My dear friends, this is the first newsletter of the year and what a year we think it will be. There are a number of new additions coming to the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers and I will discuss those in the next newsletter. In this edition, I want to let you know what happened during the holiday season and introduce two special programs we will host in 2008. I hope you enjoy this first edition of the Manta Report and more than that, I would like to invite you to come visit and see for yourself what Yap and the Manta Ray Bay have evolved into.

Yap has always been a wonderful place for the holidays and this year was no different. We were 100% fully booked for Thanksgiving in November and more than 80% for both Christmas and New Year's. For the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving we had the traditional turkey with all the trimmings plus a buffet table loaded with every type of food imaginable. A live band entertained the packed house, and all of this came after an exciting day of diving.

Job Well Done! Employee Awards

Christmas in the tropics is always a different experience and this year was no different. The festivities began with the annual staff Christmas Party. This is always a much anticipated event because all of our hotel guests are invited to join us, the staff all contribute food so most of the buffet consists of great island food, tips are distributed and finally, we introduce the winners of our employee of the year awards.

This year, the dive shop employee of the year was Mr. Alex Raimon, the employee of the year for food & beverage was Ms. Josie Besina and the hotel employee of the year was Mr. Jude Pedrosa. The Employee of the Year for the entire operation was Jude. For those of you who don't know Jude, he is a man of all missions around here. He takes care of the fresh water infinity swimming pool, keeping it crystal clear. He is also the lead bartender for the Crow's Nest Bar and he is the assistant brew meister for our Stone Money Brewing Company. Congratulations to these 3 worthy individuals and kudos to the entire 85 person staff. We are where we are in the dive world, because of the staff and it is an honor to work with them.

After everyone recovered from the employee party, we did it again for guests. There was a four-course Christmas dinner with the traditional spiked eggnog, which was then followed by a Christmas movie shown on the huge outdoor screen located on the main mast of the S/V Mnuw. Why not make your plans now to spend Christmas 2008 with us in Yap? Contact your local travel provider or visit www.mantaray.com for reservations.

To cap off the year 2007 and ring in the New Year, we had not one but two live bands with plenty of singing and dancing, good food and of course good grog to go along. Our hotel guests were joined by over 100 local folks also intent on ringing in 2008. The countdown was projected onto the big screen and then a fireworks show was shown, as fire works are illegal in Yap.

Manta Mania Educational Seminars

From May 24th to the 31st, we will be hosting Ms. Andrea Marshall and Mr. Tim Rock for a week of manta ray research, educational films and general good times. Andrea is a world renown manta ray expert who will be doing research on Yap's population of manta rays and will be giving nightly lectures on these wonderful creatures. Tim is one of the world's top underwater photographers and will be sharing his insights on how best to capture these gentle giants on film. This is an opportunity to really learn something about these animals, about why they are here in Yap and about how to take pictures of them. There are limited spaces still available for this program and there are no additional costs associated. Any hotel/dive package will entitle our guests to participate in all of the activities. To make reservations, please contact us or your travel specialists as soon as possible.

Finally, a Coffee Table Book on Yap

Photojournalist Tim Rock is happy to announce a new hard cover book highlighting the culture, beauty and nature of Yap in Micronesia. This full color book contains over 300 photographs of the people, culture, nature and marine world of Yap in Micronesia. Award-winning photojournalist Tim Rock has compiled some of the most stunning images ever taken on Yap to create a beautiful hard cover volume. Large Format Landscape 13x11 inches (33x28 cm) 192 pages. You can buy it at: blurb.com

One glitch... as of now, this publishing company only uses Swiss Post and UPS. International UPS is very expensive so it may be cheaper for those outside of the US to send the book to a friend in the US using UPS ground and have the friend forward the book using the regular mail.

This is a MUST have for anyone who has been to Yap, anyone who wants to come to Yap or anyone who appreciates quality photographic images. The name of the book is Micronesian Magic. Get your copy today, you won't be disappointed.

Manta Fest 2008

The second edition of our Manta Fest series will be held in two sessions beginning September 3rd through October 2nd. The first session will feature Mr. Eric Cheng and Mr. Mike Veitch, yes "our Mike Veitch" and the second session which begins on Wednesday the 17th of September through Thursday the 2nd of October will feature Mr. Eric Hanauer and Mr. Marty Snyderman. Each session has a professional digital still photographer and a professional videographer to help our guests with any of their photographic needs. There will be nightly presentations on the big outdoor screen on Mnuw as well as individual classroom seminars in the afternoons. The pros will also compile a slide show and video presentation from our guests' efforts for presentation on the last day of each session with awards given to those participating. The intention is for Manta Fest to evolve into an island wide celebration involving other hotels and dive shops but for now, we are taking the lead in trying to establish this fun, education program where everyone is a winner. Come rub elbows with the top underwater shooters in the world, experience great diving and have lots of fun. To book your spot for Manta Fest 2008, please visit one of our 3 corporate sponsors: Reef and Rainforest, South Pacific Island Travel or World of Diving. All of these fine companies have been supporters of Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel since we began over 20 years ago and they each have air/land packages for Manta Fest.

Manta Fest 2007 is in full swing here in Yap and you should be here. David Fleetham has been with us since the 8th of September and will be leaving tomorrow night. David has been diving daily and offering photography advice to divers plus putting on slide shows of his Yap Manta Fest stay as well as past adventures. These presentations have been projected onto the big screen hanging from the main mast of the S/V Mnuw - quite possibly the best movie venue in the entire diving world. David has taken part in 3 shark feeds, several manta encounters, lots of macro sessions and his favorite, the Southern Tip which contains Lionfish Wall, Yap Caverns and Gilman Wall, among other wonderful dive sites.

Manta Fest - more than mantas!

Also on hand is Scott Johnson and his lovely wife Lauren. Scott has been concentrating on the Mandarin Fish, although he hasn't let this special twilight dive interfere with his daily morning dives. Scott recently did his first Yap Divers' Shark Feed and he calls it "perhaps the best run, best place and most active shark encounter that he has ever participated in". We have been doing these shark feeds for over 10 years now and the place that we have chosen is on top of a beautiful wall which offers deep blue water and great visibility not to mention more than 20 sharks at any one time including grey reef, white tip reef, black tip reef, oceanic silver tip, silky and even a couple of scalloped hammerhead sharks. This exiting dive is offered regularly as part of the Yap Divers' dive repertoire.

Next up is the incomparable Marty Snyderman. Marty will be making his first visit to Yap and will be here from the 6th to the 17th of October. There is still time for you to join Marty, myself and the regular Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers' staff for a wonderful experience. Marty will be doing more of the same that David and Scott have done. Namely he will be helping guests get more out of their underwater photographic activities as well as giving regularly nightly slide presentations on oceanic creatures from around the world and showing what he has been shooting in Yap.

Manta Fest 2008 has also been set with the sponsors being Reef and Rainforest and South Pacific Island Travel. The dates will be September 3rd through October 4th 2008. Mr. Eric Hanauer will be one of the featured presenters and will be very happy to assist our guests in perfecting their photography.

DEMA dive show

The annual DEMA dive show will be held in Orlando, Florida from the 31st of October through the 3rd of November 2007. I, Bill Acker, will be there to man the booth for us and hope to see all of our friends at the booth. The Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers' booth is number 1147 and if you have an interest in putting together a trip to Yap, I can help. Please stop by and let's visit. We have a number of DEMA specials for families and groups as well as for single travelers and will have a new DVD with us that will be offered to prospective guests.

We will also be selling tee shirts that if worn during the show will offer the wearer a chance to win a free week in Yap. On top of that, our good friends Jim and Pat Stayer will be presenting two seminars on Yap, the culture and the variety of diving, titled Yap - More Than Just Mantas. Jim and Pat were recently here for 3 weeks, their second trip in two years, and have some wonderful high definition video to share with you. Catch them on Thursday, November 1 at 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM in room S310C or on Friday, November 2 at 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM in room S310F.

Also coming to the show with some wonderful video of Yap will be Mr. Bill MacDonald of Jacques Cousteau fame. Bill has spent the past two summers in Yap and was the person who coined the phrase "Equatorial Summer" to describe the perfect weather and sea conditions that exist in Yap between mid June and the end of October. Bill will have a limited number of his latest DVD on Yap and the diving done here so you won't want to miss either of these presentations.

Fire away!

For those of you who were with us between November of 2001 and early April of 2004, you might remember that we rang in, literally, each day's Happy Hour at 5 PM by firing one of the authentic Dutch cannons located on the bow of the S/V Mnuw. This tradition is baaaaaack. Yesterday, one of our most favorite people in the world, Mrs. Nanna Ho of Toronto, Canada was the first guest to fire the cannon in more than 3 & ½ years. This great tradition signifies that the pirate ship Mnuw is now serving beer from our very own Stone Money Brewing Company, along with all of our unique specialty drinks at discounted prices until 6 PM. Why not join us on the Crow's Nest or in the Nautical Weaver Bar and prepare to watch the sunset while sipping your favorite beverage and waiting on the moon rise?

Holiday Special

There are still some rooms available for our 2007/2008 Holiday Special. All of the Deluxe Ocean View Rooms are spoken for as are most of the Ocean View Rooms but there are still good rooms available. For those of you who missed it, we are offering an all inclusive, including all alcohol and food plus unlimited diving, kayaking, tours, fishing etc., etc. for the one low price of $1,699 per person based on double occupancy. As an added incentive to book early, we are offer complimentary upgrades as availability allows. To book your Christmas/New Year's package, please see your favorite dive travel specialist or contact us directly at yapdivers@mantaray.com.

