Diving  is a  potentially  hazardous  activity.  The materials  contained within  this  magazine  are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for proper and appropriate training.

Yap's New Frontiers Hammerheads on the Horizon

The people of  Yap have  never been ones to rest  on their  laurels.  This  Micronesian island nation, located just north of Palau in the  Western   Pacific  Ocean,  is  small  in population  but  big  in  breakthroughs.  Its people   pioneered   open   ocean   natural navigation,   using    only  the   stars,  the waves  and  wind  to  sail  to  destinations across the  Pacific. They  also quarried the unusual   stone   money,  huge   discs   of glistening   limestone,    bringing   it   from faraway  islands on  canoes. They  braved death   to   take   their   unique   currency through high seas and  stormy  weather to its Yap home. In recent  years,  Bill Acker's Yap Divers, a pioneering  dive center,  brought the world the only  place where  manta rays  can be observed  on scuba  on a consistent  basis year round. But not being ones to rest on their laurels, new  discoveries pertaining  to the sea are being  made in  Yap  every  year.  For  the Colonia based  crew, this  has included the finding of a superb  macrophotography reef complete with  frisky mandarinfish. A kayak and  snorkel  tour deep into the mangroves

to observe the  accurate and odd  archerfish  is  another  plus for  visiting naturalists. And two high  voltage reefs  full  of  shoal and  pelagic  action  have highlighted  the discovery phase of the summer of 2003.

Text & photos by Tim Rock

Recent dives on  the newly dubbed  Crescent  Reef are  causing  great  excitement.  Just a short boat ride south of the main  channel, in nearby Gabach Channel, the reef begins very close to the southern edge of the mouth of Gabach. Depending on the tide, the diver either rides the  current in or out of the channel. This  crescent-shaped reef, a  little deeper than most Yap dives in the 90ft area, actually curves  back and runs parallel with the main outer reef reaching the  45ft level at the top. When  the current  is running,  the  action  here  is excellent. On every recent  exploratory dive, a very large  school of blackbar barracuda has come to the divers and actually engulfed them.

The site also features  three huge resident  Napoleon wrasses,  a tremendous  amount  of schooling fish ranging from striped snappers, black snappers, fusiliers, bumphead parrotfish and big  groupers.  There are also  huge schools  of smaller  fish. As  if  this  isn't enough, Crescent Reef is  healthy and  quite  pretty with  dramatic dropoffs, walls and  formations with sunlit holes going through that make for excellent photographic subjects. Years ago, divers  making a quickie  dive in  this channel  were  totally taken  aback when they were engulfed in  schooling hammerhead  sharks. The  exciting  thing about the Year 2001 dives  is that hammerheads do  appear to be  a constant  in this area  as they  have been  reported, sometimes  two at a time, on  more than  one  occasion.  These scalloped hammerheads  are the same  type and size  seen as  the in the schooling encounter. With the  potential of having  predictable manta and  deep blue water  hammerhead encounters on Yap, this could be an amazing discovery.

This dive compliments Yap Corner, an active, tide-driven site where gray reef sharks have been seen not only cruising the  reef, but feeding on a resident school of bigeye jacks. At its best when the current is running at incoming high tide, the action here, which is at the mouth of  Yap's famous Mi'il Channel, is  fast and  furious. Big  reef rays  and  spotted bull rays,  bumphead  parrotfish,  manta  rays, rainbow runners  and  eagle  rays  highlight the line-up. Gray reef sharks and whitetips are always on the prowl. The gray reefs have been seen circling  the jacks and rainbow runners.  With lightning speed, they will go for a feed, striking at  a hapless  victim. Within  seconds the  frenzy is over  and the  reef  returns to normalcy. This is all a natural experience, not a  shark feed, making it all the more special.

