• Depth: 15-65 ft | 5-20 m
• Visibility: 60-100+ ft | 18-30+ m
• Current: 0-2 mph | 0-5 km/h

Dominant Features

A series of vertical mini-walls from 20 – 50 ft. (6 – 15 M). Below 50 ft. (15 M) there’s a short plateau before a gentle sandy slope starts dropping off towards the ocean bottom.

Corals

As you move further north along the Mini Wall, the selection of hard corals becomes more diverse.

Fish Life

Many of the smaller fish school-up near the upper edge of the wall and lobsters have been found in the cuts and niches along the bottom of the wall. If you swim out over the sandy plateau that drops very slowly from 60′ to the ocean floor, you can see resting White Tips and Sting Rays.

• Depth: 30-100 ft | 9-30 m
• Visibility: 60-100+ ft | 18-30+ m
• Current: 0-2 mph | 0-5 km/h

Dominant Features

This site marks the northern boundary of regularly dived areas. A very gradual slope provides a large area of prime habitat for coral growth. The gradual dropoff provides hundreds of acres of habitat at 40 – 70 ft. (12 – 20 M) for hard corals to flourish on. Numerous large coral Pinnacles sprout up from the reef and are covered with a wide selection of marine life.

Corals

This site is hard coral heaven with an exceptional variety of hard corals in pristine condition. It is possible to see over three times the number of coral species that exist in the entire Caribbean on this one dive.

Fish Life

Count on finding a wide and plentiful range of reef fish, Turtles & Stingrays, and Sharks. Look for giant clams hiding in coral crevices.

• Depth: 20-100 ft | 6-30 m
• Visibility: 50-100+ ft | 15-30+ m
• Current: 0-1 mph | 0-2 km/h

Dominant Features

A vertical wall that curves in & out. The current usually less than 1/2 knot makes this an easy drift dive. This portion of the reef has a steeper wall than most of the sites on the east side of the Island. Sometimes done as a night dive if the seas are particularly calm.

Corals

Big crevices running perpendicular to the reef are filled with many of the hardy, star, and table corals. The wall is covered by a good variety of hard corals with occasional small soft corals mixed in.

Fish Life

Look for a lot of small schooling reef fish at the top of the wall. Turtles frequently sleep in crevices along this section of the reef. Sharks, Barracuda, and Morays are seen in the daytime. Lionfish, Stonefish, and Lobsters at night.

This 374 sq ft. Ocean View Room comes with two queen size beds. This room has a large marble top work desk, large wardrobe with drawers and plenty of storage space.

The room has beautiful antique furniture from the Philippines. The room comes with its own garden overlooking the sea, giving wonderful views of the bay.

Each room at the Manta Ray Bay Resort is themed to correspond to a sea creature you may encounter on your dives.

• This Room Features:
• 325 sq. ft.
• Ocean view with private garden balcony
• 2 queen sized beds, American standard
• 110V Outlets
• IDD Telephone
• Air Conditioning & ceiling fan
• In-Room, High-Speed Internet Access
• Potable in-room hot & cold water

Experience the Manta Ray room…

This 346 sq ft. Ocean View Room with private garden was completely remodeled in November 2009 with all new tile, bathroom fixtures and furniture.

There are 2 queen size beds with individual built-in reading lights, air-conditioning, ceiling fan, large shower with hot & cold water, built in hair dryer, refrigerator, international direct dial phone, Internet access, tile floors, large wardrobe with drawers, shelves, removable rattan hangers and large marble work desk.

Each room at the Manta Ray Bay Resort is themed to correspond to a sea creature you may encounter on your dives.

• This Room Features:
• 346 sq. ft.
• Ocean view with private garden balcony
• 2 queen sized beds, American standard
• 110V Outlets
• IDD Telephone
• Air Conditioning & ceiling fan
• In-Room, High-Speed Internet Access
• Potable in-room hot & cold water

Experience our Spotted Dolphin room…

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.

Yapese culture centers around the village. Most Yapese still live in villages as their ancestors have for millennia. The contrast between old and new is sometimes staggering to the casual visitor, as well educated Yapese, fluent in English and with access to modern schooling and health care still prefer to lead their lives in the old fashioned way.

