This Week in Yap Archives
A Photo Summary of our dives
on a weekly basis
This is our way of showing our prospective
clients and friends just what the diving is like in Yap, on a
weekly basis. We'll try and keep this updated each week as a photo
dive log from our daily dive trips with photos featuring
highlights from our adventures beneath the waves.
Please note that this is what the diving
is really like. No paid advertising and no fancy magazine photo
spreads. Only real photos from our dives featuring the highlights
from that week. If the weather was bad or the visibility was poor,
we'll show that too because even in paradise, the conditions aren't
always perfect.
March 24 - March 30, 2008
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Pictured here is Michel, from
Switzerland, as he finishes his safety stop under the
boat. He had just completed a dive in Miil Channel with
the mantas.
(This picture was taken the week
before, but we thought Michel would like one more glimpse
of himself on the web this week.)
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A manta ray as it cruises along
the bottom of the channel.
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Manta Ridge is "thick with
fish" as they say in certain circles. Not sure
which circles, but it's a cool saying anyway.
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Miil Channel.
Early Morning.
Mantas, mantas, mantas.
I'm sure glad I don't have a desk
job!
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"The"
Nelson. Aye aye, Matey! |
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One of our boats heads to Vertigo.
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Stone money is everywhere in
Yap, including this piece located in German Channel.
We pass by this piece of currency every time we dive
Miil, Vertigo or any of a number of sites on the northwest
side of the island.
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A Sweetlips, a butterflyfish and
a surgeonfish make a fine threesome on the reef.
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Let's play, Hidden Pictures. Can
you find the one that doesn't belong?
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One more photo of Michel as the
boat zips through German Channel one early morning.
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Even and Markus, from Norway,
took this photo of Morgan at Vertigo.
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Morgan took this photo of the
very rare Gunnard at 1 to 2.
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The mysterious "white manta"
made an appearance late in the week, and Morgan managed
to take this photo as it sneaked by his group.
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And lastly for this week is another
manta photo from Morgan taken in Miil Channel. A second
manta is barely visible in the background on the left. |
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February 17- March 23, 2008
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Our fun group from Czech Republic
films a pod of dolphins just off the reef at Vertigo.
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Even and Markus (not pictured) from
Norway went fishing and pulled in this rather large Wahoo...almost
as big as Even. Once again, we all stuffed ourselves with
fresh sashimi, thanks to the generosity of Even and Markus
:o)
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Another tranquil sunset in front
of our shop. The lagoon in front of Beyond The Reef serves
as the island's anchorage for cruising yachts and it's
a great place to meet people circumnavigating the planet.
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Ian, working at the hospital for
a few weeks, gives an okay sign during his Open Water
class.
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On the dive we
saw many creatures, such as this fellow watching us with
both his real and false eyes. |
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The multi-appendaged Crown-of-thorns
starfish.
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Yap has some of the best hard corals
in the Pacific.
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A starfish in search of food. Or
maybe he's just sleeping. It's kind of hard to tell.
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Two nudibranchs at 1 to 2.
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I guess Ian thought the second dive
was twice as good as the first. Now he gives two okay
signs.
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Michel, from Switzerland, swims
through Miil Channel on a clear morning and watches the
resident trevallys.
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Michel watches a manta ray glide
past in Miil Channel.
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Michel and a male manta. |
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Joe, Tracy, Chris and Darlene give
big smiles to the camera as we head to see sharks along the
wall at Vertigo. |
February 11-17, 2008
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Manta action was HOT this past week,
as you can see from this photo taken by our guide, Mike.
Squadrons of mantas zoomed overhead our guests.
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Lacey and Tori, two local residents,
check out the corals on their safety stop following their
dive with the mantas. Photo by Mike.
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Even Spike got in on the act.
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Divers drifting
along Vertigo. |
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Now Morgan takes the camera and
captures this manta smiling. The viz was pretty low but
that certainly didn't stop the mantas from coming right
up to the divers.
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The last manta ray for this week.
Well, we saw bunches more, but I meant the last photo
of a manta for this week :o)
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And then Nelson found and photographed
this beautiful specimen of a nudibranch at 1:2.
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He continued to find more and more.
That guy's got great eyesight!
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Nelson found this one too.
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Later that week Sam and Julie, living
in China, visited us and Sam managed to feed many people
(this writer included) with fresh fish, like this 24 lb.
Yellowfin tuna.
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Here's a fine Wahoo Sam also caught
two days later. This was about a 25lb. Wahoo and again, Sam
was able to feed a lot of us. He's become a popular fellow
and a good guy to get to know if you want to eat fish! No,
seriously, he's a great guy anyway and we had loads of fun
with both he and Julie. |
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Dave decides to weigh himself with
the fish scale. Uh, Dave? You're heavier that that scale can
go. Dave said it took him a few minutes to get the nasty fish
slime out of his mouth from that scale. Naturally, he did
it AFTER Sam weighed his fish. |
February 4 - February 10, 2008
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This yellow trumpetfish was hunting
for food around the corals. Either that, or playing "Taps".
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A face only his mother would love.
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Two damselfish at home in the corals.
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Something you
wouldn't want to step on is this crown-of-thorns starfish.
Those spines are razor sharp and protect it from most predators.
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Looks like gangmembers. Good thing
they're only a few centimeters long!
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A Canary Wrasse. Who would of thought
it?
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Dave swims back to the boat after
a dive. And GREAT NEWS! He has finally gotten rid of that
really grungy mask filled with tropical mold (pictured)
and replaced it with a new, state-of-the-art Mares mask.
His only comment? "Now the fish won't recognize me
with this shiny, new mask and maybe they'll stick around.
Before, with the old mask, the fish would flee in terror
when they got a sight of that nasty mold heading their
way :o) But you know what? That mask fit like an old shoe.....literally!"
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Alright, enough joking. Let's get
back on track with the more exciting photos from the week.
For those, we'll have to use Morgan's pictures.
Manta action was hot this week,
as seen in these few images, taken by Morgan.
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Mantas have ten gills, with five
on each side.
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Erwin, from Holland, comes face
to face with a manta in Miil Channel.
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Morgan captured this image of a
Cube trunkfish. Should be called a "puckerfish"
instead.
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A manta opens wide as it approaches
the cleaning station (and Morgan's lens). Kind of like
going to the dentist.
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The last photo of the week was also
taken by Morgan. These jacks congregate in Miil Channel year
round. |
To view previous entries, please
click here.
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