2007-2008 Holiday Special Package details:

The Holidays are a special time of year for most of us and the management and staff of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers invite interested guests to come join us for a Tropical Treat. Between December 19th and January 9th our valued customers are eligible for a very special Christmas/New Year's Special Offer. Our 7 night packages will become "all inclusive" specials. For the price of $1,499 per person (double occupancy) our guests will receive 7 nights in the hotel, hotel tax, airport transfers, unlimited boat diving, unlimited snorkeling, unlimited land tours, unlimited kayaking, all meals and all drinks, including alcoholic beverages. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to reserve these packages. The first 5 bookings will be complimentary upgraded to our Deluxe Ocean View Rooms, then the next 15 will be complimentary upgraded to Ocean View Rooms and after that, customers will be assigned Standard Rooms.

Fly easy

With the recent addition of jet fuel to the Yap International Airport, we are expecting resumption of our direct Guam to Yap and Yap to Palau flights on Thursday and Saturday evenings. This means our customers can leave LAX at 9:15 in the morning on Wednesday or Friday and join us for dinner that night at 8 PM. Likewise, our customers can depart Houston at 7:30 AM and join us for dinner that evening. It doesn't get any easier to get to paradise.

In something a little different for the Manta Report, we wanted to say a big thank you to Manta Visions' Mike Veitch. Mike has decided to leave the team at Manta Ray Bay to move on to other adventures in life and we are sad to see him go. Mike arrived in 2004 and enjoyed close to 3 years of amazing adventure and diving in Yap. Thanks Mike and best of luck in the future!

From Mike: "I would like to thank the entire staff of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel for making me feel at home throughout my time in Yap. I truly felt a part of the family and will miss the entire gang. I had an amazing 3 years and will always remember it as an important and cherished time of my life. From the time I arrived in 2004 I have watched the expansion and improvement of the MRBH from a small resort when I arrived to the world class destination it is now. I would also like to thank all of the wonderful friends and guests who visited us throughout that time. Best of luck in the future to Bill and the entire MRBH family!"

If you would like to keep track of what Mike is up to in the future, please visit his new website www.oceanstockimages.com

Miil Thrills in September!

Feeding Time! It is that time of year once again folks! The mantas are gathering in the surface waters of both Miil and Goofnuw Channels in order to filter feed on the plankton that blooms at this time of year. Every August and September around the time of the half moon at the beginning of the incoming tide, mantas gather in groups of up to ten and cruise down the channel in single file with mouths agape scooping in buckets of these microscopic critters. This is one of the most exciting times to be in Yap as it is the only time of year when the majestic mantas display this incredible behavior. And the best part about it? You may just get the mantas all to yourself! For some unknown reason, August and September tend to be slow in the way of guests at the hotel and those who are lucky enough to join us at this time sometimes get a boat to themselves. Now how lucky is that? Spending time in the water with only 1 or 2 other folks while mantas cruise underneath you feeding! Please join us and find out for yourself. It was during this time of year that Mike was able to capture his award winning "Manta Train" photo which we have attached here. (Photo by Mike Veitch)

Manta Specialty Course, an MRBH Original

Coming to Yap soon? Why not take advantage of our Manta Ray Awareness specialty course? This specialty course was developed by our staff over many years of observing the behavior of Yap's resident manta ray population. The summer time is a perfect time to take this class as the ray's tend to congregate in Goofnuw channel. This channel offers exceptional viewing of ray behavior as the cleaning station is situated above the divers which gives a fantastic view of the under side in order to differentiate the belly spots unique to every manta. Our instructors will take explain mating behavior, eating habits, predator/prey relationships, as well as cleaning habits among others. So take advantage of your time in Yap and learn more about these incredible creatures! (Photo by Scott Johnson)

Learn from the best at MantaFest

Learn from the most respected photographers in the world during Manta Ray Bay Hotel's Manta Fest in Yap, Micronesia. Best of all, there is no additional cost for these valuable photo seminars!

David Fleetham Sep. 12-26, 2007

Scott Johnson Sep. 24-Oct. 3, 2007

Marty Snyderman Oct. 5-19, 2007

All seminars will take place in the comfort of the resort's large meeting room. Manta Fest is a celebration of underwater photography, marine life, Yapese culture and lots of fun. Throughout the months of September and October 2007, divers vacationing at the luxurious Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap may also receive a refund* if they do not encounter a Manta during a week-long stay at Manta Ray Bay. Yap's waters are world-renown for big action like, mantas, sharks, turtles and other pelagics.

Seven-night, ten-dive packages start at $1,147 p.p., dbl. occ. For reservations, contact your local dive retailer, travel agent, or our generous Manta Fest sponsors, Caradonna Dive Adventures, sales@caradonna.com and Ultimate Dive Travel, udive@ultimatedivetravel.com. *Dates are subject to change. Some restrictions may apply.

As I sit here today looking out my office window, I am now very lucky in that my new office overlooks our infinity swimming pool, I can't help but be enthralled by the calmness of the lagoon. I literally can not tell where the pool ends and the lagoon begins. The waters of the lagoon are glassy calm! Looking further out across the lagoon, I can no longer see the reef as the lagoon simply stretches to the horizon. The lagoon and seas surrounding Yap are literally so calm that you could water ski to Ulithi - 110 miles away.

A good friend of mine, Bill Macdonald - he of the Jacques Cousteau fame - spent just over a month in Yap this past March and was describing the 3 weeks he spent here the previous summer and reflecting on how calm the seas were. He coined the phrase Equatorial Summer which really fits. Except for the occasional squall coming through, the seas will be like this from now until mid to late November, so get out here and enjoy it!

Pilot Whales, Just Another Yap Surprise

I have always been bothered as to why guests do not visit Yap during what I consider to be the very best time of the year. Every one of our more than 50 charted dive sites is available every day. The fast, smooth boat rides along the outer reefs always attract anywhere from 50 to 200 dolphins. Most of these are spinner dolphins that delight us with their acrobatic moves and jumps. This is the time of the year when the ornate ghost pipe fish move into Yap Caverns, the Pegasus Sea Moths are at Larry Smith's Slow & Easy (a dive site recently renamed by Bill Acker in honor of his good friend from Texas and Indonesia who helped the Yap Divers staff learn to spot the unique critters found at this site) and of course the Mandarin fish are mating nightly at Rainbow Reef.

Last week, a family of 5 originally from Alaska but now residing in Hawaii, was diving with Alex and Henry when they came upon a pod of pilot whales (yes, they too will be here throughout the Equatorial Summer). The group decided to snorkel with the pod and spent over 2 hours with one of the big males. This fellow just wouldn't leave them alone and they were in crystal clear deep blue waters with almost unlimited visibility! I guarantee you; they are still talking about the encounter today.

Happy Birthday to OP and Numie Acker

By the way, today is OP, our youngest son's, 18th Birthday. Happy birthday OP! We love you. On the 9th of July, our oldest daughter Numie, will celebrate her 26th birthday albeit alone in China where she is doing a 4 week F&B training course at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Sanya, Hainan Island. Happy Birthday Numie! We love you and miss you. The other two kids, Nathan and Valarie, are in summer school at the University of Hawaii and Texas Christian University respectively. Skate and Titi, we love you and miss you!

Learn from the best at MantaFest

Learn from the most respected photographers in the world during Manta Ray Bay Hotel's Manta Fest in Yap, Micronesia. Best of all, there is no additional cost for these valuable photo seminars!

David Fleetham Sep. 12-26, 2007

Scott Johnson Sep. 24-Oct. 3, 2007

Marty Snyderman Oct. 5-19, 2007

All seminars will take place in the comfort of the resort's large meeting room. Manta Fest is a celebration of underwater photography, marine life, Yapese culture and lots of fun. Throughout the months of September and October 2007, divers vacationing at the luxurious Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap may also receive a refund* if they do not encounter a Manta during a week-long stay at Manta Ray Bay. Yap's waters are world-renown for big action like, mantas, sharks, turtles and other pelagics.

Seven-night, ten-dive packages start at $1,147 p.p., dbl. occ. For reservations, contact your local dive retailer, travel agent, or our generous Manta Fest sponsors, Caradonna Dive Adventures, sales@caradonna.com and Ultimate Dive Travel, udive@ultimatedivetravel.com. *Dates are subject to change. Some restrictions may apply.

Things are starting to calm down here in Yap, with the end of May we have come to the close of our busiest season once again. We would like to thank everyone who visited us and enjoyed the comforts of the new Manta Ray Bay Hotel. This was our first full season with all of our new upgrades and improvements and a great season it was! Each and every one of our returning guests commented on how great the expansion looks and how we are now truly in the upper echelon of dive hotels in the world. The infinity pool, our micro brewery with portable beer carts, new lobby and expanded gift shop, the giant screen on the Mnuw with projector, and the expanded dive shop are all big hits with everyone and have helped make the Manta Ray Bay Hotel truly an all inclusive resort.

Bill Acker at Long Beach Scuba Show 2007

Manta Ray Bay Hotel owner and diving legend Bill Acker is attending the June 2 and 3, 2007 Scuba Show in Long Beach, California. Please stop by the Manta Ray Bay/Yap Divers booth # 337. He just may have some special offers for divers attending the show!

