After almost 3 months of 7-day workweeks (12 hours a day), we finally opened a portion of Mnuw to the public. Yap State was the host for the recent quarterly meeting of the Pacific Asia Travel Association on the 5th through 9th of December. The Nautical Weaver Bar as well as most of the Crow's Nest Bar were open during the afternoon and hosted the official welcome dinner on the night of the 5th.

Some kids from a local village performed a South Pacific fire dance on the bridge sundeck area which entertained our guests but left the staff holding fire extinguishers in anticipation of disaster. Later in the evening, Mr. Henry Norman, a superb guitarist and songwriter entertained the crowd with music to dance and sing along with. Henry even created a special song commemorating the voyage of the S/V Mnuw from Sumbawa to Yap. The new Australian Ambassador to Micronesia - The Honorable Doran Breanden and his wife Debra christened the dance floor. All in all, a wonderful new beginning for a remarkable old historic vessel.

Thomas Schubert was up from Palau to help with last minute decorations and the area looked stunning. The consensus of our guests is that we have a winner. The ambiance of the ship, the antique brass fittings, the view, the sea breezes and of course Chef Munn's food all make for a tremendous addition.

To celebrate, we are offering a very special 7-night/17-dive package. For more details, please click here.

The next big dates in Mnuw's history will be our staff Christmas Party on the 23rd of December (Loyd Acker's birthday - maca29@attbi.com). For those who don't know, Loyd is my father and he will be celebrating his 73rd year in Texas. After our Christmas/Birthday Party comes our hotel Christmas Party for guests on Christmas Eve and then our official Grand Opening on the 28th of December.

Finally our annual New Year's Eve BASH!!! While some guests will be night diving at midnight, others will be sitting around the bars, bridge area and lounges watching the stars, telling stories and listening to Henry's music 'till dawn.

We are expecting a very good turnout for the annual manta mating season. Please contact us, or your favorite dive travel specialist, for reservations and information. Looking forward to seeing you in Yap and diving with you.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Dear Friends,

Couldn't resist the take-off on my favorite singer - Jimmy Buffet and his songs and book. At 0700 Zulu time on the 28th of September, we are at 7 degrees 30 minutes N and 136 degrees 7 minutes E. Which means we are now in Yap State and approaching Ngulu Atoll!

I am very sorry to deceive our families and friends but the Indonesian Government, in all their wisdom, refused to give us clearance to leave their country despite us spending over $500,000 on this project in their country. We wasted 3 weeks on government, bureaucratic and personality problems with people associated with this project and finally ran out of patience - so, here we are - PIRATES.

I am still using "D" cell flashlight batteries to power the computer and thus never know how much time I have for typing and sending messages. Given that, I will stop here. A full report, with photos, will follow as quickly as we get into Yap and get settled. The ship is not nearly complete so there will be weeks of work to do in Yap (work that was paid for and was to have been completed in Indonesia) and that will slow down the completion of our Mnuw section of the web site.

Again, thank you very much for all of our friends who followed our voyage. Once we finally left the hot, dusty, cement laden harbor of North Bali, we had a GREAT voyage. Mnuw rode beautifully and is such a classic ship that I have decided to keep her as a ship. Oh, she will serve as our restaurant and bar for the Manta Ray Bay Hotel but we will also keep her ready for sea and the day will come when we disconnect from shore facilities and take her back out in the deep blue.

All of us on board, wish you and yours a prosperous year and look forward to seeing you in Yap and on board Mnuw in the near future.

Until later, good night from the "Pirate Crew of Mnww".

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Hello again friends. We have been off the air since I plugged our electronics into our 240 volt circuit which is powered by our on-board generator. Well, one of our engineers decided to fool with the generator and changed the voltage to 400 volts and subsequently, I fried all battery chargers, all computer hardware and our Iridium phone.

Harry Park, a good friend of ours from Surabaya who did the rigging during our dry dock period, managed to get enough parts out of 4 different battery chargers to get the Iridium phone back on line and the computer is currently running on 20 "D" size batteries encased in 2 PVC pipes. Needless to say, I am very impressed.

Our sail has been all that we could ask for. We have had beautiful weather, the ship is running good and the crew are all in good spirits. We have had the islands of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo,Flores, and now the Alor Islands off our starboard beam since the 18th. We are making between 4.5 and 5.5 knots and are approaching Serua as I type this. Still a long way to go but all is well. We expect to pull into Sorong late the 30th of September or early on the 1st of August. Depending on clearance time, we will then be off to Yap.

Other than being delayed by poor planning, bad luck and government bureaucracy, the voyage of the S/V Mnuw is going well. We plan to have a small flag changing ceremony when we leave Indonesian waters. Currently, the ship is operating as Bunga Berkat Usaha and is Indonesian flagged. When we reach International waters, we will change names and raise the Micronesian flag.

When I get to Yap and have proper power connections and the ability to add photos, a major addition to our web site will be posted. Until then, thank you for following our voyage and we all hope to see you in Yap aboard the S/V Mnuw some day in the near future.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Due to problems with the power generators for the electronics aboard the Mnuw, there will be no daily updates on the web site until we've worked it out. This is just a minor problem related to the electronic extras and no cause for worries - apart from that, we are running real well and the seas are calm.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Dear Friends, you can't begin to understand how good we all feel about being out of port and on the move. We spent 11 hot, miserable days docked next to one cement ship after another. Everything on board Mnuw, including us, is COVERED in cement dust. We had an excellent night, good sea conditions, great sky filled with stars and all systems worked well. By sunrise, we were off the East coast of Bali and still making headway for Sorong.

