Here is the midweek Manta Fest photography samples, mostly all macro shots with one wide angle submission from Frank. Two presenters and two content participants loaded up my USB drive to share with you all here. Yap marine life has never looked better… enjoy.

Marty Snyderman

Frank Schneider

Judy Bennett

Anke Rohrbach

Clear blue water has greeted divers out on the reef. Before rolling in at southern dive sites we could see anemone fish 70+ feet below from inside the boat. Yap’s dive conditions have been pretty solid lately which everyone is enjoying.

Boats are rolling out steady all day and the photographers have not been shy about taking up Bill’s unlimited diving policy for Manta Fest. Only one diver is needed to send out a boat, and that gesture is has been tested.

So for everyone is having a good time and photography chatter is everywhere, on and off the boats. Meanwhile, in the water…

This is what the reef activity looks like these days, faces right up on the housings and award winning photographers doing what they do best. Everyone has a little bit different style and goes about getting their shots their own way.

This morning’s first dive, Frank went in without his camera and was doing some reef reconnaissance. One of the scores he found was one of the smallest nudibranchs we’ve seen… and in pro form, he called Marty over to snap a few shots before moving on to investigate another corral head.

I asked Frank what he thought about photographing in Yap and on the boat ride home he had this to say: “There’s a wide variety of sea life, from small nudibranchs to large fish such as sweet lips, napoleon wrasse, mantas and sharks. Here there are opportunities for all levels of photographers from beginner to advanced experts. The photo environment is diverse, you can start shooting at ten feet all the way down to 140 with a lot of fish and marine life at every depth. Yap offers something here for every photographer with any piece of equipment, from wide angle to macro.”

In the evenings the contest presenters have the opportunity to share their work with the entire resort on the big screen. Yesterday was Frank’s first presentation showing some of his recent projects.

Last night on the Mnuw, I also saw some laptops out with Adobe Bridge open and a  lot of thumbnails on the screen. I’ll be looking for some memory card contributions to post here very soon.

Right now the crew is out at Slow n Easy on a macro dive packing their memory cards with pipe fish, gobe, cleaner shrimp, octopus and all the reef life out at the local channel wall.

We haven’t peaked yet, the bigger half of the event is in route and arriving on Saturday, we’re still warming up.

This is today’s Yap status, clear water, lots of sea life, boats packed with pro’s and daily topside vacation fun.

Manta Ray Bay has been transformed into a Yap-size Top Gun academy of the underwater photo world – the best of the best from around the world are here. Presenting from the United States we have Marty Snyderman, from Europe, Frank Schneider and Japan we have Masa Michishiro.

For the next couple weeks Bill will be hosting contest participants as well as the photo pros who will be presenting, educating and supporting the growth of the underwater photography community.

The presenters are here and available to contest participants for tips and one-on-one workshops on anything underwater photography. I think everyone is going home a better photographer after two weeks of Manta Fest.

Today is the kick-off of the diving after a gathering up on the Crow’s Nest bar last night at a manager’s meeting.  The red carpet has been rolled out and the entire resort is dedicated to the event and these photographers.

This morning everyone got in the water and did a couple laps around the Caverns as a warm up for the next two weeks.

More participants will be arriving later in the week and things will be picking up as the event rolls out.

In the water

I think the last time Bill’s head got wet was when he dropped his beer mug in the pool, but Manta Fest has him knocking off the rust as a dive guide and showing everyone his underwater game, he still has it. A few solid macro scores rang in on everyone’s SD card before noon today.

In the swim throughs there were strobes popping everywhere. At one point during the reef wall tour there was photographers taking pictures of photographers when I came around a corner and I got in on the action too.

Over the next couple weeks I’ll be hopping around the Mnuw with my hand out for some SD card media leaks to keep you posted throughout the event.

Manta Fest 2012 is off to a good start with more photographers arriving throughout the week. Things will be picking up steadily as the contest unfolds.