Fall is the Best Season in Yap

Do not let the idea that this is slow season fool you! In fact, June-October is the absolute best time to visit Yap: low numbers of divers on the boats and underwater, flat seas, and easy access to all of Yap's more than 50 stunning dive sites. If you are looking for a great summer adventure be sure to have Yap high on your list as this diving during this season is a real hidden gem.

Ornate Ghost Pipefish One of Many Tiny Treasures

(Photo by pro Mike Veitch). We would like to thank several large groups who joined us this past month: Scuba Network from the NY/NJ area, Underwater Phantasea from Ontario, Underwater Connection of Colorado, and of course all the individuals who have also joined us during the month of May, thank you for choosing the Manta Ray Bay Hotel as your dive destination of choice.

On the top of the list of interesting finds over the last few weeks is the beautiful Ornate Ghost Pipefish at Yap Caverns. This stunningly well camouflaged fish is quite rare in our waters and is a very exciting critter when we find one! It has been nestling around a crinoid in the bowl just outside of this very popular dive site at the south end of the island. There was a juvenile whale shark sighting just outside the main channel last week which caught everyone's attention.

Patrik Nilsson Joins MRBH Staff

We would like to announce the arrival of Mr. Patrik Nilsson as our new computer networking wizard here at the hotel. We are sure a lot of folks are familiar with Patrik as he has been to Yap on several different occasions throughout the years and often travels with Bill on trips to Indonesia. Welcome to the family Patrik, we look forward to having you here.

Learn from the best at MantaFest

Learn from the most respected photographers in the world during Manta Ray Bay Hotel's Manta Fest in Yap, Micronesia. Best of all, there is no additional cost for these valuable photo seminars!

Mike Veitch Sep. 1-30, 2007

David Fleetham Sep. 12-26, 2007

Scott Johnson Sep. 24-Oct. 3, 2007

Marty Snyderman Oct. 5-19, 2007

All seminars will take place in the comfort of the resort's large meeting room. Manta Fest is a celebration of underwater photography, marine life, Yapese culture and lots of fun. Throughout the months of September and October 2007, divers vacationing at the luxurious Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap may also receive a refund* if they do not encounter a Manta during a week-long stay at Manta Ray Bay. Yap's waters are world-renown for big action like, mantas, sharks, turtles and other pelagics.

Seven-night, ten-dive packages start at $1,147 p.p., dbl. occ. For reservations, contact your local dive retailer, travel agent, or our generous Manta Fest sponsors, Caradonna Dive Adventures, sales@caradonna.com and Ultimate Dive Travel, udive@ultimatedivetravel.com. *Dates are subject to change. Some restrictions may apply.

We have had a very busy month of March with guests from some pretty far flung areas: Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Canada, USA, Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Russia, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Singapore.

Thank you all for choosing the Manta Ray Bay Hotel as your vacation of a lifetime!

It was a very busy month and everyone had a great time. We were able to take advantage of some great weather to show movies, videos, slide shows, and guests' movies up on the big screen of the Mnuw. Seems the Mnuw was the site of some good partying as the bar was open real late with some hard partying guests boogying down on several occasions to a local band.

Southern Reefs are Real Hot!

Yap diving was great! I like the reefs at the South end of the island as much as anywhere I have been. writes recent guest Bob L.

It seems the southern wall dives like Yap Caverns, Lionfish Wall, Yellow Wall, and Magic Kingdom are real fan favorites this time of year. The clear water, 100-plus feet of visibility, and healthy coral make these sites something special and garner a heck of a lot of rave reviews. Our mandarin fish dive is still one of the highlights of a visit to Yap. Time and time again, folks return from Rainbow Reef squealing in delight about the antics of these colorful fish as they scurry about the reef in a mating frenzy. (photo by Mike Veitch)

Bill Acker at Long Beach Scuba Show 2007

Manta Ray Bay Hotel owner and diving legend Bill Acker is attending the June 2 and 3, 2007 Scuba Show in Long Beach, California. Please stop by the Manta Ray Bay/Yap Divers booth # 337. He just may have some special offers for divers who attend the show! A special Thank You to all of our friends who stopped by the Manta Ray Bay booth at last weekend's Beneath the Sea Show in New Jersey. Hope to see you in Yap. (photo by Mike Veitch)

More Superstars Added to Manta Fest Lineup

Learn from the most respected photographers in the world during Manta Ray Bay Hotel's Manta Fest in Yap, Micronesia. Best of all, there is no additional cost for these valuable photo seminars! All seminars will take place in the comfort of the resort's large meeting room. Manta Fest is a celebration of underwater photography, marine life, Yapese culture and lots of fun.

Throughout the months of September and October 2007, divers vacationing at the luxurious Manta Ray Bay Hotel in Yap may also receive a refund* if they do not encounter a Manta during a week-long stay at Manta Ray Bay. Yap's waters are world-renown for big action like, mantas, sharks, turtles and other pelagics.

Mike Veitch Sep. 1-30, 2007

David Fleetham Sep. 12-26, 2007

Scott Johnson Sep. 24-Oct. 3, 2007

Marty Snyderman Oct. 5-19, 2007

Seven-night, ten-dive packages start at $1,147 p.p., dbl. occ. For reservations, contact your local dive retailer, travel agent, or our generous Manta Fest sponsors, Caradonna Dive Adventures, sales@caradonna.com and Ultimate Dive Travel, udive@ultimatedivetravel.com. *Dates are subject to change. Some restrictions may apply.

January was an interesting month at the hotel. After our great Christmas and New Year's celebration, things quieted down a little bit which allowed us to catch up on a few projects and have everything ready for our upcoming busiest time of the year.

Bill, Jan, and Detlef made a very successful trip to the annual BOOT show in Germany and were able to talk to a lot of old friends and meet some new ones. The BOOT show is the largest outdoor adventure show in Europe and is always one of the biggest events on our annual calendar. The show lasts for 9 days and encompasses such industries as sailing, kayaking, and even the mega yachts of the mega rich! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello to the Manta Ray staff, who attended the event. We look forward to seeing you again in Yap!

"Best Trip Ever," Web Blog Says It All

Diving in Yap is all drift diving with a back roll to get into the water. Creatures such as the lionfish, anenomefish, leafy scorpionfish, crocodilefish, pipefish, nudibranchs, reef shark, and turtles remind you that Yap is a world-class location but diving in Yap is really about the manta rays. One of the measures of a trip is whether a person would go back. I would definitely go back." Read this diver's entire report at scubadiving.com.

Relax after a great day of diving. Manta Ray Bay is now offering massages. The list of services offered by this dive resort is endless!

Mantas Guaranteed or your Money Back!

April is the Manta Mating Season and mantas are everywhere! Just in case you miss one, owner Bill Acker is offering a Manta Money Back Guarantee. If a diver purchases an April 2007, 7-night/10-dive package (or more) and does not see a single manta during his 10 dives, Manta Ray Bay resort will refund the diver's money. How could someone spend 10 dives in Yap's water and not see a single manta, especially during April, one of the most active times for mantas? Although it is unlikely, divers could possibly miss a manta sighting because they are distracted by Yap's many other underwater attractions: sharks, turtles, pipefish, frogfish, nudibranches and of course, Mandarin fish. We offer guests over 50 dive sites. So this April, take Bill up on his offer. He guarantees that a week in Yap will be one of your greatest diving adventures, ever! (Photo: resident photo pro Mike Veitch gives a photo lecture).

Yap Day is Coming

Yap Day is coming up! February 28th and March 1st will mark the annual Yap Day celebrations here. If you are scheduled to visit at this time you are in for a treat. For two days the local villagers gather and perform traditional dances for the public. This is always a well attended celebration and we urge everyone to see this for themselves. The hotel runs a daily shuttle bus back and forth so everyone will get a chance to see the traditional dress and customs that are so integral to the culture of this unique part of the world.

Interested in digital photography? Our resident photo pro Mike Veitch has introduced a brand new lecture here at the hotel. "Getting the Most from your Compact Digital Camera" is a great 1-2 hour presentation that Mike has put together and presents one or two times per week right here at the hotel. The aim of this course is to get new photographers on the right track in their quest to get the best images they can. Signing up for the presentation is as easy as just walking in the door on the designated evening.

Marty Snyderman and Rod Klein Give Seminars during Manta Fest

Learn from the most respected photographers in the world during Manta Ray Bay's Manta Fest. Best of all, there is no additional cost for these valuable photo seminars. During September 12-26, 2007 guests may learn from digital photo guru Rod Klein. October 3-17, 2007 novice photographers may attend workshops with a modern master, Marty Snyderman. Snyderman is one of the world's most- published underwater photographers. All seminars will take place in the comfort of the resort's large meeting room.

Great Weather, Diving and Big-Screen Football

We have been taking advantage of some nice weather over the past few weeks to put the big screen up on the Mnuw and present some special videos. Highlights have included Manta Vision's Best of Yap DVD and of course the SUPER BOWL! That is right, we were able to watch the biggest game in the NFL on our very own big screen here at the hotel. For many of our European guests, this was their first taste of NFL Football and many were impressed with just how big of an event it really is.

Thanks to everyone who has joined us so far in 2007. Our guests have come from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, the UK, Australia, the US, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and even Iceland!

What a great festive season we had this December!

