Take a journey through the wonders of Yap. From stone money, to cultural dances, to Yapese "highways", to traditional fishing and anciant mariners, you will be sure to experince the richness of Yapese life.
Yap is belived to have been settled by a seafaring people from the area today known as eastern Indonesia and the southern part of the Philippines sometime around 1500 B.C.
Yap is probably best known among non-divers as the Land of Stone Money. Up to 12 feet in diameter these massive stone discs rate, without competition, as the largest coins in the world.
The Yapese have managed to maintain their ancient culture better than anywhere else in Micronesia. The heritage and traditions of the Yapese people are carefully nourished to preserve the Micronesian way of life.
Bill Acker, founder of the Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers, is proud to share his love of Yap and diving with guests from all over the world. A resident of Yap for almost 30 years, Bill is eminently qualified to make your Micronesian dive experience one that you’ll never forget. Bill and his family own and operate the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.
Welcome to The Manta Ray Bay Resort. We are a small, 4-star resort located on the wonderful island of Yap in Micronesia. Enjoy your stay in our luxurious, individually themed rooms. Delight your tastes at our floating restaurant, the Mnuw Restaurant and Bar. Dive in to adventure with our expericed dive team. Relax into bliss at our Taro Leaf Spa. Welcome to paradise.
Our resort offers many different package and activities for everyone to enjoy the wonders of Yap. From our hotel & diving packages to island tours to kayak adventures to spa treatments, our resort offers packages individually tailored to you.
There are many special times to visit Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Resort, like Yap Day, MantaFest, and during the manta ray mating season. Plus, we have partnered with the best resort operators and vessels in the region to offer truly unique and luxurious experiences.
The Mnuw is the most unique restaurant and bar in Micronesia if not the world. She is a 170ft (55m) Phinisi schooner from Indonesia with 3 dining decks, 2 bars and her kitchen all on board.
The Manta Ray Bay Resort was built FOR divers, BY divers. Our harborside dive center, Yap Divers, has everything you’d expect from a PADI 5-star facility and SSI Platinum Dive Center, and so much more. Yap Divers is a full-service facility with modern boats, rental gear, dive shop, camera bays, gear rinse and storage.
The Taro Leaf Spa takes the best of everything that is Yapese to bring you an experience that will, relax, energize, invigorate, revitalize and harmonize you.
Come experience all that Yap has to offer. From exclusive, world-class diving to vibrant mangroves to pristine beaches to a fascinating history to a rich, anciant culture, Yap truly is a wonder to behold.
Serving only 1,000 divers a year, we offer our guests crowd-free dive sites and VIP service. Yap has a resident population of manta rays and several shallow cleaning stations where divers can see mantas year-round. And, Yap is more than just mantas! We have great blue water diving, shark diving, wall diving, critter diving, black water diving and large schools of big game fish!
Among the mangroves you will go were none can go but by kayak. There are no roads, no way to bring a powered boat in and no habitation, there is but you and nature. This is the perfect way to explore one of the few ecosystems on this planet that remains untouched by man.
Imagine looking over the side of the boat into ink blue water so clear that you can see fish swimming 100 feet below you. Imagine being on a boat 20 yards from the edge of the reef, looking across the turquoise colored lagoon to the verdant, green tropical island in the background. You cast your lure into the surf breaking on the edge of the reef and then boom – a huge black Giant Trevally comes from the surf line and attacks your wooden bait. The fight is on.
The Manta Ray Bay Hotel’s Concierge staff offer a complete range of land tours specifically designed to showcase the unique island culture of Yap. Everything from the famous stone money and stone money banks, to traditional thatched roof men’s houses, centuries old stone paths which are still used to connect the various villages, to the flora and fauna.
On Yap you can spend all day on a private beach with your partner, dive buddy or group in the village with no one else around. We arrange private beach trips, group events, parties and BBQs.
The Taro Leaf Spa takes the best of everything that is Yapese to bring you an experience that will, relax, energize, invigorate, revitalize and harmonize you.
Here you will find out the latest goings on in Yap, photo galleries of visiting pros and visitors alike. Plus, a library of wallpapers for your desktop and mobile devices.
Swimming with manta rays is a life-changing experience for many divers. Yap's Manta Ray Bay is one of the world's premier destinations for these encounters, providing scuba divers and snorkelers a rare chance to experience manta rays in their natural habitat.
Throughout the years we have been honored to host several top professional photographers and videographers. From Paul Tzimoulis to William "Bill" Macdonald. From Marty Snyderman to Andy Schumacher. From David Doubilet to David Fleetham plus many, many more. We are very honored to be able to share some of the images captured in Yap by these great friends.
Imagine the thousands of divers who have visited us over the years. Now imagine the wonderful memories they captured via photographs both above and below water. We want to share these with you and ask you to consider posting your memories of Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.
We know it can be a daunting task to book travel to Yap with diffeent time zones, the International Date Line and often confusing flight schedules. Let us help you make getting to Yap a warm, tropical breeze. Ask Bill!