This is what it’s looking like between the dock and the reef this week. When it’s this good, the 25 minute boat rides could be longer and nobody would mind.

One of the nicest features of Yap is the relaxed diving pace on uncrowded dive sites with small boat groups. Today was no exception and perfect weather has these Yap days ringing in loud and clear for the guests.

This is the aft view as we rounded the southern tip of the island at full throttle. There was nobody around but us.

This is private reef diving with epic conditions.

Clear water greeted us at both dive sites. Today we dove Magic Kingdom and Cabbage Patch, a sloping corral bank packed with reef life, large fish as well as schools.

We rolled into huge blue water and drifted with a mild current as a 5 person dive group – that’s including the dive guide and blogger.

Today’s dive log included dogtooth tuna patrolling the edge of the blue, schools of barracuda, a giant blue belly, a spotted eagle ray, schools of snapper, several napoleon wrasse, several turtles and the whole array of reef fish. The wildlife report was as spectacular as the topside weather.

As we cruised the reef edge, a spotted eagle ray came out of the blue and swam right up to our group. At first it came so close, in my state of relaxedness I actually thought that it would be awesome to have a camera… then realized, I did – so here’s my picture of the eagle ray swimming past our dive group. The same went for a large school of curious barracuda.

There’s people in from Russia, the Netherlands and the U.S., all enjoying Yap’s attributes, on and off the reef. Here you enjoy the dive lifestyle with a comfortable vacation feel.

This is the latest status… some people may ask, when is a great time to be in Yap? the answer is, right now.

This is the Manta encounter of the year, and a Yap Divers exclusive story and why. Bill and his team have been doing this almost 20 years longer than anyone else on the Island and this week that fact can be demonstrated.

Manta Rays feeding in clear shallow water, 25 minutes from the hotel room… this doesn’t happen often. It takes a number of natural conditions to line up for this to occur. The tide and moon cycle, current speed and direction as well as where the clear water meets the channel.

There were 3 other boats out diving cleaning stations on the same day from two other operators on the island, but only one boat found its way to this scene. This is where experience rang in for 5 lucky Manta Ray Bay guests.

Score another notch on John’s belt for being pro-active in the water.

Yap Divers Demonstrates Their Knowledge and Experience

John made this call on the fly. All of the conditions were right and he knew it, so he took a few minutes to go investigate a hunch he was having on a Manta dive site. Independently, he followed a breadcrumb trail of underwater signs that brought him onto a ball of bait fish and dancing Mantas. After finding the action, he rushed to the boat, prepped the dive group, got them in the water and put them right into the scene.

The guests were inside a ball of feeding Mantas from the surface down to the sand bottom at 40 feet for over an hour and a half. Mantas breaching, scraping their bellies on the sand bottom and backflipping between corral heads in mid-water, the full blown natural Yap Manta feeding encounter, within arm’s reach.

Everybody was happy about this dive, John’s boat group went home with a fantastic Manta Ray experience. That’s the difference in bottom time and Manta knowledge that Yap Divers delivers.

Anyone know what day it is? Things are firing over here, it’s a full house, full dock, full boats and a full reef… with Mantas that is. Stewart donated his photos from yesterday where he and his wife were in a Yap Manta ball at the Stomfitch cleaning station.

This is about as up close as it gets without breaking the Manta preservation rules.

A key to the encounter consistency is the 100+ identified individual Manta Rays that call Yap home – as well as the government backed preservation program started by Bill.

There is no predicting these animals, they come and go with no trace of a pattern. High tide, low tide, mild current, strong current, clear water or murky, part of their magic is their mysterious nature.

This is off-season Yap Manta Diving, it gets better when they swim the channels in long mating trains and dance over the reef in courtship.

The cleaning station is where they come and hover a foot or two over the corral in slow flyby patterns creating outstanding photo opportunities.

Stewart and Christine are from England and have circled the globe on underwater adventures for the last couple of decades and as of yesterday added Yap Mantas to their photography collection. Not a bad way to start their dive week.

