Story & Photos by Tim Rock

Sunrise at Manta Ray Bay

Divers had a wonderful sunrise this morning and scattered to all parts of Yap. Some will do Yap Caverns on an all day three-dive trip, a few will go back for mantas and others will try the northern reefs. That will be followed by a traditional village tour and trip to Kaday for Yapese dancing and some local food.

Last night Marty Snyderman gave a wonderful presentation aboard the Mnuw on the sea and its inhabitants called “10,000 Dives in an Hour or So”. It featured video and stills done by Snyderman throughout his storied career.

Tonight I’ll show the folks something about marine preserves in the region including Yap, Guam and Rota in the Marianas.

The judges are now all gathered and ready for the entries.

Manta Fest Judges: (from left) Jan Sledsens of Yap Divers, Frank Schneider of Tauchen, Tim Rock - Double Blue Images, Guam, Marty Snyderman 0f Marty Snyderman Productions, Ray Bullion - Dive Computer Specialist

And Bill Acker is now back and in the mix. He is seen here with son O.P.

Manta Ray's O.P. & Bill Acker

An added sidelight, longtime Manta Ray employee Detlef Trux in charge of keeping Mnuw in ship shape is now doing hydroponic gardening on the hotel grounds. They call the site the “Garden of Eatin'”!!
This means fresh herbs, salads, spinach and lots more is now coming out of the garden, through the kitchen and into the mouths of grateful guests.

Detlef Trux displays his green thumb

Keep posted, more to come.

You’ll see stuff like this:

Manta Fest manta

Tim of the Deep