I couldn't sleep last night so ended up working two shifts. Helped Captain Ramli navigate, until my regular shift began at 0400, and then spent 3 hours on the steering wheel. What a glorious feeling, to be standing behind a large, antique wooden steering wheel connected by chain to a manual rudder. You can feel everything about the ship and to watch the beautifully curved bow rise and fall through the seas heading directly into a tropical sunrise, wow, it just doesn't get much better than that. Was what we all hoped for as we took on the assignment of bringing Mnuw 2200 miles from Surabaya to Yap. To be at the helm of a traditional, wooden south seas schooner in calm seas at dawn was magical. Wish you all could be here.

Before I decided to try and get some sleep last night, I fielded several phone calls from friends. My wonderful wife, Patricia Mangthin, called to wish us well and tell Nathan and I to hurry home. Mr. Ketut, the really true hero so far in this tale, also called to wish us luck and let us know that Rob and Jim managed to get on last night's Continental flight from Bali to Guam. Both of them will be missed. Mr. Ketut also wished us luck and God speed. Then we received two calls from some very dear new friends. Mr. Harsono of the Mechanical and Electrical fame and Mr. Henry of the wood preservative fame (if you have been following along, you know both of these gentlemen). Each wished us the very best and simply wanted to let us know they were there to help if we need them. Both have been GREAT throughout this ordeal.

In order to save time on the Iridium phone, I will end this update here. Again, you are all invited to visit Mnuw when she arrives in Yap and tour this historic remnant of a bygone era. For more information about Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel, please contact your favorite dive travel specialist, our director of Marketing - John Boozer at JohnBoozer@mantaray.com or the hotel directly at phone number +691-350-2300. Hope to see you on the deck soon.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

That's right folks, we are under way again! What was to have been a 12 hour stop over in Bali for spare parts turned into an 11 day nightmare. Will be hard for any of us to look at Bali with the same eyes as before. The government bureaucrats ruined any allusions any of us had about being in paradise. Much more on this in future updates, you will especially like our life raft story.

Anyway, at 7 PM on the 18th of September, we are just off the Northern Coast of Bali doing 5 knots and heading for Sorong via a route that will take us just North of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores islands before turning North and going East of Ambon and on into Sorong.

We have lost some very good people. Greg was injured. Rob and Patrik had business commitments and Jim ran out of patience. Each will be sorely missed as each gave something unique to our crew. Fredy Gull, Ben Tured, Captain Lambert, myself and the boys (Marmaw Tured, Dimitry Naman and Nathan Acker) are all that is left of the Micronesia crew. On the plus side, we have added a licensed Indonesian Captain, a Chief Mate and an Engineer so we have 5 Indonesian crewmen to compliment ourselves. We expect to be in Sorong on the 31st of September and then re-provision, get the International clearance and head for Yap.

Our ETA in Yap is now the 7th of October, 2001 - just about 1 month behind schedule and late enough to miss a couple of important events. I apologize to all our friends who expected to visit Mnuw in September in Yap but I can assure you, she will be ready for your next visit.

Until tomorrow, take care and stay tuned. Lastly our prayers are with the victims and their families of the U.S. terrorist strikes. Certainly makes our problems seem small in comparison.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

There have been no recent updates from our voyage because there is really nothing new to tell you. We pulled into Bali for what should have been a 12-hour stop for emergency spare parts and it has turned into a living nightmare. We have run into every conceivable bureaucratic red tape story imaginable. We have also run into considerable problems with finding the spare parts we so desperately need.

Our good friend Henry Soelaiman from Surabaya came through yet again with assistance. Henry picked up Harry Park, took him to find an alternator and batteries and got him on a plane to Bali. We thought that would solve our spare parts problems but the new alternator lasted about 30 seconds and it too blew. At the moment, Harry is at the shop trying to get the new alternator and the original alternator re-wound. There have been some bright spots in all of this mess and Henry and Harry have been two of the brightest.

While we are still working on getting the ship right, Mr. Ketut is busy trying to get the paperwork done so that we may resume our voyage to Sorong. We are hopeful that this could come through tonight although as it gets later in the day, that chance is slowly melting away.

One of our main problems is that we are in a port in North Bali and there are very few phones and no taxies here. We are very isolated so even simple tasks become much harder to achieve. Can't wait to write to you all when we have good news and are on the move.

We will make it to Yap and when we do, the value of Mnuw (at least to those of us on board) will be greatly magnified. Thank you for following our story and I hope to see you on board in Yap one day soon.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Well, with any luck at all, we are going to get harbor and immigration clearance here in a matter of hours and be on our way again. We have now been stranded in Bali for over 45 hours and are anxious to resume the journey East past Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and then on up North.

Have been speaking this afternoon by phone with Greg and am happy to report that he is doing well. He is in a local hotel and is due to leave on tonight's flight to Australia then on to New Zealand. He has promised me that he would be in Yap to have a few cold ones on his birthday, September 27th. If you want to write Greg, his e-mail address is: gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck. He has proven once again to be a great friend and we will all miss him during the rest of the 1850 miles to Yap. See you soon buddy.

There is not too much to report today. Spent the entire day working on clearance and on securing the ship for the voyage. We are down to a bare minimum of crew and are anxious to get under way. Tomorrow night I will be back with an update on our position as well as descriptions of what happened during the day.