Big animals and more big animals

A nice site selection by their guide Nico, brought them to Vertigo for their second tank. After rolling in, a look down the wall showed the white sand bottom some 241 feet down. An epic day to experience Yap Sharks in full curious form.

I still don’t know which animals come closer, the Mantas or the Sharks.

There are aquarium days being lived here this week. There is no bait box or chum being used, this is natural Yap Shark behavior on the Philippine Sea reef.

Some of the most fun sites for being out in huge blue water with a gentle current are found on Yap’s east coast.

Here divers get to hang over the reef’s edge and swim with sharks as big as themselves just out of arm’s reach away.

Bill Acker hospitality

A full resort raises the energy levels and Bill responds with a little custom addition. After all the divers return from a couple of tanks and a short boat ride, the clock strikes pool-thirty and everyone gets some solid vacation time in.

Manta Ray employees suited up in traditional attire and performed a bamboo dance on the lawn. This is one of Yap’s most charming attributes, it’s a place where ancient culture and the modern day world meet.

Traditional dance, WiFi and micro-brew in an infinity pool. I don’t know where else this happens, but here, it’s just another Tuesday.

Guests woke up to their buffet breakfast, then met their dive gear already setup on their boat, spent several hours underwater with Yap wildlife and made it back in time for early happy hour and a free poolside cultural experience.

The more I learn about this place the more the Manta Ray Bay stands out as its own unique dive vacation experience.

If it wasn’t a global Manta hotspot and home to hundreds of sharks, it would still be a destination where you get something special and dive clear tropical waters with 5 other people in your group.

Bill’s operation is demonstrating outstanding hospitality in concert with Yap’s blue water and big animal populations. Diving and vacation at your pace with a couple of things you just don’t get anywhere else. This is what Manta Ray Bay looks like as of yesterday, on deck, and on the reef.

In July we had the great good fortune to play a role in the wedding of Evelyn & Steve VanAntwerp who came to dive with the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers and during a break from diving, got married. The newlyweds were part of the Executive Scuba Group led by Ted & Pam Kern from Dallas, Texas. This was the group’s third visit to Yap and they spent 14 days with us on this trip.

The festivities kicked off with a Bachelorette Party at the Manta Ray private beach and a Bachelor party on board Popou with Bill and his fishing buddies. Don’t tell anyone but the ladies won this round.

After lunch aboard the S/V Mnuw, our staff drove the bachelorettes to the beach, where they proceeded to share a couple bottles of wine and frolic in the clear waters of the lagoon. The ladies also played on the sandy beach, which they had all to themselves, and took turns on our rope swing between bouts of sunbathing. The only soul they encountered was a friendly dog, hoping to share their wine.

The guys went fishing with Bill and his oldest son Nathan but the weather turned really stormy south of Yap so the guys decided to turn back and proceeded to O’Keefe’s Island where they anchored, shared a keg of beer from our Stone Money Brewery and told stories.

The wedding was performed by Judge Cyprian Manmaw, the Chief Justice of the Yap State Court and the Honorable Henry Falan, Speaker of the Yap State Legislature was also on-hand.

The day turned out to be bright and sunny with a calm lagoon for the backdrop. Not many places are prettier when the weather cooperates as it did. A lighthearted moment came when Steve was trying to get Evelyn’s ring off his finger and Mike Jenkerson, a member of the group, inadvertently said “lick it” loud enough to be caught on the official wedding film. From the time Bill heard that, he gave Steve the nick name of “Lick It”.

The wedding was not only a treat for Evelyn & Steve and their group but also a treat for our staff and families who enjoyed fixing flowers, being part of the ceremony and in general helping two people celebrate one of the most important days of their lives. The decorations were done by Numie Acker, Helen Limed, Mayvene Gallen, Louise Pedrosa, Mercy Tinnigmow, OP Acker, Richard F’low, Francis Tamam, Thomas Beengin, April Laabrug, Jade Gilippin and Jude Pedrosa. In addition to helping decorate with our staff, Tionna Fenenigog and Julianna Piyon served as flower girls during the actual ceremony.