And the eagle ray action here  is special. Big eagles, unafraid of divers, come very close if a diver sits still. They are powerful and graceful at the same time. Both of these dives are  under development and  Yap Divers invites visitors to come along to see  the new action, observe new behavior and judge  the consistency  of these sites. The popular  spots like Manta Ridge, Cleaning Station,  Gufnuw Channel, Lionfish Wall, Yap Caverns and  many more sites are  also being  dived regularly  and new  finds  like  mating schools of  bumphead  parrotfish are  seen every  week. Plus, the  macro  activity  is now superb. There is  the addition of  Mandarinfish Island, where  the colorful mandarinfish can be observed mating  at dusk and hiding in the  beautiful finger corals of the reef. With this and Macro Reef, creatures big and small can be observed on Yap.

Visitors interested in  seeing Yapese money can visit the stone money Banks in Rull, Gagil, or the Bechiyal Cultural  Center in Maap. The  largest remaining  piece  of  stone money is over twelve feet tall  and is  located in Rumung  municipality, but is unavailable for  public viewing. Stone  Money is protected by  Yap State law, and  exportations  is very difficult, requiring the  special  permission of  the  Legislature and the council of  traditional chiefs.

Yapese Dance Yap's most  highly developed art  form, dance,  or "Churu" is a  central part of the State's culture.  Ultimately, Yapese  dancing  is a form  of storytelling and  oral history. There are four  main  types: Sitting,  Standing,  Marching  and  Bamboo.  Traditionally,  dances  are segregated by sex, although in  recent years bamboo dances have been performed jointly by men and  women. Bamboo  and Standing  dances are  particularly taxing physically and are usually reserved for  the young. Yapese and Outer Islanders begin dancing at a young age and  may dance until well  into their fifties  when the  fluid  movement  necessary for dancing begins to be more difficult to maintain. Dancing is an interactive sport in Yap, with the observers playing the role of coaches and critics.  Old men or women  usually occupy  the choicest  seats and  are merciless in their criticism - exhorting  the dancer  to get  down lower  in the  painful  crouch  that  is their primary stance  or to make  sure their  eyes  follow  the rhythm  of the  dance. Given the intense scrutiny, dancers often practice, by the light of the moon, for up to a year before a major performance.

Dancers wear  beautiful costumes, like  multicolored hibiscus skirts, and ornamental head- dress, and  cover their bodies with flowers,  coconut oil and  yellow turmeric powder prior to performing. Every March 1 there are planty of dances as Yap Day is celebrated. Since the late  1800s when a sailor named  O'Keefe  brought  his  Chinese junk  to Yap to transport stone money in  exchange for coconuts, there has not been a more unique ship to enter the Yap waters than the Mnuw. A unique project means a great new venue after the dive at  Yap Divers to view the day's videos and digital stills while sipping a cool drink or  watching the  sunset. A  full sized, 100-year-old  Indonesian  phinisi  sailing  ship  was brought to  the Manta Ray  Bay  Hotel/Yap Divers  by owner  Bill Acker  and  his  crew. In October 2001, the  ship was sailed  from Surabaya  via Bali  and went  the  length  of the archipelago to the Pacific Ocean.  The crew then took the ship past Helen Reef and Palau and into Yap waters  where it is now  permanently  docked in  front of the  hotel. After a couple of months  of finishing work, the ship, made of natural  hardwoods, is now open to the public.

Manta Ray Bay Hotel's 100-year-old Indonesian phinisi sailing ship.

Yap is a small  island but big  things are  happening  there.  A shark  feed  is  also  being developed at  Vertigo Reef and  there's also  talk of a new  shark cleaning  station being observed.  In Yap, whether it is animals big  or small, there's  always something to enjoy under the sea. Yap's  claim to fame  is that it  is the only  place in the world  where manta rays may be observed  closely and daily.  There are  two main  channels  where they are found and a couple  of other sites  where they  are commonly  seen. Here, they  come  into  cleaning stations to  be preened  of parasites  by small  wrasses.  Unless  there  is a storm in the area,  they  are  quite predictable  and can  be  quietly  observed  at  relatively  shallow depths.  This has made Yap a world class attraction  for divers. Overshadowed are Yap's amazingly healthy  hard coral gardens,  deep southern  dropoffs  and  awe-inspiring  drift dives through the channels at high tides.  Everything from big reef sharks and schools of eagle rays  to rare nudibranchs  and mandarinfish  can be seen by  the scuba buff. Once the aura of the ray experience wears off, the reef diving can be fully appreciated.

