It’s good I’m not superstitious – or maybe I am – but having to write in my 13^th blog post that we won’t be open this year, can’t be a coincidence can it? The President of the FSM has extended the declaration of public health emergency to January 31, 2022!

Folks, I’m not a doctor nor a scientist and I don’t have the responsibility for an entire nation like the decision-makers do, however with a vaccination rate of 80.3% among the adults on Yap, you would think that a partial re-opening could be considered.

The good news is that our son OP and his wife Patie, are back home again after having spent over 7 months on Guam for medical reasons. Nothing serious, just some issues that needed to be taken care off, but the regulations prevented them returning for a long time. On Sunday the 12^th of September, they were finally allowed to leave the quarantine facility and reunite with their kids.

Finally reunited again, OP and Patie with their son OO and daughter TT

In the meantime, we remain concentrated on being 1000% prepared for you once we’re allowed to open again. The installation of the Trex composite decking on the Mnuw is almost finished and the next project will be to put back the Crow’s nest bar with retractable rain protection so the party can go on even if it’s raining. This, together with some improvements in the breakfast room and a new menu, will make the Mnuw, and the Food & Beverage services, an important part of your dive vacation.

Thanks to the  hard work of  Detlef, Jude, and his team the deck of the Mnuw has been replaced with a long-lasting and sustainable material

We have received a few submissions from you with your reasons “not to come to Yap”, but I really would like to have more entries to choose from. Remember, from the most original submissions, we’ll select the #10 reason. The “winner” will receive a gift from us. Please click here to submit your suggestion!

Having said that, before going to reason #9, let’s sum up the first 8.

“Reason #1 Not to come to Yap”

If you like crowded dive sites, don’t come to Yap. … with barely 1,000 divers a year visiting Yap, all dive sites are exclusively for you and your dive buddies.

“Reason #2 Not to come to Yap”

If you are looking for long boat rides to get to the dive sites, don’t come to Yap.

“Reason #3 Not to come to Yap”

If you don’t like to discover and encounter a wide range of marine life during your dives, don’t come to Yap.

“Reason #4 Not to come to Yap”

If you don’t like that your room, the dive shop, the dive boat dock, the bar/restaurant, and all other facilities are within a maximum of 2 minutes “walk”, don’t come to Yap.

 “Reason #5 Not to come to Yap”

If you want to limit the type of dives you like to do, don’t come to Yap.

“Reason #6 Not to come to Yap”

If you want to be on an island full of nightlife, casinos, discos, and high-traffic tourism areas, don’t come to Yap.

“Reason #7 Not to come to Yap”

If you don’t like mantas, don’t come to Yap.

Reason #8 “Not to come to Yap”

If you don’t want everyone, from your housekeeper to your waiter, to know you by your first name and care for your needs, then don’t come to Yap.

We’re almost there!

Reason #9 “Not to come to Yap”

If you don’t want your host to be a true dive pioneer, don’t come to Yap.

While I was inducted into the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame in 2014 for pioneering the diving in Yap and celebrating 35 years in business this year, this is not about me. Together with my family and employees who I consider as my extended family, I’m passionate about showing visitors the beauty of Yap’s marine life, the unique and exciting culture on land and letting you experience the wonderful people of Yap. Together with my family and staff, we are committed to the preservation of this amazing island and its beauty.

In my previous post, I mentioned “We are hoping for the first quarter of 2022, but a lot depends on developments in other parts of the world, especially with respect to new variants like the Delta string.”

While an opening in the first quarter is still possible, as the next public health emergency declaration will end on January 31, 2022, I want to be honest with you my friends, I fear that we might be closed beyond that January 31^st date. Until the decision-makers are more than confident that the potential threats of COVID-19 can be handled by the people on island, I am hesitant to make any predictions. With that thought in my mind, I came to Jimmy’s Buffet song “Only Time will Tell”.

One of Yap’s amazing sunsets, captured by Frank Schneider at Vertigo