Here you will find the latest information about the latest on flights to Yap. There are both international and regional carries currently servicing the island. And, for flight help you can always Ask Bill!
Texto de: B_rad Concluímos duas semanas de mergulhos incríveis desta edição da Manta Fest com uma celebração ao estilo Bill Acker e Manta Ray Bay, uma comemoração com as cores tradicionais de Yap. A festa ocorreu a bordo do Mnuw com um coquetel, um buffet local para a janta, apresentação de slides das inscrições do concurso de imagens e a cerimônia de premiação.
E a Festa Varou a Noite…
Gente bacana, bebidas fortes e boa comida deram início às festividades e todos tivemos a oportunidade de aproveitar a festa junto aos profissionais convidados, esperando que retornem o ano que vem.
Resultados Oficiais
Seguem aqui todas as fotos finalistas em DSLR e não-DSLR nas quatro categorias, grandes animais, cenas do recife, macro e pessoas/cultura. Os apresentadores disseram ter sido este o ano de julgamento mais difícil da história do evento.
dSLR
Judy Bennett – Melhor do evento
Anke Rorbach – 1o. & 3o. lugares
Craig Berludsen – 2o. lugar
Noriyuki Otani
Brett Thomson
Julie Shuttleworth
Jason Tzimoulis
Anke Rorbach
Julie Shuttleworth
não-dSLR
Julia Wissel – 1o. lugar
Sheila Ott – 2o. lugar
Marcus Pfab – 3o. lugar
Mike Martini
Colin Gowers
Yokiko Otani
Loris Berduldsen
Chad Shumway
Menções Honrosas
Judy Bennett
Marcus Pfab
Julia Wissel
Mike Martini
Craig Berludsen
Anke Rorbach
Julie Shuttleworth
Jennifer Hackman
Brett Thomson
Viagens de Mergulho de Sonho e Equipamentos
Isso é o que ganharam os vencedores dessa edição – de uma viagem super luxuosa em um liveaboard na Indonésia, com a Dive Damai, a conjuntos de equipamentos Mares, incluindo regulador, computador, máscara, snorkel e nadadeiras… e uma penca de outros prêmios dos patrocinadores do evento.
Todo mundo voltou para casa com algo; havia inclusive uma sacola de tralhas surpresa em que todos podiam buscar algo para levar antes do final da festa.
Nossos Palestrantes Profissionais
Frank Schneider
www.sharkinthepool.comFrank deu aulas , workshops e treinamentos individuais em Alemão e Inglês na sala de conferências com um projetor, ou na piscina entre uma cerveja e outra. Ele liderou grupos em barcos e imergiu literalmente em aulas sobre tubarões em Vertigo. Frank usa uma combinação de equipamentos Nikon e Seacam e dele pode-se esperar apresentações sobre obtenção de imagens que são super estimulantes.
Andy Shumacher
www.schumacherfilm.de Andy é o profissional de vídeo da Manta fest, tendo feito clips promocionais durante todo o evento e ajudado a drenar os barris de cerveja à beira da piscina
depois dos mergulhos. Ele esteve sempre disponível para qualquer um interessado em filmar e editar vídeo, tendo feito tutoriais e sessões individuais, falando Inglês e Alemão. Você pode ver uma parte do trabalho de Andy no canal Youtube e na social media do Manta Ray Bay.
Ray Bullion
www.raybullion.comRay é o gerenteregional do sudoeste norte-americano do Henderson Sport Group e gerente regional de contas da American Underwater Producys, que representa marcas como Henderson Wetsuits, Neo Sport Wetsuits, Hyperflex Wetsuits, Strormr, Oceanic, Ocean Pro, Hollis, Aeris e Lavacore. Ray tem mergulhado e fotografado a Micronésia quase há tanto tempo como Tim.
Tim Rock
timrock.photoshelter.comTim começou a fotografar Yap mesmo antes de haver estradas por aqui. Nesta viagem ele estava testando uma novíssima caixa-estanque Aquatica, a D7100, que ele deixou a Judy experimentar e copm a qual ela tirou a sua foto do tubarão galha-preta que levou a Melhor do Evento. Tim pode ser encontrado puxando sua modelo ao redor do recife com uma tira para prender cilindros, e contribuindo para que os mergulhos sejam mais divertidos.
www.martysnyderman.comDavid e Marty passam boa parte de seu tempo fazendo educação e treinamento, e fazendo crescer o seu apetite por fotografia. Eles desenvolveram um app de histograma que pode ser baixado na iTunes e que ajudará você a entender e utilizar melhor a luminosidade e os histogramas de RGB. Eles também trazem muita informação sobre a vida marinha, o que ajuda a produzir fotos realmente interessantes. Nós aprendemos sobre processamento de imagens em Lightroom e Photoshop e também como conseguir aquela foto de um peixe bocejando ou moréia sendo limpa por camarões… A Manta Fest deste ano termina, mas antes mesmo dos hóspedes terem ido embora já temos 1/3 do hotel reservado para a do ano que vem. Se você está pensando em vir, dê um alô para o Bill e guarde seu espaço para 2014!