This is the Manta encounter of the year, and a Yap Divers exclusive story and why. Bill and his team have been doing this almost 20 years longer than anyone else on the Island and this week that fact can be demonstrated. Manta Rays feeding in clear shallow water, 25 minutes from the hotel room… this doesn’t happen often. It takes a number of natural conditions to line up for this to occur. The tide and moon cycle, current speed and direction as well as where the clear water meets the channel. There were 3 other boats out diving cleaning stations on the same day from two other operators on the island, but only one boat found its way to this scene. This is where experience rang in for 5 lucky Manta Ray Bay guests. Score another notch on John’s belt for being pro-active in the water.

Yap Divers Demonstrates Their Knowledge and Experience

John made this call on the fly. All of the conditions were right and he knew it, so he took a few minutes to go investigate a hunch he was having on a Manta dive site. Independently, he followed a breadcrumb trail of underwater signs that brought him onto a ball of bait fish and dancing Mantas. After finding the action, he rushed to the boat, prepped the dive group, got them in the water and put them right into the scene. The guests were inside a ball of feeding Mantas from the surface down to the sand bottom at 40 feet for over an hour and a half. Mantas breaching, scraping their bellies on the sand bottom and backflipping between corral heads in mid-water, the full blown natural Yap Manta feeding encounter, within arm’s reach. Everybody was happy about this dive, John’s boat group went home with a fantastic Manta Ray experience. That’s the difference in bottom time and Manta knowledge that Yap Divers delivers.