It all started out on the 20th with the annual staff Christmas party. The staff served up quite a feast with BBQ chicken, rice and taro, a roast pig and several kegs of Manta Gold beer donated by the hotel. Over 100 staff and family members were in attendance and a great time was had by everyone, with perhaps a few having too much of a good time!

One of the highlights of the day was the presentation of our annual Most Valuable Employee and Most Improved Employee awards. The big winner this year was Rose Ilyaw of the kitchen staff, who was so dismayed to be the runner up last year that she doubled her workload this year and grabbed the MVP award! Congratulations Rose!!!

Celebration Aboard the Mnuw included "Pirates"

Next up was the big Christmas Eve celebration aboard the brightly decorated Mnuw. We entertained over 70 guests and locals with a great BBQ chicken feast and followed up the great grub by showing "Pirates of the Caribbean Part 2" on the big screen. Everyone had a great time and we were happy to have a visit by that famous man in red, Santa Claus! Everyone went to bed in high spirits with visions of sugar plums (or betel nuts) in their heads.

And if that wasn't a big enough party, the Mnuw's New Year's Eve extravaganza really started the New Year with a bang! Live music, a great big feast, dancing, and of course a champagne toast ushered in 2007. 2006 was a very special year for the Manta Ray Bay Hotel as it marked the 20th anniversary of Yap Divers we celebrated back in September. It was also a very important year as we completed all of the expansion and improvements that keeps us among the top dive resorts in the world! But don't worry, we are not resting on our laurels in 2007. We are continuing to create new and improved services at the hotel. Personal customer service will always remain our #1 priority.

Manta Mating Season is Approaching

And yes, between all the partying we even found some time to go diving! The mantas are out in force at Miil Channel. We are seeing 3 and 4 at a time on many days. It looks like the mating season from late January through April will be a good one! One big project we were able to complete during a few slow days in December was to work in cooperation with some of the other dive shops and do mooring maintenance all over the island. Permanent moorings are a great way to save the reef and are an important part of operation. By doing annual maintenance of these moorings we are able to ensure the reefs stay healthy in the years ahead.

Don't forget about our Dive Photo Fest with the Pros, Mike Veitch, Tim Rock, and Simon Buxton coming up in June 2007. Speaking of Mike (who is our in house photo/video pro) congratulations are in order, not only have his photographs been featured on the last two covers, he has recently been named a field editor for Scuba Diver Australasia magazine, the official PADI publication in the Asia/Pacific region. If you would like to learn how to take your photography skills to the next level, be sure to sign up for the Photo Fest from June 22- 28 or take advantage of a private class with Mike when you are here.

Mantas Guaranteed or your Money Back!

April is the Manta Mating Season and mantas are everywhere! Just in case you miss one, owner Bill Acker is offering a Manta Money Back Guarantee. If a diver purchases an April 2007 7-night/10-dive package (or more) and does not see a single manta during his 10 dives, Manta Ray Bay resort will refund the diver's money. How could someone spend 10 dives in Yap's water and not see a single manta, especially during April, one of the most active times for mantas? Although it is unlikely, it is possible that divers could miss a manta sighting because they are distracted by Yap's many other underwater attractions: sharks, turtles, pipefish, frogfish, nudibranches and of course, Mandarin fish. We offer guests over 50 dive sites. So this April, take Bill up on his offer. He guarantees that a week in Yap will be one of your greatest diving adventures, ever!

Yap Resort Honored for Environmental Efforts

Manta Ray Bay Resort, Yap has been recognized by the Bonaire Accolade Foundation for protecting and preserving the reefs and marine life of Yap, Micronesia. The environmental foundation particularly noted the efforts of Manta Ray Bay owner, Bill Acker.

"For your energies spent ensuring that modern trespasses shall leave no mark and for your love and caring for the natural wonders of the Manta Ray heaven of the world, Yap," reads the award presented to Acker by the Bonaire Accolade Foundation.

Bill Acker at BOOT Show

Bill Acker is attending the BOOT Travel Show in Germany this month. All of our European friends and travel agents are asked to stop by and say hello. Manta Ray Bay Hotel is offering some great BOOT Show Specials!

We would like to offer our thanks to everyone who visited the Manta Ray Bay Hotel in 2006. It is YOU who makes our resort the best little dive resort in the world. We hope to see many of you again in 2007 to help us make year 21 even better!

We have just celebrated a fantastic Thanksgiving here at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel. With over 50 guests in residence, we were able to offer everyone an amazing buffet with classic dishes such as roast turkey, roast pork, potatoes, and gravy as well as our unique tropical touch with fresh sashimi, spicy chicken salad, and even a Thai chicken curry.

New Chefs Delight Divers with a Feast!

The delicious Thanksgiving buffet did not stand a chance against so many hungry divers who topped it all off with a great dessert selection of fresh pastries from our newest team member Kadek Budiana. He is a top-notch pastry chef whose last job was Sous Chef in the fine dining room of the Ritz Carlton, Bali. Chef Kadek is joined by our new Executive Chef, Wayan Arsana, who also hails from Bali and has had an amazing career in the best hotels in the most prestigious dive locations around the world. This was their first opportunity to "show their stuff" and they succeeded!

Rays are Congregating in Mating Grounds

As November draws to a close, the mantas are migrating over to world famous Mi'l Channel from their summer home at Goofnuw Channel. The trade winds have started coming in from the northeast so Mi'l, located on the west of the island, offers us the chance to dive on the leeward side and enjoy many manta encounters. Mi'l is also the area in which mantas congregate in mating season. We all look forward to this time of year as there is nothing more amazing than watching groups of 5-25 mantas sweep up and down the channel pursuing a potential mate.

Mantas Guaranteed or your Money Back!

April is the Manta Mating Season and mantas are everywhere! Just in case you miss one, owner Bill Acker is offering a Manta Money Back Guarantee. If a diver purchases an April 2007 7-night/10-dive package (or more) and does not see a single manta during his 10 dives, Manta Ray Bay resort will refund the diver's money. How could someone spend 10 dives in Yap's water and not see a single manta, especially during April, one of the most active times for mantas? Although it is unlikely, it is possible that divers could miss a manta sighting because he is distracted by Yap's many other underwater attractions: sharks, turtles, pipefish, frogfish, nudibranches and of course, Mandarin fish. We offer guests over 50 dive sites. So this April, take Bill up on his offer. He guarantees that a week in Yap will be one of your greatest diving adventures, ever!

Learn from the Pros at Manta Foto Fest 2007

Join us for our Manta Foto Fest 2007! Join Tim Rock, Mike Veitch, and Simon Buxton for a fun-filled week of diving and learn underwater photography from the pros at the same time. The dates for this event are June 22-29, 2007. Contact secretary@mantaray.com for more details.

Discover Yap for only $999 and Splash into the New Year

Yap is heralded as the hottest up-and-coming dive destinations by experts from around the globe, and the New Manta Ray Bay is Micronesia finest resort. Take advantage of our great $999 special and Discover Yap. Guests vacationing at MRBH December 23, 2006 through January 31, 2007 will pay only $999 for the following incredible deal worth over $1,472.00:

7-night accommodations
3 days of two-tank diving
3 days of three-tank diving
1 Mandarin Fish Specialty Dive
half-day kayaking tour
Free Nitrox
Late check-out
Airport transfers, All taxes
Boats, weights, belts, tanks, guides, boat drivers, towels, hot tea, water and snacks on dives.

This package will whet your appetite for adventure in one the world's remaining pristine island frontiers, Yap! For reservations, contact a travel specialist, your local dive retailer, or e-mail: yapdivers@mantaray.com. (Some restrictions may apply)

Over the last few weeks we have been extremely happy to host Patrick and Cherie Ranfranz and their www.missingaircrew.com team. Pat and Cherie were with us last year for a short time researching and discovering several WWII plane wrecks as part of their search for Patrick’s uncle’s plane. They returned this year with members of two other families who had relatives lost in Yap in 1944. Ron Anthony, whose father was lost with a bomber crew, brought his wife and 3 sons to join the search. Sharon Crowley Connor also lost her father in the skies over Yap and she was very happy to have contacted Patrick and join his team in Yap this year.

The Missing Air Crew team is a project put together by Patrick over the last 20 years involving the research and investigation into American planes that were lost over Yap during WWII. This long-standing investigation has a very personal feel for Patrick as his uncle was a member of one of the planes that was shot down; a quote from the Missing Aircrew website: The ten crew members of the Coleman B-24 Crew (13th Air Force, 372nd Bombardment Squadron, 307th Bombardment Group) were shot down by a Japanese fighter over Yap Island and declared missing on 25 June 1944.

Although not as famous a battle site as neighbours Chuuk and Palau, Yap did see some heavy bombing raids during 1944 as the Americans were advancing across the Pacific toward the Philippines and Japan. In June of 1944, the Yap airport and surroundings were bombed by the Americans for 7 straight days by the 307th Bombardment group out of PNG in order to deter Japanese reinforcements to Saipan. Most of the Japanese planes based in Yap were destroyed and 33 American planes were also downed in the area with 149 men involved. The trip this year was a great success as they believe they have found the remains of the Anthony B-24 in Tomil Harbor just minutes from the Manta Ray Bay Hotel. Obviously, this was a pretty big find and was very exciting for everyone involved. Ron Anthony brought a beautiful marble plaque with him that we placed inside the remains of this plane after a touching memorial for the occupants. We also had a memorial for the crew's of Sharon Crowley Connors father's plane at sunset on Sept 20th. We took Popou to the south end of the island at the approximate site of the crash and Sharon gave a very touching speech in memory of her father who she never knew.