Village life is influenced by a caste system that is complex and full of subtle nuances a visitor can never hope to fully understand. Status and success in Yapese society can be gained in a variety of ways, but the acquisition of material wealth in western fashion is not one of them.

A shy, but gentle and friendly person, the Yapese welcome visitors from abroad. On our cultural tours, you will have the opportunity to visit a village and experience village life and traditions for yourself.

The Yapese have a strong tradition of chants and dances, often of ancient origin. The chants and dances always tell a story, and teaching them to each new generation is an important part of preserving the Yapese heritage. Be sure to check out our video clips of some traditional Yapese dances.

Magic and ritual have a strong influence on Yapese society. “The magic is strong in Yap” is a commonly held opinion throughout most of the western Pacific, where the Yapese are held in great esteem as great sorcerers and navigators.

Cultural tours of Yap with Manta Ray Bay Resort and Spa

• 10m/33ft to 20m/66ft
• Vertical reef wall
• Reef plateau at 15m/45ft
• Stunning visibility
• Gentle to no current

Vertigo is home to our school of grey and blacktip reef sharks. Located on the West coast of the island south of M’il Channel, a 25 to a 35-minute boat ride.

One of the best shark dives in Micronesia, happening everyday.

• Photography: Wide angle & Macro
• Videography: Wide angle, Closeup & 360º VR

“It’s exciting to get in the water with so many sharks so close.”

• Wildlife:
• Grey reef sharks
• Black tip reef sharks
• Napoleon wrasse
• Moray eels / reef fish
• Grouper / snapper

Shark Dive

Get as close as you are comfortable to these animals while they circle the reef. Workaround the reef wall shooting 360 degrees of shark behavior for as long as you want. Sharks in the blue, making tight turns between divers and swimming right up to your lens, and making eye contact.

Photography

Surface shooting

When the water is clear, and it usually is, the black-tip shooting just off of the boat is incredible.

You can freeze the light and catch the dapple effect on the sides of these sharks as they circle you.

Shooting at depth with strobes

There are dramatic shots to pull at Vertigo using strobes down on the reef and over the edge of the wall.

The blues and gradient from the sun ball on a clear day make for high contrast images and when the water is really clear, you can read “Yap Divers” on the boat from 22m.

Silhouettes

Drop down the wall and look up at circling sharks.

Day or night

During our annual photography festival, MantaFest, we mix colorful sunsets, photographers from around the world, and Vertigo for “Sunset shark split” shooting.

This is also a popular snorkeling site due to the close encounters, you don’t need to dive, the action is good at the surface.

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Last Modified Date: 20th May 2018

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Yap, FSM 96943

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Yesterday, March 23, 2012, one of the best dive guides in Micronesia took his last boat ride. Accompanied by his daughter, brother, family members as well as members of the Manta Ray Bay staff, Chomed was moved from the Yap State Hospital to his home island of Rumung. He always drove and dived from the boat Seagull Express so it was only fitting that Seagull was used to transport him home. It was a very sad and poignant moment for all of us. Burial will be at 3 PM, Sunday the 25th.

Chomed and I have been together, in some capacity for nearly 30 years. We both began our working careers in Yap with the WA’AB Transportation Company and when my family and I started the Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers, Chomed came with us. He never came to work without a smile on his face and he always took care of his boat and his guests. A very quiet man, but a very competent man in the water, he could find ANYTHING guests asked him to find. There are many, many Chomed stories but my favorite one goes like this.

Clay Wiseman, a noted marine biologist, photographer and writer was in Yap specifically to shoot certain macro critters that were known to inhabit a dive site known as Slow and Easy. When Clay came to my office to tell me what he wanted to see, I was busy doing something else and not really paying attention to him. I told him to just tell the dive guide what he wanted and they would happily point things out for him. About 2 hours later Clay is back in my office and furious. By then I was finished with whatever it was that I was doing so I took the time to ask Clay what was wrong. Basically the dive guide didn’t find any of the stuff that Clay had asked for so I asked Clay what it was he was telling the dive guide. Clay went into this long scientific description, with names, of what he was looking for and after about 30 seconds I had to tell him to stop as I had zero idea what he was talking about.

