Kategorie: News
Guests Became Friends
In July 1986, Bill and Patricia Acker founded the dive operation Yap Divers on the Micronesian island of Yap - with the simple hope of introducing divers to the island’s extraordinary underwater world. On Yap Day, March 1, 1990, the Manta Ray Bay Hotel opened, which over the years evolved into today’s Manta Ray Bay Resort.
This summer, Yap Divers celebrated its 40th anniversary - with an entire week of celebrations filled with dives, cultural encounters, and a reunion with companions from four decades.
A New Generation Learns to Dive
Fittingly, the anniversary week began with a look to the future: four young divers earned their SSI Junior Open Water certification. “Being part of another generation discovering diving for themselves reminded me of how much has changed in forty years - and how much has stayed the same. There’s still that excitement when someone takes their first breaths underwater and discovers a whole new world,” writes Bill Acker on the resort’s official Manta Blog. The younger guests also went kayaking, took a group snorkeling tour, and learned traditional weaving at a workshop hosted by a local school - a living example of Yapese culture.
Family, Old Friends, and Forty Years of Memories
Family and longtime friends traveled from all over the world to celebrate - including Acker’s brother Pat from Dallas and his daughter Valerie and her family from Florida. Also joining them were Orion and Taliyah (“TT”), the children of Acker’s son Opie, who was unable to attend himself. Geri Murphy, who - together with Paul Tzimoulis - once helped put Yap and its manta rays on the international map, was also there and spent the week showing historical photos and sharing anecdotes on the screen aboard the Mnuw, the hotel’s floating restaurant.
When Tradition Meets Diving
Among the most memorable moments of the week were two traditional Yapese dances: the Men’s Chief Dance at night under dramatic lighting, and the Stick Dance during the day. “For Patricia and me, this was particularly meaningful. This anniversary wasn’t just a celebration of Yap Divers - it was also a celebration of Yap itself, the island to which we owe so much over the past forty years,” said Acker.
Of course, there was also diving
Shortly before the celebration, two super typhoons, Sinlaku and Bavi, had caused rough weather in the western Pacific - yet Yap itself offered excellent diving conditions during the anniversary week: numerous encounters with manta rays, spotted eagle rays on several dives, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, schools of yellow convict tangsin the shallow waters, and jacks in the channels.
On several days, dolphins accompanied the dive boats on their way to the reefs, and several groups spotted cuttlefish guarding their eggs among the corals.
In the end, it’s the people who matter
The week concluded with a beach barbecue for everyone. “The real story of these forty years isn’t about buildings, boats, or milestones. It’s about people,” writes Acker - the team, some of whom have been serving guests for decades; the people of Yap, who share their island and culture with visitors; and the colleagues in the diving industry who believed in Yap from the very beginning. “And it’s all of you who have come to visit. Some came once; many came again and again. Some brought their children, and now we’re seeing another generation discover Yap for themselves.”
Source: Manta Ray Bay Resort (The Manta Blog)
https://mantaray.com/.../forty-years-where-did-the-time-go/
https://mantaray.com/.../forty-years-of-yap-..-a-week-we-will-never-forget/