We have enjoyed hosting everyone involved in the Missing Air Crew adventure. Many of our staff have enjoyed getting involved with the project, whether helping to look for wreckage in the water, in the mangroves, on land, or simply by asking relatives and friends about any old airplane pieces they have seen. An amazing amount of information has been uncovered in the last two weeks with at least two 90% positive plane identifications. We would like to extend our warmest regards to the Anthony, Crowley-Connor, and Ranfranz families for putting your trust in us to aid you in your quest and it was our heartfelt pleasure to help in any way we could. We look forward to your next visit.

Join us for our Manta Foto Fest 2007! Join Tim Rock, Mike Veitch, and Simon Buxton for a fun-filled week of diving and learn underwater photography from the pros at the same time. The dates for this event are June 20-27, 2007. Contact secretary@mantaray.com for more details.

Another busy time here at Manta Ray Bay, even when it's supposed to be the slow season! We have had some friendly groups through here in the last few weeks. The hotel has been all abuzz as everyone has been on high spirits and having a great time while enjoying some fantastic diving. We would like to thank everyone who has joined us over the last month at the all-new Manta Ray Bay Hotel.

The diving has been great, a lot of mantas have been showing up at Goofnuw Channel/Valley of the Rays and everyone is getting a great encounter with these incredible animals. The nice thing about the summer season and diving at the Valley of the Rays is the fact this channel is much shallower than Mi'l Channel (our regular winter spot). With the cleaning station located in just 50 feet (16 meters) of water, the bottom time on this dive can be extended when the mantas are abundant. Sixty to seventy-five minute manta encounters are a very common experience. Our photo/video pro Mike Veitch is a big fan of this dive site for photography: "What I like best about Goofnuw Channel is the shallow water and the idea that we can shoot up at the mantas as the cleaning station is located shallower than where the divers sit. This is ideal for still photography as the much desired blue background is easily obtained. The summer is my favorite time to take still photos in Yap."

The hotel is putting together some fantastic final touches in several departments. The dive shop has just been tiled with a new floor and a new door has been added to separate the camera table/lobby section from the personal gear lockers. It has really brightened up the dive shop and made the area a lot dryer.

We have also added some fantastic-looking prints and furniture to the hotel lobby area. The prints are cultural black-and-white photos from the archives and add a great touch. The new furniture is hardwood from Indonesia and adds a classy feel to the lobby as well as giving a nice seating area for those waiting for a tour. Our new gift shop has just opened. Once again, we have furnished it with beautiful Indonesian hardwood and our selection of items has received a big boost as the shop is quite large. We are also in the process of installing a new boarding ramp for the Mnuw. This much larger ramp is wheelchair-sized and will be a very secure form of entry to our bar and restaurant. As if this wasn't enough, we have also received our new entry sign, the water feature that will be installed at the grand entrance to the hotel, and the awning that will cover the walkway separating the hotel from the dive shop. Whew! Just reading that list shows that we still have a bit of work to do before our official "Re-Grand Opening" in September. We hope you can join us in celebrating the unveiling of all our new additions and improvements.

In other news, we have had to say goodbye to the crew who helped us create our new home. The Surangels Construction crew arrived here from Palau and spent over a year with us constructing several of the new buildings including the new staff house and the entire new lobby and administration building. Thanks so much guys, you have really done a great job and we appreciate all of your efforts! In other sad news, we will be saying goodbye to one of Manta Ray Bay's longest standing employees, Chef Genaro Bontuyan who has been with the company for over 17 years! Genaro has decided to retire and spend some quality time with his family back in the Philippines. We would like to thank Genaro for his many years of tireless effort and dedication in making the Manta Ray restaurant the success that it is today. Genaro, you will be sorely missed!

Bill Acker will be at the Long Beach Scuba Show on the 24th and 25th of June, so if you are in Southern California, please stop by the booth and visit for a while.

Just spend at least one week at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel during the months of July, August, September, or October, 2006, and you are eligible for our 20% package discount. Offer includes all classes of rooms (Standard, Ocean View, and Deluxe Ocean View), and pre-booked diving. For reservations, please contact your local agent or e-mail yapdivers@mantaray.com.

We have been very fortunate over the years to develop a strong repeat guest clientele which is the backbone of any successful dive resort. These guests all book their vacations through our various travel partners and in the past few weeks, we have had the pleasure of hosting the owners of three of our largest travel partners from around the world along with valued associates of two other agencies.

The good times began with the arrival of Mr. Ken Scarborough, who along with his lovely wife Laura, own Ultimate Dive Travel of Chicago, Illinois. Ken spent 4 days with us and by all accounts had a super time. This was Ken's first stop in Yap and we tried our best to ensure that it won't be his last.

Ms. Nicole Zimmerman arrived on the 26th of April and stayed 7 nights with us. Nicole is a lead agent for the Schoener Tauchen agency of Bremen, Germany which is owned and operated by our very good friends Uwe and Katrin Nehls. Having Nicole spend quality time in Yap was very important to all of us here at the Manta Ray Bay.

We also were very fortunate to have Ms. Susan Pantel and her husband Tom with us. Susan is from Uncommon Adventures of Marina Del Rey, California and while they were here, Tom celebrated a milestone birthday with us.

Next, Axel Becker, owner of Extra Tours from Gottingen, Germany, was with us for 4 wonderful days. Axel enjoyed some great diving and even better times helping me do quality control testing each afternoon on the various brews produced by our very own Stone Money Brewing Company.

Last, but certainly not least was a visit from Mike Musto, who along with his lovely wife Vikki, own Trip N Tour of Fallbrook, California. Mike was here along with 14 dive shop owners and instructors for a 4 day FAM trip. I think everyone in that group left with smiles on their faces and a firm resolve to book a group trip back to Yap as soon as they can.

Bizarre Critters Discovered Daily with Yap Divers

Since the day I met and dived with Larry Smith of Indonesia critter hunting fame, I have been turned on by the fascinating world of "macro" diving. We have spent the past two summers with organized Critter Hunt programs and I have personally spent several hundred hours over the past two years searching in unlikely places for unlikely specimens and then two weeks ago, I was part of a group who discovered a pot of gold.

While leading my good friend, award-winning cinematographer Mr. Michael Pitts of BBC fame, on a filming trip at the Slow & Easy dive site, I discovered an Inimicus Didactylus Scorpion Fish buried in the sand. While Michael was busy filming the stone fish, Tim, Natalia and our photo pro Mike Veitch discovered not one but FOUR Pegasus Sea Moths! Wow, most divers have probably never seen anything this camouflaged and this strange before! It is a find such as these two that help make Yap much more than a stopover for a brief manta encounter. We now regularly attract European divers who stay here for 21 days and longer and I assure you that they leave as some of our happiest guests. Yap has long past the "stopover stage" and divers truly looking for something unique and different are discovering this daily.

If you want everything from large to small, Yap truly does have it all and there is no place on Yap that can match the quality of facilities, boats, staff and just plain enthusiasm that the Manta Ray offers every day of the year. (Sea Moth photo by Tim Rock).

Scuba Show in Long Beach June 24th and 25th

Our marketing advisor, Matthew Armand, and I will be exhibiting at the Long Beach Dive Show next month. If you are in the Los Angeles area, please drop by the Yap Divers booth to say hello and talk diving. We will have new images of diving in Yap as well as images of the facilities at the "NEW" Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers and we will be looking forward to talking with you.

World Cup Soccer, World-Class Diving

What could be more satisfying than relaxing aboard the Mnuw sipping a cold mug of Manta Gold after a day of world-class diving? How about watching World Cup matches on the Pacific's largest big screen television? Other travelers may miss out on the soccer games, but not Manta Ray Bay guests! Our guests may view the games on a 16-foot by 10-foot screen aboard the S/V Mnuw restaurant and bar. The bar will be open all night. Just another example of the New Manta Ray Bay staff's commitment to customer service and sports!

Thanks to our Guests from Around the Globe

We were fortunate to have a return visit from one of our favorite people, Ms. Kendall Botellio of Scuba Specialties located in Phoenix, Arizona. Kendall is a ball of energy and this was her first return in a while. She was very pleasantly surprised with all the changes we have made to the "NEW" Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers and we expect to see her again in the near future as she already has a return trip booked for June of this year! We also had a repeat visit from the Orca Scuba Tours Group out of Lemont, Illinois lead by group leader Lisa Fielding. Unfortunately Mr. Frank Cantele, the owner of Orca Scuba Tours, had to change his travel plans at the last moment, so we missed Frank this time around. I guess that just means a repeat booking is a must!

In addition, Mike and Amanda Farmer, he the Captain of the Palau Aggressor fame and she the video pro for the Aggressor spent a week with us. They are such nice people and I am sure their stay here will reinforce the already existing good relationship developed between Aggressor and the Manta Ray. We also had Mr. Tim Rock of Double Blue Images on Guam along with Ms. Natalia Baechtold from Palau down to do some more photography for the resort as well as for Tim's personal use on an upcoming project.

On top of the above named people, we have enjoyed a very high level of occupancy over the past month with guests from Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and the United States. We want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who visited us during the past weeks and we hope you will return some day soon.

Until next time, here is wishing you and yours happy and safe diving from all of the more than 117 of us here at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers.