Until then, thanks for following this historic voyage of the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk) from Sumbawa to Yap. We look forward to seeing you aboard soon.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Normally, people pay big money and look forward to a trip to Bali. We are currently anchored in a very picturesque port in North Bali and if we weren't anxious to get Mnuw to Yap, we could enjoy the stopover. The parts we are in need of are much harder to find than we anticipated. Good thing we came back to Bali because surely we would have had even more trouble further East. We hope to move from Bali sometime tomorrow afternoon and will resume our regular updates from sea. If there is no update tomorrow, you will all know we are still in Bali.

On a very sad note, our good friend and valuable crew member, Greg Wilson (gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck) is being medically evacuated to New Zealand tonight. You may know that Greg took a fall in Surabaya which required 40 stitches to close. That was bad enough but last night, as we were having LOTS of trouble docking Mnuw alongside a cement ship in Bali, Greg tried to jump to the other ship to help handle lines. He came up just short and caught himself on the rail. The short version is that he has 3 broken ribs and a bruised kidney. The good news is that other than being very sore, the injury now seems to be under control and a little rest and relaxation will get Greg back on his feet. He will be sorely missed by myself and the rest of the gang. Greg is not only a great friend, but also a good character to be around and a willing worker. All of us send our thoughts and prayers for a complete and speedy recovery. Personally, I just think he needed a beer and some people will do just about anything for a cold Bintang - right buddy?

While in port, I have been on the phone to Mr. Ketut of Bali, our good friend Thomas Schubert from Palau as well as my buddy Jimmy Blee in Sumbawa. All are doing their best to help us get on our way and their efforts are very much appreciated. Any project of this size and complexity will have problems and the 3 of those guys have done a tremendous job in getting us to the stage we are at today. Thank you very much gentlemen!

The day has been spent getting the ship more prepared for the voyage ahead. We are 11 days from Yap and anxious to get moving again. Mnuw proved herself to be very seaworthy in difficult seas yesterday and our confidence in her is high. With a few breaks we should be on our way in less than 24 hours. Please follow the voyage with us and we hope to see all of you in Yap sometime in the near future. For travel arrangements to Yap, please contact you local dive travel specialist or the Manta Ray Bay Hotel directly. You can contact us from this web site.

Until tomorrow, this is Bill Acker saying bye for now.

8 PM local time (00:00 Zulu)

The day began with a good sized storm at midnight. Managed to make almost everyone sea sick and when the early morning hours rolled around, Mnuw was being manned by Ben Tured, Greg Wilson, the 2 Captains (Lambert and Ramli) and myself. Ben, Greg and I managed to secure the ship and the captains kept us on course throughout the night.

Morning came with calm seas, a BEAUTIFUL sunrise, Bali off to our starboard side and whales blowing off the bow. We made 147 miles yesterday which is a direct line from our present position back to the dock yard in Surabaya. We actually traveled further than that when you consider errors in steering, time spent dodging fishing boats and nets as well as time drifting while we repaired broken water hoses, fan belts and an alternator. Everything is now running in top condition and we are proceeding towards our next turn, which will occur just North of the island of Sumbawa. Ironically, Sumbawa is where this entire story began.

Mnuw, then known as Bunga Berkat Usaha was sitting in Sumbawa Bessar when I discovered her. I had her moved to Bali for inspection prior to the purchasing decision. Once I bought her, she was moved back to Sumbawa because that is the home of Jimmy Blee, the Australian friend of mine who converted BBU into Mnuw.

Just to digress for a moment, I want to make special mention of a special friend of ours who stayed all night with us on the boat while awaiting departure from Surabaya, who brought down buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken for our last meal in civilization and who gave us a tearful farewell wave from the docks as we headed to Yap. Henry Soelaiman, you ARE a true friend and we will all miss you. You are part of the "crew" of Mnuw and have an open invitation to visit her in Yap anytime!

3 AM local time (07:00 Zulu)

Well, I am back after 6 hours at the helm and nothing much is going right. We are turning around and heading back towards Celukan Bawang, a port in North Bali. We are in rough seas and are in need of some spare parts. Will regroup tonight, check the weather, go shopping and try to depart by noon tomorrow.

Most on board are sea sick and of little use in the operation of the ship. A night's rest will do all good. So…. Until tomorrow, this is Bill Acker asking you to keep in touch and enjoy your Friday evening.

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Wednesday, September 6th, 5:45 AM was the exact moment we departed the dock. Tuesday afternoon was supposed to be the day but we were held up for Customs and Immigration clearance as well as the need to take on fuel. We eventually motored over to Madura Island and took on 20,000 liters of diesel fuel from a floating fuel barge. After fueling, we returned to the dry dock area to await clearance.

Clearance finally came at 10:30 PM and we were all set to depart at 4 AM the following morning. Everyone turned to at 3:30 AM but alas, Captain Ramli was not with us. He had gone home in the night to say goodbye to his wife and 2 young daughters. At first we were all mad but then the thought of leaving home for 2 years and a strange destination hit us all as to how stressful his situation really was. With big hugs and smiles, he came aboard and we cast lines bound for Yap.

Shortly after captain Ramli came aboard, I asked chef Fredy Gull for my eggs to be cooked over easy with bacon. He promptly told me to do something that is physically impossible. He did round up coffee for the crew and is currently busy preparing a delicious looking lunch of fresh tomatoes, onions and cucumbers mixed with canned tuna and vinegar - all to be served over hot rice. Can't wait.