This was our 4th wedding ceremony catered by our staff and we would be happy to do this for you or your friends. We are absolutely sure that all 4 of these couples wouldn’t trade the experience provided by our staff for any amount of money. Please contact Numie Acker at numie@mantaray.com if you would like information about what we could do for you.

Here’s how to kill an afternoon after the morning dives, tell Bill you want to go catch fish. The flagship dive boat, Popou, was quickly converted into a private charter fishing boat and parked on the dock awaiting anglers.

Bill captained the boat, Detlef set up the gear and Derek was in charge of having the fun. This is a few hour troll right out front in blue water.

6 rods and 2 hand lines pulled a school of rubber skirts through the water as we rounded the island.

It wasn’t ten minutes into things when a decent wahoo volunteered to be dinner. It doesn’t matter who you are, reeling in a game fish puts anybody in a good mood and Derek certainly wasn’t an exception.

Fishing is no different than the diving, it’s a totally hands-free activity. All you do is show up to the boat dock and it’s all waiting for you. Once the reel starts singing, whoever’s turn it is to have the fun gets to step up and fight the fish.

The second coolest part about the fishing trip is that the catch is served up all-you-can-eat style for whoever you want. Starting with sashimi, then onto the sautéed vegetables and rice. This fish disappeared in about an hour over all the trimmings and some strong cocktails up at the Crow’s Nest.

Derek is here on is second trip, the first one was all business. He’s a Seventh Fleet Diving and Salvage Officer stationed in Singapore with the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit and the USNS Safeguard.

He and his team were responsible for the January 2012 salvage and recovery of Cecilia a wreck on the Pacific side reef.

In town this time with his family for Manta Ray Bay good times, which included the diving, the home brew beer and some fishing.

Derek and his team are part of some colorful history here at the resort, on the Mnuw and out on the reef. The aftermath of some Navy partying and an addition to the dive lifestyle decor found in the Nautical bar lounge, Mobile Salvage Unit One has their own shrine on the Mnuw.

This is Bill’s way of saying thank you for being a great guy, coming back to the resort and being part of local history. Derek brings good energy with him wherever he goes and is a real comedian on the channel bottom.

Derek’s salvage team had themselves a real party on the Mnuw after their operation was complete and it is still one of the most colorful stories here.

One of the nights, the dive crew got deep into the brew and started jumping off the bow of the Mnuw with less and less clothes as the night went on.

On a follow up the next day, Derek being the officer in charge came to apologize on behalf of the unit. Nobody really cared but the military, but now there’s an awesome story and a solid relationship with good people. The funny part is, when asked for names of who was over-partying, Joce had them all remembered, no need to check bar tabs or receipts and scratch heads, the personal attention of the staff had em all by heart… they almost got away with it.

That’s Cecilia, lifted, floated and set down on the point by U.S. Navy Mobile Salvage partiers. Hooyah.

This morning the place to be, was on the reef. Just as we warmed up and dried off, weather-wise, it turned wet, grey and just plain nasty out. The good news was, it doesn’t rain underwater and there’s a boat captain paid enough to sit on the surface chewing betel nut and getting poured on while watching for bubbles while we play.

The sky was so dark, the ocean looked an even more emerald green. At 60 feet the weather was awesome- about 82 degrees, clear and blue. Charcoal colored storm clouds above make for a different ambiance underwater. The only place it was calm, quiet and warm, was on the reef.

We were on the Pacific side of the island where it’s mostly an easy sloping corral wall with a lot of micro-topography and small fish. Sand bottoms, overhangs, swim throughs, cracks and giant undercut corral pillars decorated our field of view.

Nico took us down the reef slope over a deep canyon with an either-or option; stay on top with all the light and color, or go deep and drift a vertical wall floating over a white sand bottom. Even if you dived this site on back-to-back tanks, you would see new terrain.

