers all three.  The coral is mainly hard coral, but the wall just drops and drops, seemingly to infinity.  The visibility is endless, easily over 100ft, so you get a great view whether you are looking up or down, left or right.  But for me, the blue is the most impressive.  It is such a rich hue of blue, it’s hard to pull your eyes from it.  And of course from the blue comes the amazing, wonderful sharks.  One minute there is nothing and then you can just make out something moving towards you and then there it is, one, two then three and then over a dozen sharks.  Before long they are curiously moving in for a closer look.

Vertigo is  a paradise for divers fascinated with sharks.  The main visitors to Vertigo  are the grey reef, black tip and white tip sharks but we have also seen Silkies and Scalloped Hammerheads.  If you are lucky you may even get to see the grouper that lurks deep down in the depths.  Now I’m not one for exaggerating, but it is at least 10 feet in length.  There are also literally thousands of colorful tropical fish living up near the surface so this is a dive with a little bit of everything – including lots of sharks.

Another reason Vertigo is my favorite place to dive is because it’s where Bill Acker took me as a dive student for my open water course.  And on only my third dive had me roll off the back of the boat and land in the middle of at least 30 sharks and in one instant took 10 years off my life with the shock!

My name is Valerie Acker Sullivan and I am a dive guide in training at my family’s dedicated dive resort – the Manta Ray Bay. Today marked my 10th diving expedition as a member of the Yap Divers’ Crew and we were scheduled for an all day 3 tank dive.  Our boat driver was John John and our dive guide was R.J. along with myself.   The guests were a  local diver (Diana),  two single New Yorkers (Chad and Liza),  an American couple living outside of Tokyo, Japan (Dylan and Teresa), and an Israeli couple (David the diver and Naama his 5 month pregnant snorkeler wife).

Beginning at the dock everyone was having fun getting to know one another. We were greeted with a beautiful sunny day and calm waters so  the day was magical from the start. Our first stop was Yap Caverns (my personal favorite). The dive is full of caves and swim-throughs featuring several moray eels and lion fish to keep every diver happy.  On top of this we saw 2 leaf fish, 2 mantas shrimps and a white tip reef shark getting his daily grooming from a group of cleaner wrasses at the shark cleaning station. As if that wasn’t a wonderful first dive as it was, I saw a turtle as I was doing my safty stop. (Turtle number one of the day).

Our next stop was Big Bend along the west side of the island. This dive site was no less exciting for the moment we entered the water, we spotted a resting sting ray underneath a coral overhang and shortly afterwards a turtle. (Turtle number 2 of the day). There was a nice current with crystal clear water so we enjoyed a beautiful drift dive full of tropical fish and gorgeous corals.

On our way to the 3rd dive site we spotted mating turtles! (Turtles number 3 and 4 of the day) but the excitement continued as we came across a pod of dolphins! At first we were shocked that they didn’t want to play, so we jumped in with snorkels to see them. Shorty afterwards we realize why they didn’t play as we jumped in right on top of a school of barracudas which the dolphins were fishing for!  From the boat we watched as barracudas jumped out of the water in a frenzy trying to escape the dolphins! What an amazing experience.

Finally we arrive at Mi’l Channel. With everyone still hyped about all the excitement of the day, we almost passed up doing our final dive.  Boy that would have been a mistake – a big mistake. With perfect conditions – an incoming tide, crystal clear water and a tropical sunset – we jumped in. The channel was so clear you could see both sides and the bottom some 90 feet down. Riding the light current was a good relaxing way to end the day of diving and it would have been a fine ending to a wonderful day but as we arrived at Tzimoulis Ridge (sometimes still referred to as Manta Ridge), a solitary male manta came cruising by on his way out to sea. No sooner had I turned from watching him than I see an entire “herd” of mantas heading directly towards me.  In my excitement I lost count of how many mantas actually went by! It was a good thing that they finally passed because we were all almost out of air and haven’t even begun our safty stop!

