The outrigger canoes of the western Pacific islands of Yap are famous for their speed, performance and seaworthiness. The combination of hull shape, symmetry, and outrigger allow the craft to be quickly reversed when winds change, without the need to turn the hull around.

Two of the largest and rarest things in the world, one made by man and the other by Mother Nature, are found on Yap, the small, remote island that is a close neighbor of Guam. One of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, Yap is made up of four large, contiguous islands, seven small islands and 134 atolls that stretch across 100,000 square miles of ocean of which 22 islands and atolls are inhabited.

When it rains in the tropic, it pours. Thunderstorm clouds and extreme low tide turned our visit to the cleaning station in Goofnuw Channel off Yap in Micronesia into a night dive. “Only” two mantas at bad condition were not exactly uplifting, so when Yap Divers’ second boat arrived and its Captain casually mentioned they just spotted a couple of orcas, we took it with a grain of salt…

THE ISLAND OF YAP Society on the small, remote island of Yap is interconnected at all levels and each person has his or her own role to play, like the frames of the traditional buildings that are common throughout this Micronesian culture. It is said that, when tied together properly, a traditional Yapese building represents...

T-shirts are a valuable commodity on the small, remote Pacific island of Yap, and secondhand t-shirts are often more prized than new t-shirts.Ordered from used clothing dealers in the U.S., they arrive throughout the year in large cardboard boxes on supply ships for delivery to the small shops scattered around Colonia, the island’s only town....

Once upon a time, the remote Micronesian island of Yap in the western Pacific Ocean had some of the finest woodcarvers in the world. Today, the art is being passed on by a handful of elders who still have the skill and knowledge. But it’s feared that woodcarving is a dying art like so many...

It’s nearly 7:00 am. A rooster is screeching in the taro patch beneath my bedroom window as the sun begins its ascent. In the far distance, another rooster screams in reply.Back and forth they go in call and response like two preachers urging their flocks on. Unimpressed hens cluck and scratch nearby.A state-side friend, the...

Burning Man. Mardi Gras. SXSW. They’re on every bucket list of not-to-be-missed festivals. But do the crowds make you think twice about going? If you love festivals, but hate making your way through crowds of tourists, head to the remote island of Yap in the western Pacific Ocean where the tourists are minimal and the...

You know those underwater photos that show a split between what’s above the water and what’s below? Over/Under, or Split Images, is one of the many techniques that underwater photography enthusiasts learned during MantaFest, an annual photography festival held in Yap, Micronesia each year. MANTAFEST ON YAP The popular event hosted by the Manta Ray...

In the far western reaches of the Pacific Ocean, the small, remote island of Yap sits amid a rich coral habitat that is home to some of the largest sea creatures in the world.Divers come to Yap from all over to swim with the resident population of manta rays that have a wingspan of up...

Donors from around the world send school supplies to students on the small island of Fais [caption id="attachment_18059" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Students of Fais Mahol Community School thank their donors for the school supplies and instructional materials delivered by Pacific Mission Airways in late April. Photo courtesy of Susie Lesaletmang[/caption] Colonia, Yap-- With gasps and applause,...

Beer and seafaring. They go together like fish and chips. Since the 5th millennium B.C. when beer was first fermented by the Mesopotamians, the two have been irrevocably entwined. As the beverage made its way to Europe over the next centuries, a weak form was standard fare on the ships that plied the waters of...