The morning went well until we ran aground dodging fish nets and traps strung across the main channel. Was worrisome for awhile but then everyone realized we were in mud and the tide was coming in. With some deft maneuvering, Captain Ramli managed to extricate us from the mire and we continued on. To everyone's delight, we are making 9.2 knots of speed in beautiful weather. The seas are like an inland lake and optimism is high for all on board.

We spent the morning cleaning and stowing cargo then the fishing tournament began in earnest. Bill, Demetrio and Umbi each took one of the new hand lines expertly prepared by Teolu Pedrosa of Yap Anglers' fame and promptly bet a beer on the first fish. Bill took the port side and used one of Dale Zuttermeister's (zutt1@aol.com) blue colored medium sized lures, which are custom-built for Yap Anglers. Demetrio had the starboard side and chose a clear Zutt head with green skirts while Umbi went right down the middle using a green medium headed Zutt lure with green skirts.. As we near press time, no winner has stepped forward but the waters are clear and blue and the boys are enjoying (Sashimi coming up ...).

Captain Lambert is working the charts, Rob Westerfied is working on getting power and lights around the ship and keep the computer and satellite phone going and Patrik is busy testing the satellite system so we can get this out to our readers. Greg Wilson (gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck) has been busy helping Ben Tured and Jim Tobin move lumber around to better trim the boat while the boys (Nathan and Maru) have been on watch. We are having to dodge countless local fishing craft - some sail powered, some paddled and others with weed eater type outboard motors all moving in every conceivable direction. Hopefully, they will all go home for dinner and thus be out of our way before night fall.

As of press time 6 PM locally and 11:00 Zulu, we are at 7 degrees 29 minutes S and 113 degrees 4 minutes E. We have traveled 76.2 miles since 5:45 this morning and our average speed has been 7.5 knots.

Hope you will visit again tomorrow to follow this historic voyage from Sumbawa to Yap (via Surabaya). Everyone on board is excited to get Mnuw into Yap harbor as we know she will be a big hit with our loyal customers. For more information about traveling to Yap, please contact your favorite dive travel specialist or feel free to contact us directly by e-mailing BillAcker@mantaray.com, JohnBoozer@mantaray.com or by calling (toll free in the U.S.) 1-800-Dive-Yap.

Talk to you tomorrow - same time, same channel. Until then, happy sailing, wish you were here and Kammagar for supporting the Manta Ray Bay Hotel, Yap Divers and now the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk).

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

Loading deck chairs.

After a hard day of loading, all that was left to do was worry about what Wednesday would bring. Ben Tured and Jim Tobin spent the night on the ship as watchmen at Kalimas Harbor and were asked to prod the crew to move the ship back to the old dry dock harbor during high tide. High tide was at midnight so the rest of the gang sat and waited to see what would happen knowing that if the ship didn't move, we would be trapped by other ships and low water for another day.

Well, to make a long story short, Bill was woken at 5 AM with news that Mnuw was safely docked at the new dock yard and all is now furiously in motion to depart Surabaya today. Mr. Ketut has arrived from Bali to help with the Government clearances and last minute provisions are being handled by Greg Wilson (gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck). Nathan, Maru and Dimetrio are busy packing the brass antiques and will be in charge of getting all the personal luggage from the Radisson Hotel to the ship. This means emptying 9 rooms that we have held for the past month! Ben and Jim will rest up for a few hours and join the gang for departure later this morning.

At sea, at last.

Captain Lambert and Rob Westerfield are already at the ship working on electrical services and testing the communications equipment. Patrik Nilsson (patrik@patrik.com) is standing by to take my Word document and put it in a proper format for the rest of the world to view on our web site.

Stay tuned for further updates but it is my firm hope that the next update you get will be our Noon position report tomorrow. You can follow our voyage by logging on for the daily updates. To all of our friends in Indonesia, especially you Henry Soelaiman, a hearty Kammagar gad (Thank you) and best wishes for the future. To all of our friends around the world, thanks for following our story and I look forward to seeing you in Yap and sharing a cold beverage or a warm story aboard the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk)

Taboch gow,

Bill Acker

The Mnuw ready for sea trial.

During the last couple of days, we've been busy finishing up the last details before the journey.

On Sunday the windows started going in the wheelhouse and the restaurant decks and we loaded the remaining timber onboard, a task that reminded us of the Mnuw's previous history as a lumber carrier. We also had a slight moment of panic when a fire broke out below deck, but it was quickly dealt with and work continued.

On Monday we took the Mnuw out for sea trials in the open sea for a couple of hours. Everything went well - she rides very well in the seas and the speed was even above expectations. The crew aboard really enjoyed getting away from the Surabaya docks for a moment and getting a taste of the journey ahead of us.
On return we went for a new dock location to load cargo. In true Surabayan spirit the dock location guaranteed to be reserved for us was already occupied by ships in three rows waiting for their turn to load and unload before we would get our chance. Things moved quite quickly though and on Tuesday morning we started loading.

Nathan cutting cake.

All cargo was loaded and lashed in an all day effort involving everyone. We came back to the hotel dirty and exhausted. The ship was to move Tuesday night to the old dry dock area and take on water and fuel in preparation for departure on Wednesday.