I suggested we get the Micronesian Reef Fishes book and have him point out to the guide exactly what he was looking for and after this was done, off they went. About 4 hours later, I met Clay again and timidly asked how his dive went. His story goes like this:

“We were getting ready and I was having trouble with some of my gear and camera equipment so after a bit, the dive guide rolled into the water and told me he would meet me on the bottom. When I rolled in and looked around, the guide was nowhere to be found and I thought – oh no, here we go again so I drifted with the current. Suddenly I came upon the guide floating vertically in the water and motioning with his nose at something in the reef. I looked and looked but could see nothing so the guide moved a bit closer and again pointed with his nose, as islanders the world over do. Still not seeing what he was pointing at, the guide moved closer and put his finger on one of the animals I had come to photograph. After shooting several shots I moved away and looked for the dive guide, who again was nowhere to be seen. I thought, here we go again so I simply drifted with the current and alas found the guide in the same position and pointing with his nose. To make a long story short, I had shown the guide images of 10 critters that I wanted to find and not only did he find all 10 of them for me in the space of several hundred yards of reef BUT he found them in the ORDER that I had shown them to him in the fish book!”

The guide was our own John Chomed.

There are certainly many more stories of examples of Chomed’s exploits under the water but I think it best that we give you, our guests and staff members, the chance to comment on this blog with your stories, or thoughts on the guy we all knew as Chomed – the King of Rumung. He hated that nickname, or at least acted like he did, but it stuck and everyone connected with the resort knew him simply as “the King”. He will be terribly missed and we all hope and pray that he is in a better place with great visibility, blue water and lots of fish. His body is currently at his home in Rumung surrounded by family, friends and co-workers. His daughter searched the island with other members of her family to find clothes to bury her father in and after visiting every store on the island, found nothing she felt suitable. Irritably her family asked her what she had in mind and she replied “those clothes are all nice but that’s not how I remember my Dad. He was always in his Yap Diver’s uniform so I think that’s what he should wear.

” So today, our Chomed is dressed in a pair of quick dry shorts, a new blue staff tee shirt with a blue “do rag” on his head and holding a Yap Diver’s cap. He is wearing a new name tag along with our 25th Anniversary pin and looks like he is ready to report to work. We would all give anything if that were the case. Good bye my friend and may God bless your soul. We miss you and every dive we do from here on out will include thoughts and memories of you!

Please read Tim Rock’s wonderful send-off for Chomed in this blog space and please feel free to comment on either post with your stories or wishes for Chomed and/or his family.

Story & Photos by Tim Rock

Last nite a new guest who calls himself Santa Claus had a nice birthday aboard the Mnuw. Sporting a long, white Santa-like beard it is easy to see why he has that moniker.

Today Santa got the presents as he was circled by mantas at the new cleaning station found by Yap Divers.

Manta? What Manta? Mr. Manta Claus

After today we can call him Manta Claus.

There was another critter that got into the picture. A small hawksbill sea turtle also made a showing at the cleaning station. There are hydroids farther down the reef, so he probably came after lunch! Turtles love hydroids (ug).

Hawksbill at the Cleaning Station

When the mantas were not around, which was rare today, the cleaner wrasse were even cleaning the damsels and chromis! Must be why all the cleaner wrasses are fat here!

Wrasse cleans anyone and everyone

And “Manta” Ray Bullion was also here, lighting up the reef with his strobes to the point where he use all of his batteries up. So then he used mine! Ray is seen here in the background looking like a bolt of lightning.

We had long and very satisfying interactions with the rays today. It is such a privalege to be able to watch them in the wild do what they do daily. This is indeed a magical place.

Yap Manta

Manta Carousel

Manta Cleaning Station

What’s in store tomorrow? Mantas for sure, plus some outer reef dives and some macro hunting.

Life’s tough. We gotta do it!!

TR