Wow, it has been quite an exciting and eventful March and April!

The new lobby is now open and adds a completely new dimension to the Manta Ray Bay Hotel. We are extremely pleased to introduce this new wing of the hotel which opens a lot of space for our guests and allows very direct and easy access to the dive shop, pool, and restaurant.

We are also proud to announce the addition of "Silvertip" to our fleet of dive boats. She is a 29-foot Yamaha with twin 4-stroke outboard engines.

We have also added an amazing fibre optic lighting display to the Mnuw, our floating bar and restaurant. The lights are cables which are fitted throughout the mast and rigging. The cables rotate through a variety of colors and bring a bright new atmosphere to the ship. The lighting was installed this week by our friends Ed and Tom from Guam.

We have also added region-free DVD players to all of our rooms so everyone can enjoy a little down time with their favorite movie, feel free to bring your own DVDs when you visit. These additions are just the latest in our ever expanding upgrades to provide the finest amenities and services to divers looking for a home away from home in Micronesia.

We have been diving Mi'l Channel on a regular basis to interact with the mantas as well as enjoying some great diving off of Popou in and around the southern walls. Although a lot of people come to Yap to see the mantas, the southern walls are a definite "must do" when visiting Yap. Clouds of anthias, schools of snappers and jacks, colourful corals and anemones, and beautiful swim- throughs are just a sample of the delights that can be found in some of the clearest water around. Visibility in that area often exceeds 100 feet and is a beautiful deep, rich blue in color.

Don't forget, we have a fantastic underwater photography seminar in July with Tim Rock, Mike Veitch, and Chris Bangs. For more details, please visit www.mantaray.com. This is a great way to improve your photography skills and swap stories with the pros over a few Stone Money Brewing Company cold ones!

The pieces of the New Manta Ray Bay Hotel continue to come together with the completition of our spacious new lobby. Guests now have even easier access to the pool, Mnuw and dive shop. It also a comfortable lounging area while waiting for the airport shuttle bus or island tour pick up.

We had the pleasure to host Dan Baldocci, Eric Cheng, and members of the Digital Shootout who joined us here after a great 10 days in Palau learning the ins and outs of underwater photography. They graciously allowed us to witness their stunning work by sharing a slide show on Saturday night, which was presented on a giant outdoor screen on the Mnuw. What a great way to view some outstanding photography! Thanks to all for sharing.

What an exciting few weeks we have had here at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel! We have had some amazing encounters with a lot of different animals that we don't see here too often.

First of all, just at the end of a shark feed last week, a nice 10-foot Tiger Shark showed up! Unfortunately, he was a little late for the feed but the majority of our guests got to see this toothy critter and even a few nice pictures were captured! That was definitely a big event as these bad boys are only seen every 3 or 4 years out here. Everyone was excited to encounter the Tiger except for our dive guide, Nico, who did his best to walk on water back to the boat.

Our second big encounter was with a 18-20 foot Whale Shark off of Lionfish Wall at the southern tip of the island. Four lucky guests had a 5- minute encounter with this largest of fish! As you can imagine, everyone who was here at the time are extremely jealous of those four divers.

The underwater discoveries continued with a giant orange Frogfish in Mi'l Channel. This ugly, but much sought-after, fish is not very common to this area (or at least we are not very good at finding them) so this is a big event for us. He/she seems to be staying around the same area near the cleaning station over the last few days and we hope that the frogfish will remain in the area for a long time to come.

Our biggest news is the grand unveiling of the brand new Stone Money Brewing Company! Yes, our beer has been tapped to plenty of kudos from all who have tasted the Manta Gold lager. The taste has been compared to top-class micro brews throughout the world with a smooth taste and slight fruity flavor. The dark lager, Telemar Bir, will have its official unveiling this week and everyone is excited to taste this brew as it promises to have even more flavor for those who enjoy darker beer. Divers can sip a cold glass of beer, watch the sunset from the deck of the Mnuw and reminisce about the day's manta enounters. Life is good in Yap!

We would like to thank all of our recent guests who have joined us in Yap. A lot of them were lucky enough to enjoy the recent Yap Day festivities with all of the traditional dances being performed. This is a great annual event that takes place on the first day of March each year. If you are interested in experiencing a little more culture, be sure to book your next trip to Yap during early March.

We have enjoyed a full house at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel over the last few weeks. We have entertained guests from throughout the world with visitors from the US, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, England, Taiwan, Singapore, Italy, Belgium, Holland, and France. It has been a real "United Nations" around Yap that is for sure!

Asia Divers add to International Group

As part of this "UN" group, we hosted a great group of people who are regulars at one of our favorite dive resorts in the Philippines, Asia Divers. We would like to thank Tommy and Allan for sending them our way. They all arrived sporting souvenir tee shirts from one of the best bars in the Pacific – the Point Bar at El Galleon Resort. I highly recommend a trip to Puerto Galera to stay at the El Galleon Hotel and dive with my friends at Asia Divers. When at the Point Bar, be sure to tell them that Bill sent you!

Brew Meister Gets Manta Gold Flowing

We are pleased to announce that Ian Ward of London, England is here and that the all new Stone Money Brewing Company is up and running! Ian is here to oversee the setup of our new brewery, as well as create the different brews that will be in production. These include a light beer – Manta Gold and a dark beer – Tilmar Bir. Ian is an extremely experienced Brew Meister who has set up boutique breweries throughout the world and we are pleased to have his expertise in creating Micronesia's newest and finest micro brewery.

Spacious Popou is Guests' Favorite

With such a full house we have really been taking advantage of our large fleet of boats which has allowed us to spread the divers around to different areas of the island and not crowd any of our dive sites. The Popou is in regular service to the southern and western walls on 3- tank days including a warm lunch. She is a great vessel for this sort of daily expedition due to a large deck area in which people can spread out and get comfortable. We have had lots of positive comments on how great the "all new" Popou looks and runs. She is proving to once again be a guest favorite.

Critters Accent Yap's Walls and Reefs

Aside from our usual manta encounters, we have had some great critter encounters over the last few weeks: Ghost Pipefish, juvenile Emperor Anglefish, a variety of different stingrays, a Leopard Shark, schools of juvenile Grey Reef sharks, Silvertip Sharks, Mantis Shrimp, 8 different species of nudibranch on a single dive, Wahoo, Dog Tooth Tuna, and one group even spotted a Marlin on their safety stop off of Vertigo! (but, of course, no one got a photo, so we are not sure if we believe them!) Photos by resident pro and photo course instructor, Mike Veitch.

We kicked off the New Year with style at the Manta Ray Bay Resort. A live band entertained the crowd on the Mnuw and all of our guests had a great time! And if that wasn't enough, the mantas seemed to be enjoying the new year celebration as well because our guests were treated to an outstanding manta dive the next morning when 6 mantas crowded around the cleaning stations and danced the morning away.

What an outstanding way to bring in the New Year!

Triangle Divers Add a New Twist

We have hosted some great people over the last few weeks as well as some large groups who helped liven up the new year spirit. One of the most interesting events was the Triangle Divers group who participated in their annual "Moon Walk Dive" here in Yap. Let's just say that it is the first time we have seen the sport of scuba undertaken in dresses and wigs! A great time was had by all including our staff who had a great laugh hosting this event.

Reserve Your Photo Course Now

A lot of our recent guests have been taking advantage of the photo course taught by Manta Visions' Mike Veitch. Everyone has raved about the course and has taken home some outstanding images. If you are coming to Yap and want to improve your underwater photography a course with Mike is a great way to do so. (The Manta Report photos are provided by Mike Veitch)

Sailfish, Mantas, Silvertips and Silkies. The Big Boys are Out!

We have had some great creature encounters over the last few weeks. This is the time of year when the beautiful crowned jellyfish drifts into our waters. This small, white jellyfish has been spotted on a lot of dives and is often accompanied by juvenile jacks hiding inside the mantle for protection. We have also spotted quite a few Silvertip sharks and even a Silky shark along the southern walls. And if that wasn't enough, we have now spotted two 8-10 foot long Sailfish in the blue as we were doing safety stops! What rare and beautiful creatures!

Happy Holidays and the best for 2006 from the whole family of Manta Ray Bay Hotel and Yap Divers!!!

As 2005 comes to a close we would like to thank all of the people who made our year one of the best ever. 2005 saw some major improvements at the Hotel with the addition of a new wing, dive shop, cascading waterfall pool, a new location for the Mnuw, and we are almost finished with the new lobby/admin building which houses our new Micro Brewery!!! We would like to thank all of those who visited us in 2005 and continued to support us through our major improvement and expansion phase.

We are very excited to announce that the flagship of our fleet is now back in Yap. The Popou arrived this week safe and sound from Palau with a great new face lift. Bill, Teolu, Detlef, and Nathan journeyed to Palau last week and returned this week after a quick and safe journey. Jim Persinger of Jim’s Boat Repair also rode up with the boys to insure that the new engines were working as they should. In Palau, a number of people really helped us out and we want to thank Mason Whipps of the Surangel Company for everything he did for us, not the least of which was getting us safely in the water after the Popou was freshly painted. René Menz and Thomas Schubert of Kramers Café provided us with some wonderful food for the voyage that was to die for. Bill Keldermans of Palau Shipping provided us with a cell phone to make life much easier. The staff at NECO Marine gave us 4 drum cans to bring additional fuel to Yap and lots of leeway at their dock to complete our repairs and sea trials. Finally, Sam Scott of Sam’s Tours came by bearing gifts the night before departure. Thank you all!