Down in the corral, all the little guys were out in full color and charm. We had manta shrimp, lobster and little nudibranchs doing whatever nudibranchs do, we even saw a flat worm swimming in mid-water. Pat was filming it swim straight up like it was climbing a staircase, then turn on its back fold up and drop like a rock, like some kind of flatworm workout.

Spare Air, my stupidity counterweight. On our surface interval I unloaded a tank with over 800 psi and reloaded with a tank with less than 300. Before the second dive I failed to double check my setup, and about 8 minutes into our dive, it in a swim through, I ran out of air. I looked at my computer and it showed 0 psi and before I even started thinking about how this all happened, I pulled a spare air bottle off my gear and made a safe ascent. Today was my experience building.

After a quick tank swap at the boat and the drama was over and I rejoined the group. Meanwhile, back on the reef, everything was business as usual, the 5 guest 2 guide dive group had the site to themselves and nobody even knew the blogger was gone.

We crossed a huge sand flat where Nico was hoping to get us some big rays or sleeping white tips, but all we saw was endless trigger fish nests and super excited triggers darting all around us.

Two days ago in Goofnuw channel, Pat was engaged by a territorial trigger fish and found herself in it’s crosshairs. Brian saw the whole thing go down and went through about 400 psi laughing at her. After hearing that story at the bar, I went up close to Nico and Jim then flipped my camera to video so I could catch a trigger fish attack and share it here. Today wasn’t the day I filmed a wildlife comedy show.

The water was excellent and the reef’s weather was perfect for a dive party of 8.

The worst part about the day, aside from the obvious, was heading back to the surface. The last moments underwater had a white tip cruising underneath my safety stop then shortly after that the world turned mono-color and wet again.

Thankfully, safe harbor, warm showers and cold micro-brew are just a few minutes away from the dive sites. Short boat rides were appreciated by all today. This is what it looked like when I surfaced.d

Bill said the island received 2 inches of rain this morning. It was definitely a wet one, the place to be was at 60 feet, with a full tank.

The group went out again for a third tank after we returned and had a great dive at Slow n Easy. The only thing to do today, was dive.

One thing about being at a resort with small groups is that everyone hangs out, cuts loose a bit and gets to know each other. Bill’s op is a fun place to be, even when the surface weather sucks. It rained so much, the rinse tanks were cascading onto the gravel and the water was still the warmest place to be.

This afternoon on a 3rd dive, Alex took us on a Pacific side reef tour that gave us a little surprise. We rolled off the boat together and turned over to see 100+ feet of vis and a swarm of humphead wrasse on our way down the reef slope. After gliding down to about 90 feet we leveled off and cruised the current south.

You see something new everyday, even if you’re one of Bill’s oldest dive guides. Nobody has more bottom time on this island than Bill and his team, after nearly 30 years, it’s just a figure that nobody can catch. Not a lot slips by one of these guys and today Alex showed his experience.

Our surprise was this Crocodile Fish in deep water. I was next to Alex and when I saw him looking back for divers as he was reaching for his bell, I scanned the area but didn’t see anything. After a jingle of the bell, I still didn’t see anything. Then he pointed just below his bc onto the corral.

“That’s different, we usually only see these in the channel…” were Alex’s words when we got back on the boat. A cool surprise for all of us. The crocodile fish is an easy photo target, it takes a lot to get one of these guys to break their ambush position.

The guest wildlife reports have been rich, this morning on a Manta dive a crew came back with video of a huge nurse shark and sting ray before watching several Mantas hover over divers at the Valley of the Rays cleaning station. Big animals are in the channels and Bill’s dive guides are putting people right up on the action.

It seems like with the sun came everything else, the clear water, the Mantas and there’s nothing but smiles from the divers at the resort. Several things have happened in the last few days, the weather went from grey and stormy to nice, spring tides have been bringing the clear blue right up to the island’s edge and everything on the reef has come out to play. It’s a great time to be on the island and in the water.