Tuesday was also Nathan's 16th birthday and after everyone had a chance to shower, we gathered in Bill Acker's room to present Nate with a cake and to sing Happy Birthday. The time was good for all but it was a painful reminder that this celebration was to have been done at sea. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Full copper sheathing.

Slight delay...This update should be coming to you from sea but alas that is not the case. Several things beyond your control have caused a delay. First, it took us 9 days to clear the copper from Customs so that work could begin on the copper sheathing. This caused us to stay in dry dock longer than anticipated. There have been the inevitable delays with some of the stainless steel work for the galley as well as installation of the blowers for the vent system for the galley in place. Finally, we have learned that Customs and Immigration clearances from Indonesia take at least 3 working days (Saturday and Sunday are not working days) so… our new estimated departure date is Wednesday morning, September 5th.

Getting ready to leave dry dock.

For the contest, we will add 5 days to everyone's predictions to account for this delay. We will keep you informed as we cross Indonesia, turn North through the Pacific and head into Yap.

Now that you know the bad news, let's cover some of the good news. The copper sheathing went on smoothly and the ship looks great. While in dry dock, she gleamed like a polished copper pot and now that Mnuw is floating again, there is a nice copper line above the water that gives her a very rakish look. Rob Camarada and Reg Johns from Fremantle, Western Australia were not only excellent craftsman but turned into wonderful friends and we look forward to having them up to Yap to see the finished product.

Floating again...

Finally, the troops are all here on site and working to get the ship ready for 2 weeks at sea. Greg Wilson of the Cook Islands (gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck) arrived on the 19th and has been working hard to help where he can. Captain Lambert arrived on the 27th with Bill Acker's family from Yap. Bill's family was here until the 31st and now only Nathan is left behind to accompany his father on the voyage to Yap. Patrik Nilsson arrived on the 29th and last, but not least, Bill's brother-in-law - Ben Tured and his oldest son Maruw arrived from Bali on the 1st of September. This completes the crew for the maiden voyage of Mnuw from Surabaya to Yap.

About the new arrivals:

Greg:

The owner of Cook Island Divers, Greg and Bill met in Las Vegas over a decade ago and the have grown closer over the years. Cook Island Divers is the only professional dive operation in the Cooks and there is a mutual bond with Yap Divers to help market each destination to the world. Greg recently built a training pool at his headquarters and added another ridged inflatable boat to his fleet. Cook Island Divers trains over 500 new divers a year and operate a fleet of 4 dive boats for daily excursions. You can learn more about this wonderful operation by logging on to www.cookpages.com and scrolling down to the activities section on the main page to find Greg's link.

Jim, Thomas and Patrik.

Patrik:

Patrik has taken a few weeks off from his work on mobile internet solutions at Xpedio in Sweden to... help us out with our mobile internet needs. He's currently sorting out the last details of our Iridium satellite link setup but so far all the tests has gone very well, not least thanks to great service provided by the Swedish Iridium resellers IDGEurope.

Captain Lambert.

Captain Lambert:

Our captain during the journey is Lambert N Lokopwe. Captain Lambert was born February 27th 1946 on Pollap Island in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia.
He is the senior master mariner in the FSM, holding an FSM Unlimited Master's License in modern navigation as well as a Master Navigator in traditional Micronesian Navigation as conferred by the traditional Ppwo Ceremony.
Lambert is of the Weriyeng School of Navigation, which began on Pollap Island a long, long time ago. The world-renowned traditional navigator, Mau Pialug, is of the same school, holding the prestigious title of Grandmaster Navigator. Urupiy of Satawal, now living in Lamotrek, is a Grandmaster Navigator Emeritus of the same Weriyeng School.

Lambert had held positions in the former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Government as supervisor of inter-island and ocean transportation, has been a member of the former Congress of Micronesia and held positions in the Chuuk State Government in both the executive and legislative branches. He has also been the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Lambert is married to Esten and they have thirteen children. They live in Pollap.

Nathan:

Nathan Acker, Bill's oldest son, will celebrate his 16th birthday on the 4th of September. A birthday ceremony at sea was planned but will now have to take place on land due to the unexpected delay in departure. Nate is a student at the Yap SDA School and is missing the first part of his Junior year to accompany his dad on this historic voyage.

Ben and Maruw:

Ben Tured and his oldest son Maruw were vacationing in Bali with the rest of their family until Bill called them over to Surabaya to help make the ship ready for sail. Ben, an attorney, is the head of the Micronesian Legal Services office in Yap and Maruw is missing the first part of his Sophomore year in college to accompany his dad and uncle on the voyage to Yap.

Last, but not least, we have Dominic Naman with us from Yap. Naman works at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel and wanted to join the crew delivering Mnuw to Yap. Naman has been part of the Manta Ray family for over 3 years and is a welcome addition to the gang.

More updates will follow but be sure to visit the web site daily to follow the progress across the Indonesian Archipelago and on up into Micronesia (check out the new updated route plan here). If you did not enter our contest, you missed an opportunity for a free week in Yap but we would hope this epic adventure spurs you to consider visiting Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Hotel in the near future. Mnuw will be available for your dining pleasure from mid September of this year.

Recaulcing the hull.

Rob Camarda and Reg Johns have joined the team in Surabaya. They have come up from Fremantle in Western Australia where they operate a marine shipyard, WA Shiprwrighting (waship@dmn.com.au). The purpose of having Rob and Reg up here is to clad the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk) with copper sheathing under the waterline. This will most likely be the first Indonesian Phinisi to ever be copper sheathed and is one of the largest vessels to be covered in copper in years.