We are also proud to announce the introduction of the 1st Annual Manta Ray Bay Photo Workshop. From July 12th-19th 2006, world renowned underwater photographers Tim Rock and Chris Bangs will join Manta Visions’ own Mike Veitch in an exciting event geared toward photographers. Tim, Chris, and Mike will be presenting a series of seminars and workshops to help out everyone with a camera. With the short distances to and from dive sites in Yap, this will optimize both the diving and learning processes. Please stay tuned to the Manta Ray website for upcoming details.

This year we celebrated Christmas in style. We had a great crowd arrive on the 24th and so the festive season is in full swing. The Mnuw is decked out in plenty of Christmas cheer and we hosted our annual Christmas buffet with turkey, ham, stuffing and all the other trimmings which make the Mnuw a special place to celebrate the holidays away from home. On New Years Eve we have arranged for Palau’s best band to join us on the Mnuw to bring in the New Year with a big bang! Once again we will have a full house of guests here to help us celebrate the end of a fantastic year and the start of 2006, our twentieth anniversary year!!

Happy belated Thanksgiving - Yapese style. We had a great Thanksgiving celebration here on the S/V Mnuw last week, with a large gourmet buffet prepared by Genaro, our Executive Chef, and his excellent restaurant staff. With a completely full hotel, the celebration was in high gear and great weather allowed everyone to have fun under the stars and enjoy a tropical Thanksgiving dinner. Although not a tradition in Europe, our European guests were more than happy to jump in to the loaded buffet table and enjoy turkey, ham, fresh fish and all the trimmings.

The Thanksgiving season is typically a very busy time for us and this year was no exception. We had 30 friends and families come down with Cindy Harris of MDA in Guam. They had a great 4 days here and will be back again soon, as there are definite advantages of living in a place like Guam. At the same time the MDA group was here, we also had the pleasure of hosting a variety of folks from around the world: Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, South Africa, and France. The Crow’s Nest, Yap Divers’ boats and the new swimming pool were hopping with excited divers.

It is now December and that has accompanied a real sense of anticipation in the air and waters of Yap. December is when we start to see the beginning of the mating season, or shall we say “Manta foreplay…” With the freshening of the trade winds, the mantas are now more commonly found on the leeward side of the island in Mi’l Channel as opposed to their summer hangout in Goofnuw Channel. Mantas will be turning up in Mi’l to get cleaned at the numerous cleaning stations, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs, and sometimes even in large groups of 10 or more! This is a very exciting time to be diving in Yap and is always a busy time. If you are planning on coming down to Yap in the next few months, please confirm your reservations while there is time, the hotel is filling up much faster than in past years. We are anticipating 2006 being even better than 2005 and that is saying something since this past year has been the best year in our 20 year history.

The improvements around the hotel are looking great. The roof of the new lobby is in place and it is almost time to start on the interior, of course that means we are that much closer to serving our own beer once again! Yes, the construction walls are down, the walk-ins are installed, the equipment for the Stone Money Brewing Company is in place and our Manta Brew will be flowing within a few weeks. We are in the process of planning our grand opening party for the “NEW” Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers. Some of the recent accomplishments have been the construction of a new dive dock, the completion of the outside of the new lobby/office building, installing the roof, continuation of the great landscaping job being done by Kirno our horticulturalist from Bali and the completion of a new fence between the street and our main parking lot. The facility is very impressive indeed and we cordially invite all of our friends to come join us for at least a week in 2006 for some great diving, fine food, good beer and wonderful company.

Last but not least, we are about to depart for Palau to take delivery of the “NEW” Popou. Our 38 foot custom built aluminum dive boat has been at the NECO Marine ship repair facility since July being completely re-powered and reconfigured. My two sons, Nathan and OP, will be joining Teolu, Detlef and I on the 14th of December to drive her back to Yap. We have spent almost $200,000 on her and expect her to once again take her place as the finest dive boat in Micronesia. In addition to getting the Popou back, we have also ordered another 28 foot fiberglass boat from Japan. We expect her to be here by the end of February, if not before, and she will be christened the Silvertip Express. This brings our fleet to 8 custom built boats each equipped with 4 stroke Yamaha engines, radios, cell phones, GPS, oxygen, first aid kits, save a dive kits, permanent sun roofs and excellent dive ladders. We can accommodate individuals desiring private boats, small and large groups along with individuals looking to join other divers for the dives of a lifetime.

Until the next time, happy diving and thank you once again for your continued interest in Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers.

We have had another great couple of weeks here in Yap, the hotel improvements are really coming around well. The kettles and drums are in place for our very own micro brew and that means that fresh beer can’t be far behind! Mike of Manta Visions has moved into his brand spanking new office in the dive shop just in time to introduce one of the most exciting improvements at the hotel, High Definition Video! That’s right, Mike is now using a Sony HD video camera in an Amphibico Phenom housing. This combination creates the highest quality video available today and will enable Manta Visions to continue offering the guests of Manta Ray Bay the highest quality souvenirs to take home of their adventures in Yap.

We have been host to some truly great people as October has come to an end. One of the highlights was the chance to help out Patrick and Cherie Ranfranz of MissingAirCrew.com. They were in Yap researching a B24 bomber that was shot down over Yap in 1944. Although we weren’t able to locate the wreck, they did explore a lot of area both underwater and on land and found some promising leads for their plane as well as other aircraft that were shot down during World War II. We look forward to hosting and helping them out again in the near future.

We also hosted divers from many other areas of the world, including Japan, the US, Germany, Switzerland, and two adventurous Canadians, Carin and Jane, who stopped here as part of a two year sailing circumnavigation of the globe on a 48 foot boat. Well done ladies…

The diving has been fantastic as always. The skies have been sunny and the seas flat which has made for some incredible dolphin encounters as the skiffs have been running out to the dive sites. The mantas have been hanging out at Goofnuw channel en masse and everyone has enjoyed some absolutely incredible adventures with these magical creatures. The flat seas have been responsible for some amazing natural light filtering through Yap Caverns and creating excellent photo ops. The majority of our guests have also taken advantage of perhaps the world’s finest Mandarin Fish dive. If you are coming to Yap in the future, this is one that is not to be missed!

Happy Halloween to all. We look forward to hosting you, your dive buddy and/or dive group in the coming years. The "NEW" Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers is truly a world class dedicated dive resort. We think of ourselves as a live-aboard on land. 5 dives a day is quite possible and with 7 dive boats operating daily, we cover more of Yap every day than other shops cover in a week. On top of that, the convenience and comfort of the new and remodeled guest rooms, the excellent food served on the fabulous setting that is the S/V Mnuw and the continued attention of our great staff all make Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel a most inviting destination for your next dive vacation.

There is a lot of activity going on at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel these days. The last week saw us open the first phase of our new lobby/administration/brewery building. The open windows looking out on the infinity pool really add a great touch to the continuing expansion and improvements of the hotel. The Mnuw has new deck furniture and a brand spanking new paintjob and is looking in top form. Our own Indonesian gardener is really spicing up the place with fantastic flower gardens and beautiful lawns.

On the diving front we have had a mixed bag of weather, some rain, some sun, and some wind... but that has certainly not dampened the spirits of anyone, including the mantas! The mantas have put on quite a show in the last two weeks with groups of 7 or 8 at the cleaning station at Goofnuw Channel as well as some great feeding behavior near the
mouth of the channel during the half moon.

We have had some great sightings on all of our reefs over the last while, including the penultimate encounter with a pod of Spinner Dolphins off of Lionfish Wall for one of our recent guests Madrone Jack. Other fantastic encounters included cuttlefish, mating octopus, feisty Mantis Shrimp, and lots of interesting nudibranches that have been coming out of the wood work.

We have had guests from all over the world the last few weeks, our usual mix of Americans, Germans, and Swiss, along with a group of Korean divers. Spain, Holland, Canada, Italy, and Australia have also been well represented these past couple of weeks. Everyone has enjoyed the warm hospitality of the hotel staff as well as the local Yapese people. We even had a few guests who were lucky enough to be here to enjoy the festivities of our annual staff party during the last week of September. A great time was had by all, even though the maintenance department cheated to win the kayak race in a close finish to beat out the dive staff...

During the annual staff party, we passed out over $18,000 in tips to the staff as well as more than $3,500 in monies that were donated by Mike and Vikki Musto of Trip N Tour and Tom Teruya and Jason Niiya, wonderful fishing buddies of Bill’s, to help our staff immediately following typhoon Sudal. We used those funds after the typhoon to help staff who lost their houses and other necessities, but things have gone so well for us lately, that we wanted to recognize the above individuals once again for their generosity, so we matched their grants with money of our own and passed it out to the staff. We also had our annual awards ceremonies. These awards were voted on by the employees so the winners should feel doubly proud for being recognized by their peers.

The winners are:

Dive Shop Most Valuable Employee
1st Place: Mathias Rapoutog
2nd Place: William Seiwemai
3rd Place tie: John Pekailug/Alex Raimon

Food & Beverage Most Valuable Employee
1st Place: Rosemary Ilyaw
2nd Place: Josie Besina
3rd Place: Bertha Fatinag

Hotel Most Valuable Employee
1st Place: Carmen Dugwen
2nd Place tie: Jesse Boston/Theo Gumang
Dinah Limchig

Employee of the Year
1st Place: Mathias Rapoutog
2nd Place tie: Josie Besina/Carmen Dugwen/Dinah Limchig/Julie Mangefel

Congratulations to all of the above for a job well done!

