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.
Give a big welcome to Kudakwashe “Kuda” Lusinga, Manta Ray Bay Resort’s new head chef, blends Zimbabwean and Yapese flavors with standout dishes like Stuffed Pork and Dovi Chicken. Inspired by his uncle and a passion for cooking, Chef Kuda brings creativity, culture, and fresh ideas to the Mnuw restaurant, delighting guests with innovative cuisine.
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 We wrapped up two killer dive weeks and this year’s Manta Fest with a custom Bill Acker and Manta Ray Bay celebration in traditional Yap color. The party was held on the Mnuw with cocktail hour, local buffet dinner, slideshow of the contest entries and the awards ceremony.
Evening Kick Off
Cool people, strong drinks and good food started the festivities and we all got a chance to mingle and party with the pro’s until next year.
Official Results
Here’s all of the final entries for dSLR and non-dSLR in all four categories; big animals, reef scenic, macro and people / culture. The presenters said that this year was the most difficult judging to date. Here’s our shooter’s takes
dSLR
Judy Bennett – Best of show
Anke Rorbach – 1st & 3rd place
Craig Berludsen – 2nd place
Noriyuki Otani
Brett Thomson
Julie Shuttleworth
Jason Tzimoulis
Anke Rorbach
Julie Shuttleworth
não-dSLR
Julia Wissel – 1st place
Sheila Ott – 2nd place
Marcus Pfab – 3rd place
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
Luxury dive trips and gear
This is where it all got handed out – from a 10 day super luxury Indonesian liveaboard trip with Dive Damai, to a Mares dive gear package, that included a regulator, computer, mask, snorkel and fins… and an assortment of other sponsor’s prizes. Everybody went home with something, there was even a gear grab bag that everyone got to reach into before they left.
Our Pro Presenters
Frank Schneider
www.sharkinthepool.comFrank offers classes, workshops as well as one-on-one training in German and English in a conference room with a projector or at the pool over a beer.
He leads boat groups and gets elbow deep in the shark school at Vertigo.
Fank shoots a Nikon and Seacam combination and is reliable for some stimulating media presentations.
Andy Shumacher
www.schumacherfilm.deAndy is Manta Fest’s video pro, films promotional clips throughout the contest and helps drain kegs in the pool after diving.
He’s available to anyone interested in shooting / working with video for tutorials or 0ne-on-one traning and speaks German and English.
You will see some of Andy’s work on the Manta Ray Youtube channel and social media feed.
Ray Bullion
www.raybullion.comRay is the southwestern regional manager for Henderson Sport Group and a regional account manager for American Underwater Products representing brands such as: Henderson wetsuits, Neo Sport wetsuits, Hyperflex wetsuits, Strormr, Oceanic, Ocean Pro, Hollis, Aeris and Lavacore.
Ray’s been diving and shooting Micronesia almost as long as Tim.
Tim Rock
timrock.photoshelter.comTim started shooting photos of Yap before there were roads here.
This trip he was testing a brand new D7100 Aquatica Housing that he let Judy demo when she shot the best of show black tip photo.
Tim can be found towing his model around the reef by a tank strap and keeping the diving fun.
contribuindo para que os mergulhos sejam mais divertidos.
www.martysnyderman.comDavid and Marty put in a lot of time with education, training and growing your photography game.
They developed a histogram app that is available on iTunes that will help you understand and learn to use luminosity and RGB histograms.
These guys also bring sealife knowledge which make for really interesting photos.
We learned professional post capture processing in Lightroom and Photoshop and how to nail that shot of a fish yawning, or eel getting cleaned.
We’re done with this year’s party and before the guests left, the hotel is already 1/3 booked for next year – if you’re planning on coming to a Manta Fest, give Bill a call and get hooked up for next year.