Bill Acker is adding this to Mnuw for several reasons. The first, and most obvious, is to preserve the Ulin (Iron Wood) hull and protect the ship from marine boring worms. The second reason is to conform to the historical norms of large sailing ships and finally the copper will age naturally and become even more beautiful as time goes on.

Umbi cutting copper.

There will be 4,800 pounds of copper sheets and 130 pounds of copper nails applied to the ship. This equates to 542 square yards (462 square meters) of copper covering the hull. Before the copper can be applied, the hull is re-caulked and then pressure washed with all marine shells carefully removed. Next comes 2 layers of cold tar epoxy paint, then a 3 millimeter layer of bitumen applied with propane torches to smooth our rough edges and give the hull added protection from marine boring animals. Finally the copper sheets are tacked on as the last layer. The entire project will take 10 days and require 20 men working 8 hour shifts to accomplish.

First piece of copper goes on.

You can follow the progress of the refit of Mnuw on our web site. There will be regular updates submitted from the crew in Surabaya leading up to departure on the 31st of August. You could also be the lucky winner of a week in Yap courtesy of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers. To enter the contest, just tell us your best guess as to the correct arrival time in Yap of the vessel.

Good luck and hope to see you in Yap this year!

Thomas Schubert .

If you have been following Bill Acker's updates from Surabaya, you will remember that Mr. Thomas Schubert of Palau is also part of the team on-sight at the dry dock in Indonesia. Thomas was instrumental in the remodeling of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel, which was completed earlier this year and has now turned his considerable talents towards outfitting the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk).

Thomas is the owner of the Palau Shop, the finest boutique store in Micronesia, which specializes in Indonesian and Micronesian handicrafts and apparel. Mr. Schubert (palaushop@palaunet.com) also co-owns Kramer's Cafe located in the Etpsiom Museum on Palau's main street. Kramer's has quickly become the place to eat in Palau and as such Thomas hosts all the finest gatherings. He regularly consults for the hospitality industry and serves as a buyer for retailers.

Brass telescope .

Thomas specialty is handicrafts and furniture but he can be counted on to source almost anything originating in Asia or Europe. He comes very highly recommended by Bill Acker and his family, so if you are in the market for anything you see on these pages, feel free to contact him and say we sent you.

In today's update, we feature some of the brass antique work that Thomas has purchased for the ship. A later update will feature the furniture that will go in the restaurant, bar and lounge areas. Our pictures will NOT do justice to the beauty and value of these pieces but you can well imagine the excitement of the team in seeing these solid brass antiques, which will be prominently featured throughout Mnuw. Thomas has purchased everything from miniature cannons to swords to a propane torch. Naturally, most of his attention has been focused on marine works.

Crow's Nest on Mnuw.

Bill Acker and Fredy Gull have just reported in from Surabaya where work continues on Mnuw (Sea Hawk) in preparation for her departure to Yap. The management team have all gathered in Surabaya to oversee various aspects of the work. While there are others to come, namely Greg Wilson of Cook Island Divers (gwilson@ci-divers.co.ck) and Rob Westerfield of the Yap Public Service Corporation, the crew on site is handling the bulk of the work.

This crew includes the tremendous talents of Mr. Ketut Pegig of Bali, Mr. Jimmy Blee of Sumbawa Besar, Mr. Harsono of Jakarta and Ms. Hatima of Sumbawa Besar. Mr. Ketut has proven time and again to be a life saver and one of the main people responsible for the current success of the project. Those of you following this story are very familiar with Mr. Jimmy Blee (etindmar@denpasar.wasantara.net.id) and his crew of boat builders who have been the prime construction team since way back in March.

Mr. Ketut Pegig and Ms. Hatima.

Hatima is a lady who has shown time and time again that she can handle rough teams of traditional boat builders and get them to construct modern amenities of the highest standards. She is being assisted in Surabaya by Jimmy's new bride - Ari. They took time off from building the Mnuw to get married in mid July. Honeymoon pending.

The above are now joined by Mr. Harsono and members of his team from Jakarta. Mr. Harsono is responsible for all of the mechanical and electrical works including installation of the dumb waiter which will serve the galley, the main restaurant as well as the Nautical Weaver Bar.

Loading of the dumb waiter.

Last, but certainly not least, is Mr. Thomas Schubert of Palau, Micronesia. Thomas has been involved with the project almost from the conception and is now in Surabaya overseeing the furniture construction and overall decoration of the boat. Thomas has just returned from a 3 day trip in the interior of Java where he stalked furniture makers and brass ships' chandlers. He came back bearing gifts that all of you will enjoy seeing on the Mnuw.

Mr. Harsono and Mr. Thomas Schubert.

Please continue visiting our web site for updates on the progress of construction as well as to follow the actual 2,200 mile voyage from Surabaya to Yap. You may be the lucky one to win a complimentary week at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers. You must enter our contest to be eligible to win.

Fredy Gull.

Bill Acker and Fredy Gull (yes, that Fredy Gull) left Yap on Sunday morning the 5th of August bound for Surabaya. After a short stay in Guam, they flew to Bali, spent the night and arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia at 8 AM on the 7th. Both will be in Indonesia, working on the completion of Mnuw (Sea Hawk) until her departure for Yap.