As you can tell, we have been very busy since our last Manta Report. The expansion is winding down and looking REALLY GOOD. We are very proud of the "NEW" Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers and look forward to welcoming you back. In January of 2006, we begin our 20th year! We are planning numerous specials and celebrations for this year with the first of those to begin in June. Please stay tuned.
Finally, we are beginning a complete renewal of our award winning web site. Our site has been basically unchanged for the past 8 years so it is time for a new look and to add new features and information pages. I urge you to keep looking at www.mantaray.com as we evolve our site into an even better information source for Yap and the diving industry here.

Things are humming right along at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel. We had a very interesting few days with a large group from Rome, Italy. We have also been celebrating a few accomplishments and birthdays! Many a dive milestone has been reached over the last couple of weeks, with several people hitting the 200 dive mark and one lucky person reaching 300! Congratulations to all.

On the birthday note, last week was a non stop party! First of all we celebrated Andre Couture's 40th birthday. (Old Fart) Andre is one of our dive guides here at Yap Divers who has been with the team for two years. We also celebrated the birthdays of two of our special guests John and Susan who's ages we will keep secret... A lot of cake was present and a few libations were had by all. Definitely a week to remember.

On the diving front the mantas have been extremely cooperative for photographers. Goofnuw Channel has been host to some fantastic feeding behaviour. The mantas have been lining up near the surface and cruising back and forth along the channel with mouths agape scooping up plankton aplenty. This action is fantastic for the divers who get to witness the mantas doing the feeding loops they are famous for. The mantas are also very tolerant of divers when feeding and this is the best time for very close encounters.

Last weekend brought about a great fishing trip as well, Bill Acker led a group of hardy fisherman to an offshore adventure they won't soon forget. Yellowfin Tuna, Rainbow Runners, and some mighty big Wahoo were all reeled in. Of course, the fish were a lot bigger in the stories on the Mnuw afterwards...

A lot of our guests have also been taking advantage of some great weather to enjoy a guided kayak tour through the mangroves. Our local guides are very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of Yap and everyone who comes back from a half day or full day tour raves about the fantastic scenery and snorkeling.

We have added beautiful new hardwood furniture from Bali to the Mnuw to compliment the new sun/rain shades on the Crow's Nest bar. The new reception/administration/brewery building is also coming along quite well. The wall is down from the edge of the new fresh water infinity pool which really opens up the waterfront and let's our guests see first hand what all the hard work, planning and construction interruptions have been about. The windows and doors are in and the roof is almost complete. The new home of The Stone Money Brewing Company is almost complete and we will soon be enjoying our own Micro Brew once again!

A brand new set of Perception kayaks is on its way as I type this and will be here by mid November. A new kayak pavilion has been completed and is adjacent to our outdoor bamboo showers at the dive shop and next to what will be the new home of our NITROX Shack. We are quite proud of the new home of Yap Divers and invite you to come visit us to experience first hand what many are calling "the finest new dive facility in the Pacific".

Don't forget that manta mating season is fast approaching and even though we have added 7 new rooms and completely remodeled more than a dozen more, space is limited for some of the prime dates. If a Micronesian dive trip is on your agenda for the Spring of 2006, please get in touch with us right away so that we may help you secure your choice of rooms and packages.

Lastly, there is one spot open on the November 2005 FeBrina trip to Papua New Guinea with my wife Patricia and a group of very wonderful people. If you are interested in joining us from November 11th to 21st for the trip from Walindi to Kavieng, please e-mail me at: global@mantaray.com immediately. I will be happy to discuss what promises to be a very FUN and rewarding live-aboard dive trip.

We have had another busy time here at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel the last few weeks. We have just said goodbye to our friends from Pan Aqua diving in New York and they had nothing but rave reviews about 3 days of fantastic diving here in Yap. We have also welcomed friends from England, Germany, Spain, and many points in between.

The diving has been outstanding as of late. Fine weather mixed in with a few cloudy days has created excellent conditions for the mantas to feed in Goofnuw Channel. Imagine a train of 12 mantas swooping through the water column with mouths agape, pretty awesome stuff. Maria of Pan Aqua, with over 10 000 dives on her resume, even boasted this to be one of her top dive experiences of all time!

One of the best finds of the week was by staff member Melody, she found the first ever Pegasus Sea Moth in Yap. According to famous fish expert John Randall, this is the first time this particular creature has ever been found in this area of Micronesia. Way to go Melody!

We have also been joined by two brand spanking new juvenile mantas in Goofnuw Channel. These little ones are not more than 4 feet from wing tip to wing tip. One of these cute little fliers is male and the other a female, surprisingly, they have no fear of divers and are regular visitors to the cleaning station.

The mandarin fish have been busy as of late. Most of our guests have been taking advantage of one of the finest dive sites in all of Micronesia, in just 12 feet of water! And of course the mandarins have not disappointed; they have been up to their fighting, dancing, and mating best.

On the improvements side of things, the Mnuw has received 90% of the new paint finish as well as some fantastic new nylon shade/rain covers for dining and drinking on the top deck Crow’s Nest bar. We are ahead of schedule on our new reception/lobby area and it is really coming together well as our construction crew is working hard at completing it as soon as possible.

Divers repeating a trip to Yap or those who are world travelers will recognize a familiar face greeting them at the Yap Divers door. Jan Sledsens and his partner Melo Verbeurgt are back in Yap at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel/Yap Divers for a new stint as shop manager and divemaster at Yap Divers. Big changes at the dive shop physically and organizationally have lured Jan back. He was in Yap in 2002 and 2003. He took a job in the wild of Kenya last year but the Pacific called and he has returned.

With over 9,000 logged dives, Jan is a true pro who has made friends around the world. He started his career in Egypt and then worked in the Canary Islands, Spain, Tanzania and for many years in the Maldives for Werner Lau Diving. He left Werner Lau for his first stint at Yap Divers.

Jan can certify students from basic open water all the up to divemaster rating. He is also a PADI Nitrox instructor. This is fortuitous because Yap Divers now has a new, state-of-the-art NRC Nitrox Membrane filling station that offers free Nitrox to all guests.

"Nitrox is a fantastic way to extend your bottom times for maximum interaction with our underwater environment, if you are not certified we offer a full range of certifications at Yap Divers and can have you certified and diving Nitrox within a day," Jan says.

Jan is an avid athlete who enjoys a run or bike in the mornings before work. And, he is fluent in many languages including French, Dutch, German, English and even speaks some Swahili and Divehi.

But the main language he talks is diving. Come around to the Yap Divers new dive shop and say hi to Jan and let him tell you about the waters of Yap.

Hello once again from the sunny Pacific, we have been enjoying some fine weather and fantastic diving over the last few weeks. We have hosted a great array of folks from all over the globe similar to a regular United Nations get together! Holland, the US, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Australia, and Canada to name a few.

We are currently in the change over period between the doldrums and the trade winds and therefore have the pleasure of diving both Goofnuw and Mi’l Channels in our search for the ever present Mantas. This gives our guests the opportunity to see the differences between the two channels and experience two distinctly different cleaning stations altogether. It’s amazing to see the differences in the two channels as well, the bountiful hard coral in the shallows of each is dominated by entirely different species of coral, Table Corals (Acroporas sp.) in Goofnuw and Branching Corals (Porites sp.) in Mi’l.

The mantas of course are not partial to either species of coral and have been showing up in droves at both channels over the last few weeks. The summer season (which we are currently entering) sees the Mantas favoring Goofnuw and this area is an absolutely stunning arena for photography.

In other news we are pleased to announce the official opening of our new NRC Nitrox Membrane filling station. With the addition of this great compressor to our dive shop, we are now offering complementary Nitrox for all PADI and NRC certified Nitrox divers and everyone who is certified here at Yap Divers. Nitrox is a fantastic way to extend your bottom times for maximum interaction with our underwater environment, if you are not certified we offer a full range of certifications at Yap Divers and can have you certified and diving Nitrox within a day!

We are also very pleased to announce the grand opening of our 6 newest rooms: Batfish, Cuttlefish, Eagle Ray, Chromodoris, Hammerhead, and Napolean Wrasse. These rooms are located in the new area above the dive shop. Each room is huge with a private balcony and a full line of amenities. The furniture is solid teak which makes the rooms look GREAT!

The construction of our new lobby is also coming along nicely, the second floor now has a foundation and we are ahead of schedule on this fantastic new addition to Manta Ray Bay. Until next time, happy diving,

Dear Friends,

My oldest son Nathan and I just returned from the Scuba Show in Long Beach where we were fortunate enough to meet up with several of our good friends in the diving industry to reminisce about the old times and catch up with what is new around the diving world. Although we both enjoyed our trip, it is always good to be back home and I have been fortunate enough to have been pressed into service as a dive master the past two days so I am running behind with the correspondence. Please forgive me but I am not ashamed of myself as the clear water and abundant manta action in Mi'l Channel the past two days, along with the good company on the boats, has me fired up again.

The hotel construction is coming along very nicely and the place is beginning to look very much like a truly world class dive resort. All of us here at the Manta Ray Bay hope that you enjoy these updates and that you will make plans to return and visit us some