Phew! What A Year… Our 2023 Recap!
In the past year, we have experienced a roller coaster ride, from finally opening in January with two flights a month to getting our first divers from Switzerland to our first snorkelers from the US. We celebrated when the island received a weekly Tuesday flight, which helped with travel movement and resulted in a second weekly flight commencing in April. There are no words to describe how wonderful it is to be able to welcome people back to the island and to have the ability to provide jobs to the community.
As a true believer in the power of dedication, I believe the essence of a strong business is its people. The return of some of our “old” staff members has been a great pleasure since most of them have left us or relocated to other islands in the region or retired because of the pandemic.
Over the course of the year, we welcomed back familiar faces such as Ben and Stella at the front desk, Leslie at our gift shop, Nico and JP at the dive shop, as well as Terencia ‘Erin’ at the Mnuw. We continue to welcome new faces into our MRBR family as we re-introduce ourselves to the world.
AN OLD GEEZER RACKING AIR MILES
With Covid behind us, my wife Patricia and I hit the road in January for Düsseldorf, Germany and the BOOT Show. This is the world’s largest diving show. It was SO GREAT to see all our friends at Mares. We met all our past German customers, who have incredible loyalty to visit us when we exhibit at the show. We also renewed acquaintances with our European wholesalers. Not least of the excitement was meeting new customers who wanted to visit Yap and dive with us. We had a blast!
From Germany, we traveled to Long Beach, California in June for the SCUBA Show. Again, we were thrilled to meet our North American wholesalers, past customers and renew acquaintances with our friends in the industry. We were also very fortunate to have our oldest son, Nathan, join us in Long Beach. From there Patricia and I went to Utah to visit friends and she went to Atlanta with her sister from Yap to visit their sister living in Atlanta. We met up in Seattle to visit our youngest son OP who is now in the Navy and living on Whidbey Island with his family.
Patricia and I traveled to New Orleans in November to exhibit at DEMA, the largest dive show in the country. What wonderful memories and time spent with old friends. All three of these shows were the first time we could exhibit since January of 2020 when Patricia and I were at the BOOT Show. Covid shut Yap and the FSM down for 3 years and we were thrilled to be back in the saddle again. Although the air miles traveled to do all of this were rough, it was worth it! We met many wonderful people, made some new friends, and had a wonderful time. It was a reminder of why we worked so hard to get back to the dive industry. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend these shows.
It was so worth it that I am heading back to Düsseldorf and the BOOT Show in January of 2024. I already have hotel bookings for Patricia and I to be in Los Angeles for the “Long Beach Show” that is being moved to LA next year. From there, we will be in Las Vegas for the DEMA Show next November.
We look forward to connecting with you at one of these shows as we are in the people business, and we are proud of who we are and what we offer our guests. We would love to chat with past and future guests when you have the time to stop at our booth.
A SNEAK PEEK OF WHAT’S AHEAD!
This year’s MantaFest Event was a very nostalgic event, with the return of our photo pros and MantaFest regulars. It has fueled excitement for this coming year’s various events, Yap Day, MantaFest and our newly introduced annual event, BlackwaterFest.
Yap’s annual Yap Day event will be held on the 1st of March 2024 hosted by the Gagil Municipality. The 17th annual MantaFest event will be from August 24 through September 7, 2024. This will be followed by the BlackwaterFest event from September 8 through September 14, 2024. Our annual MantaFest event will be extra special this coming year with the return of this year’s photo pros and the addition of Steve Miller and Andreas Schumacher. They will be ready to help you explore your inner photographer, as well as host fun activities that will introduce you to Yap’s beauty.
Mike Bartik, the godfather of blackwater diving, will be our featured presenter at our 2nd BlackWaterFest event. This adrenaline-filled event acquaints divers with a whole new way of seeing and experiencing the underwater world, with creatures that don’t look like they are from our planet. As well as teaching methods for capturing an unforgettable underwater shot at night, Mike will also be happy to answer any questions you may have. Yap Divers is the only place in the world where you can dive over one of the deepest parts of the ocean – the Yap Trench.
is YOU!
PARTING SHOT
Golfer gives up sex life for golf
A golfer is in a competitive match with a friend, who is ahead by a couple of strokes. “Boy, I’d give anything to sink this putt,” the golfer mumbles to himself. Just then, a stranger walks up beside him and whispers, “Would you be willing to give up one-fourth of your sex life?”
Thinking the man is crazy and his answer will be meaningless, the golfer also feels that maybe this is a good omen so he says, “Sure,” and sinks the putt.
Two holes later, he mumbles to himself again, “Gee, I sure would like to get an eagle on this one.” The same stranger is at his side again and whispers, “Would it be worth giving up another fourth of your sex life?” Shrugging, the golfer replies, “Okay.” And he makes an eagle.
On the final hole, the golfer needs another eagle to win. Without waiting for him to say anything, the stranger quickly moves to his side and says, “Would winning this match be worth giving up the rest of your sex life?” “Definitely,” the golfer replies, and he makes the eagle.
As the golfer is walking to the club house, the stranger walks alongside him and says, “I haven’t really been fair with you because you don’t know who I am. I’m the Devil, and from this day forward you will have no sex life.”
“Nice to meet you,” the golfer replies, “I’m Father O’Malley.”