For those of you who have been to Yap in the past, you may remember Fredy as the Swiss manager of Yap Divers. Fredy was with us in Yap for 4 years and then left to open and manage a family restaurant outside of Zurich, Switzerland. After 3 years in Switzerland, he came to his senses and is now back home at Yap Divers as the Operations Manager. At Bill's urging, he has come to Indonesia to design and oversee the installation of the kitchen on Mnuw and to serve as the Chef for the delivery to Yap.

Stainless steel kitchen flooring going down.

The ship is currently in dry dock at Tanjung Perak, Surabaya and will remain in dry dock until the 26th of August. At the moment, Jimmy Blee's crew of ship builders is still on the boat as are Captain Ramli and his ship's crew. All these men are busy putting the finishing touches on the teak construction. In addition to the regular workers, 14 separate contractors are on the boat doing everything from installing rigging, sealing the wooden sides, painting the interior, painting the hull, installing lighting, air-conditioning and perhaps most unique of all, installing a complete stainless steel kitchen from floor to ceiling.

View from bow of Mnuw on August 9th.

We are on schedule to depart for Yap on the 31st of August. The ship will be under the command of Captain Serphin Single of Yap and he will be assisted by 14 of Bill's family and friends. Daily updates will be forthcoming while under way and more construction updates, live from Indonesia, will appear from time to time as Bill has the chance to communicate with Patrik Nilsson in Stockholm, Sweden. Patrik is the Web Master for Manta Ray Bay Hotel and is responsible for our award winning web site.

Please continue to monitor these pages and be sure to enter our contest to guess the time it will take to deliver the ship from Surabaya to Yap.

Captain Ramli and crew recently moved the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk) from Sumbawa Besar to Surabaya. We have gone from a gorgeous, sleepy backwater lagoon to one of the world’s most bustling seaports. Surabaya will be our home until we depart for Yap on the 31st of August.

In Surabaya, Mr. Jimmy Blee and his team of skilled boat builders will be installing the mizzen mast, the stainless steel rigging, all doors and windows, building interior furniture and overseeing the installation of the galley.

My good buddy Jimmy did an excellent job of pulling together 40 odd craftsmen, 3 or 4 chiefs, the local government officials and over 100 tons of precious tropical hardwoods in order to complete Phase One on time. The Mnuw departed Sumbawa Besar at 1 AM on the 7th of July. She pulled into Celekan Bawang Harbor in North Bali to pick up Jimmy at 4 PM on the 9th and departed at 5:30 PM the same day. She arrived in Surabaya at 12:15 PM on the 11th. (A bit of a hint for those of you who are going to enter our web site promotion by guessing the time it will take from Surabaya to Yap.)

Mnuw is currently docked outside the shipyard in Gresik Harbour awaiting her turn in the dry dock, which is now scheduled for July 25th. During the dry dock, she will be cleaned, her hull repaired and painted and a team from Australia, led by Mr. Rob Camarda of WA Shipwrighting, will be on hand to completely sheath the underwater portion of the hull in copper plate. Not only will this make her look better but it will protect the valuable timber from marine boring worms for years and years to come.

As Mnuw is waiting on the dry dock, another team of craftsmen are on board installing the stainless steel floors and walls for the galley along with stainless steel pans which will sit under all of the public toilet areas and behind the bar. The mizzen mast has been installed and a 2nd team of workers are now changing all the old steel rigging and installing new stainless rigging.

While Mnuw is being worked on in Indonesia, the Manta Ray Bay is also being readied for the ship’s arrival in Yap. Here is a shot of the dock area and part of the room expansion. The stern of Mnuw will be moored close enough to this new land fill to allow our guests to walk on and off her via a covered walkway. The ship will be easily accessible to wheelchair customers as well as anyone needing a bit of assistance in walking. Hotel guests will have a private door leading directly from the hotel to the ship’s entrance while our other guests will enter directly from the parking lot.

We invite everyone to follow along as we continue the refit of the former M/V Bunga Berkat Usaha and transform her into the S/V Mnuw (Sea Hawk). Regular progress reports will appear on our web site and when we actually depart Surabaya for Yap, a daily live update will be posted to the site by our web master, Mr. Patrik Nilsson of Stockholm, Sweden who will be onboard with us.

In addition to these updates, we will be sponsoring a contest, offering a one week stay at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers. To win, you need to predict the time it will take us to sail from Surabaya to Yap. Click here for full details.

Mnuw is due in Yap between the 15th and 17th of September and we are inviting anyone interested in seeing her to join us after the 22nd of September. It will take us some time to connect her to the island utility grid as well as clean her from the 2,100 mile voyage. If you are interested in visiting Yap, seeing Mnuw and diving our wonderful reefs, please contact your favorite travel agent, dive wholesaler or Bill Acker.

Chef Munn is busy creating an expanded menu, the dive shop guys are getting ready to add a 6th boat to the fleet, that boat is currently in Surabaya and will ride to Yap with us on Mnuw, and the hotel staff are preparing for the 8 new rooms.

The Buginese Phinisi Bunga Berkat Usaha as she was in March of 2001. Built of Ulin (Ironwood) from Kalimantan, Indonesia and used as a lumber carrier until purchased by the Acker family in February, she will be converted to a restaurant and moved to Yap Island in September of this year.