Once on the boat we confirmed that there were 14 mantas altogether. That dive sealed the day for us and boy was it a day to remember.  I would like to tell everyone that it was just another typical day in Yap, but it was pretty special – even for here.  I am looking forward to joining my Dad, Bill Acker, on his weekly Thursday Diving Safari to see if we can repeat the spectacle.   I invite you to join me anytime and I will be happy to show you the underwater magic that is Yap Island.

Last Thursday saw Popou full with another group of intrepid divers heading out with Bill to explore some wonderful dive sites in Yap.  This trip out we headed to the south of the island to two of my favorite dive sites, namely Yap Caverns and Cabbage Patch.

The visibility was excellent at the Yap Caverns and we had very little current so the swim throughs were very easy.  This dive produced some great marine life for us all to photograph.  We had octopus, lion fish, three leaf fish and a very colorful mantis shrimp as well as a few passing white tips.

The surface interval offered a great opportunity to check out each other’s pictures whilst having some delicious banana bread washed down with a cup of tea. We spent a fun hour telling stories and having some really good banter back and forth.

The short journey up to Cabbage Patch gave us time to suit up for the next dive.  Cabbage Patch is a large expanse of hard coral mainly pachyseris speciosa, which offers a chance to spot some lovely nudibranchs which we only ever find at this site called chelidonura inornata.  This particular dive gave us an abundance of bump head parrot fish as well.

The guests on this trip out were Ron Lane, Birmingham, UK; Rob Reid, Birmingham UK; Julie Quickfall & David Williams, Somerset, UK; Brian Smith, California, USA; Peter Schmidt & Martina Sebastian, Schonerfeld, Germany; Kurt Fehr, Lenzburg, Switzerland Rudolf Argay, Basel, Switzerland.  Also joining on the dive boat were Bill’s two daughters Numie and Valerie.  Boat captain was Igy and Alex helped Bill out by being assistant dive guide.

Check out our blog next week for the next safari…

Peter Schneider, originally from Berlin, Germany is our new Manta Visions Video  & Photo Pro.  Peter is  a true professional in his field having worked for 12 years in German television, before  moving  to French Polynesia to create his own company – Underwatercam.  In the 9 years he lived and worked  on the atoll of Rangiroa, Peter  spent more than 4000 hours with his cameras submerged.

Many of the images he brought to the surface, were used for international TV productions such as National Geographic TV,  Discovery Channel and  different European channels.  One of the highlights of his career came when award winning underwater cinematographer Christian Petron asked Peter to work with him. Christian was the leading cinematographer for Luc Besson on the films “ The Big Blue” and “Atlantis”  as well as many other films you might have seen.

On the last project the two worked together in 2009/2010, Peter was also the topside high definition (HD) broadcast camera operator.  You want more info on that project?  Pssst, this is still top secret, … but here is a short sneak preview of it:

http://www.marinevideo.eu/video/275/Trailer+Project+Ocean+Quest

In 2004 Peter produced, together with Rachel Campergue, a 52 minute documentary about shark finning in French Polynesia. This award winning film “Sharks of Rangiroa, from Legend to Reality” and the activities it triggered  played an important role in the process of introducing a law against commercial shark fishing in French Polynesia. The bill was finally passed the 12th of April 2006.

“I believe the biggest enemies of sharks are fear, misconception and a lack of information.  We simply don’t protect what we are afraid of and what we don’t understand.  In my films I try to capture the beauty of these amazing animals.  Every diver who ever had the chance to observe sharks in the wild can tell about their aura. Every diver who tells or even can show his family and friends pictures of himself diving with sharks, becomes somehow an ambassador for those fabulous creatures.  I am happy and feel privileged to have the chance to accompany you on your dive.  Giving you, with the films I make, a tool to change fear into fascination and respect.”

