This is one of those moments that you never forget… the day a Yap Manta Ray gave you the full eye contact investigation pass in epic slow motion. This is my first sequence of photos that look like the Manta Ray came to the cleaning station to watch the humans – this Ray over-delivered on the up-close natural Manta encounter promise that Yap offers all year. All of this happened within arm’s reach of our 6 person dive group and immediately upon arriving at the cleaning station.

Any closer than this and we’d be touching them. Sometimes these overhead passes happen so slowly that you find yourself not exhaling for about 15 seconds while you are eye-to-eye one of these passing by at just over hover speed. This ray conducted a full figure-8 investigation pass right behind our heads.

  

This was our guest’s first right-beside-you manta ray encounters. After an hour, I let our guide know and kicked back through the lagoon to the boat. There were three to four animals at the site throughout the dive.

You know it was a good dive when the boat captain still has them by the tank valve and they’re already telling you their story… “Oh man, as soon as you left two or three more showed up and they went right over the top of our heads!”. That’s what I call a “goggles on” customer satisfaction rating, when the story gets told with goggles still on.