Mnuw - Sea Hawk, sitting in Sumbawa Besar, Indonesia in June of this year. Still carrying the name BBU, the boat is more than 2/3 complete as far as the physical refit is concerned. From here, she moves to Surabaya, Indonesia to have the electrical, plumbing and mechanical aspects added.

I have just returned from a week long visit to Mr. Jimmy Blee at his boat yard in Sumbawa Besar. Jimmy, one of a long list of rogue Australians living in Indonesia, is working 7 days a week getting our ship ready to move to Surabaya where the "modern" aspects of the project will be installed.

As you may know, Jimmy worked for the famed Aman Resort Company for 9 years and recently hosted the Chairman and founder of the chain onboard the Mnuw. Mr. Adrian Zecha was most impressed with the vessel and especially the concept. While I was in Sumbawa, Mr. Jean-Michel Gathy, the head architect for Aman Resorts was onboard and he too fell in love with the concept. Mr. Zecha plans to be in Yap shortly after the arrival of Mnuw to see firsthand what we do with her.

When the ship arrives in Yap, she will have a first class kitchen/galley area for Chef Bill Munn to properly exercise his culinary skills. Chef Munn’s Pacific Fusion Cuisine has helped establish him as one of the leading chefs in all of Micronesia. In addition, the ship will be home to the Nautical Weaver Bar, the Maagirag Lounge, which will double as Yap’s finest meeting facility and conference room, and the Crow’s Nest Bar. Mnuw will also be home to a Micro Brewery which will produce Bill Acker’s infamous Manta Brew.

The Pacific’s best Happy Hour will also take place on the various decks of Mnuw. Starting with the firing of the canons at 5 PM and continuing through 7 PM, our guests will be treated to daily entertainment and drinks - all in the atmosphere of a South Seas Sailing Schooner.

We invite you to follow the progress of the re-fitting of Mnuw - the Sea Hawk on our web site. We will be giving away a one week, all expenses paid stay at the hotel/dive center for a lucky couple who most accurately predict the time it will take us to sail the ship from Surabaya to Yap. We leave dry dock on the 31st of August and will head for Yap immediately (you can check out the tentative route plan here). Should you have any questions, please contact me at: billacker@mantaray.com.

Should you wish to visit Yap and experience Mnuw for yourself, please contact your local travel agent, dive shop or favorite dive travel wholesaler. Be sure to tell them you want one week in Yap at the Manta Ray Bay Hotel and they will do the rest. If you need assistance with other dive locales in Micronesia, please don’t hesitate to write us and we will be happy to help you.

Until we see you on Mnuw, happy diving.

We are extremely excited to finally release the news of our new restaurant and bar which will be ready for business mid September of this year. This event is the culmination of countless hours of discussions, thousands of miles of travel, weeks in the jungles of the world and last but not least, many cold beers shared between our fearless leader, and head pirate, Bill Acker and his crew. This will be the single biggest event to happen to Micronesian tourism in many years. Certainly old hotels have been renovated and names have changed but nothing this new and exciting has happened.

Imagine yourself sitting at the Crow's Nest Bar on a hundred-year-old wooden sailing schooner, measuring over 170 feet (55 meters) in length, having a cold beer and reminiscing with your dive buddies about the school of manta rays that were hovering inches from your head an hour ago! The Mnuw (Sea Hawk) is coming!

The idea of bringing a South Seas schooner to Yap was hatched between Bill and a good friend of his, Mr. Peter Howard of Maui, Hawaii, over two years ago. Since that time, Bill has scoured the world to find the right ship, find the right person to refit the ship and securing all the clearances needed to purchase and bring the ship to Yap. From South Texas to South Sulawesi, from Northern Madagascar to Northern Borneo and from the Eastern Caribbean to Eastern Sumbawa, Bill searched high and low for the right vessel. Finally, on the 10th of March, the deal was signed in a law office in Ginyar, Bali under a ceiling fan with tropical birds singing in the garden. The traditional Buginese cargo ship Bunga Berkat Usaha was acquired by Manta Ray Bay Hotel.

Renamed Mnuw (in the Yapese language Mnuw is the name of a rare sea hawk that is seldom seen but yet famous in Yapese traditional lore), the ship was moved to Sumbawa Besar and placed in the hands of an Australian rogue by the name of Jimmy Blee. Jimmy is famous throughout Southeast Asia for his work with the world-renowned Aman Resorts hotel chain. Between spending weeks with Rolling Stones star Mick Jagger and shooting a movie with Geena Davis, Jimmy found time to raise a sunken ship, rebuild her into a first class live-aboard dive boat and start a marine business.

Needless to say, Jimmy and Bill hit it off better than two peas in a pod and the result is going to be a magnificent, two-masted sailing ship. She will sit in front of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel and offer our guests two air-conditioned private dining rooms, two bars, a movie room, a game room, meeting rooms and the ambiance of the South Seas. Our famous Nautical Weaver Bar will be moved to the wheel house deck and will command a gorgeous view of Tomil Harbor. Jimmy, Bill, Bill’s oldest son Nathan, brother-in-law Ben Tured and his son Maru, along with Captain Serfin Single, Theo Gumang, Rob Westerfield, Jim Tobin and a host of others will sail the boat from Surabaya, Indonesia on August 31st . She will sail through the cut of Yap's main channel around the 15th of September. If you want to be here to celebrate, or be among the first to sample Chef Munn's new cuisine, please see your favorite travel wholesaler or visit our reservation page to book your trip.

Please visit the web site often in the coming months to follow the progress of this magnificent project.