“When did I discover my sympathy for sharks you asked?  I was around 4 years old, when my parents and I spent our summer holidays at the shores of the Baltic sea.  I had this oval, red rubber-framed diving mask that I was so proud of.  I dared to kneel down and submerge the mask into the ankle-deep wild waters of the Baltic ocean ….sea …I mean.  Wow,  I was so impressed, … it was just unbelievable what I saw. Everyone on the beach has to know, I thought.  I left the water in such an excitement, ran  from one canopied beach chair to the next to announce my discovery: “ Sharks,… there are sharks in the water, …full of sharks, …the water is full of sharks.” I can’t remember how my parents reacted,, but they weren’t much concerned and let me go again for deeper studies. Sharks were obviously the first fish I knew by name, …not red snappers, …but the snappers have the color my back became that day. I learned: sharks are no (little) man eating monsters and snakes are not the only creatures changing their skin.”

Do you believe Peter when he says “mama” was not the first word he spoke, …it was actually manta ….?

Ok, this was just to get the twist to another  amazing story Peter has to share. In October 2007 he and his camera were at the right time in the right place. Two manta rays performed a beautiful mating dance in front of his eyes. We have seen this you might say, …but have you actually witnessed also the copulation of manta rays?  Very few people had the chance to observe such behavior in wildlife and until know nobody else has captured it on video yet.

Peter wrote an article on it ,which was published in the British “Diver” magazine and several German magazines as well.  You can read these articles online, …but to see the sparkling in Peters eyes when telling the story, you actually have to drop by.

“Manta rays are definitively the most graceful animals traveling the worlds’ oceans.  To meet them in their habitat is every divers’ dream.  If you are open to it, you can see that each animal has its different character and even mood.  To interact with them is really something magic.  Come as a guest, … sensitive and respectful and you will experience one of the most enchanted moments of your life and as a photo- or videographer,.you will take home the evidence of those magical encounters.  Magic is the keyword here, … the magic of the manta rays of Yap, …and the magic of the Island of Yap has brought me here.  The preserved nature and culture of the Island and the versatile diving Yap has to offer. I feel honored to be part of the professional team of Yap Divers. It is giving me the perfect support and working environment I need for my creative work at Manta Vision.”

Peter is also a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and PADI Specialty Underwater Videography Instructor.

He offers one day “Introductions into underwater videography” and  three day PADI Underwater Videography Specialty Courses with certifications.   Peter will be in Yap and ready to dive with you beginning in June.

The above was written by Peter to introduce himself to you.  I have  known Peter for years and am very excited to have him join our team at the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.  Peter will add another dimension to what is already a top flight dive staff.  His images will enhance our evenings as we project them on Mnuw’s big screen and his work will show up on our website very soon.   When you are ready for the adventure of your life, please contact us, or your favorite travel professional, to book your trip.  Myself, Jan, Peter and the staff all look forward to showing you the amazing island of Yap.

In the meantime, you can contact Peter at email: peter@underwatercam.tv or  mantavisions@mantaray.com and you can visit his website at  www.underwatercam.tv.

Each September the Manta Ray Bay hosts an exciting event called Manta Fest.  This year will be our fourth year running and will run from Sept 4 – 14.

We host Manta Fest each year with one simple aim.  That is for people who have a love of the sea and the life it supports to get together to share their knowledge, passion, pictures/films and stories.

Over the years we have been very fortunate to have some outstanding and well known SCUBA dive photographers/videographers take time out of their busy schedules and spend Manta Fest with us to share their knowledge and be on hand to teach and give tips on getting better footage and shots.  We host seminars and training sessions in the hotel to help our guests improve their skills behind the camera and also educate on the marine habitat and environment.  Of course there is also the bonus to go and dive with these professionals and chat on the dive boats.  In the evening the Crows Nest bar on the S/V Mnuw plays host to story-telling time and a chance to watch films shot by our presenters with a glass or two of our tasty in-house beer.

This year we will be joined by three talented people namely Andy Sallmon, Tim Rock and Ray Bullion.  They have all spent a lot of time in Yap and are great friends of the Manta Ray Bay and will make your vacation time with us just that little bit extra special.

So what are you waiting for book today!

We will be posting more information as the time draws closer.