The ship was built  in Surabaya and  designed to fit many needs. It is a first class restaurant run by Chef Bill Munn. The  facility also features  the Nautical  Weaver  Bar, the Crow's  Nest  upper  deck,  a  micro-brewery,  an  e-mail center, a  sunbathing area and a stage for  performances like traditional Yapese dancing. The arrival  of the Mnuw, the  Yapese  word  for the Yap sea  eagle, means the  hotel will also expand adding eight new  rooms  where   the  restaurant   facility   was  once located. The  bar and  lounge  area  will  be  available for divers to screen their  videos of Yap's famous  mantas or watch some of the work produced by Manta Visions. For  the story of  the  Mnuw's  birth and  delivery,  Grand opening was  just January 1, 2002 and it is a truly unique venue to rehash the day's dives. Even now a brew pub is being  installed   in  the  ship   and  "Manta  Piss"  is  the beverage of choice at the local brewery.

They  are locally owned and  staffed offering  full service  expeditions  on  a regular  basis. Rugged individualists  can also work  out arrangements  with  hotels  for  fishing tours with local guides in small  boats or write or e-mail the Yap Visitors  Bureau in  advance of arrival to have arrangements made.

Given the problems  many of the world's  hot spots  experienced  as a result of El Nino, the healthy reefs of  all of the FSM  islands  are a true  treasure and little of the  phenomenom was experienced  here. Night diving  here is quite  good, with  many  unusual invertebrates coming  out to  crawl the  reefs. The flatworms  can be especially colorful. And a  boat ride back under the tropical stars is well worth the trip. In addition  to diving Yap  offers a host  of other  activities  for the  avid water enthusiast. Micronesia has what many consider the  most fertile fishing waters in the North Pacific, and the waters  outside Yap  are an  anglers dream.  Mahimahi,  tuna,  wahoo,  billfish and blue marlin  are some of  the most  common big  fish in Yap's waters. A  trolling trip  with one of Yap's  local  fishing  guides   is  sure  to  be  a  great   experience.   Yap  has  professional sportfishing charter operators.

Yap's reefs are still dotted with giant  stone fishing traps first built centuries ago (they look like giant arrows  from the air) and the  adventurous  piscator who  heads  out to the traps with a local  speargun in hand is sure  to bring back a long  string of parrotfish, rabbitfish or snapper for a delicious island dinner. In Yap, a  broad inner lagoon protected  by  an encircling  barrier reef  surrounds  the entire island.  In the north, rolling  hills are dotted  with pandanus  trees and  cut with  palm-lined valleys. Yap is roughly developed  with a main sealed road spanning the island's interior. But the  spur roads that  lead to the many  small villages  are unpaved and  made of  red soil or coral. The south is comprised  of smaller hills and a flat, broad jungle covered plain. There is a small  lake, the product of  dredging when th e new airport  was built, west of the airport.

About the author

Tim  Rock  attended   the  journalism   program   at   the University  of   Nebraska   -   Omaha   and  has   been  a professional  broadcast and  print  photojournalist  for 30 years.  The majority  of those  years have  been spent in the Western  and Indo Pacific reporting on environmental and  conservation  issues.  He  has  won  the  prestigious Excellence in the Use of Photography  from the Society of Publisher's  in Asia.  He also  lists many  other awards for documentaries,  television  shows  including  producer  of ACE  award  finalist  Aquaquest  Micronesia,  photography and writing.  He works as a correspondent  for numerous Pacific  Rim  magazines.  He  is  the  author  of  6  Lonely Planet/Pisces   series  guides   including   The  Diving  and Snorkeling  Guides   to   South Africa   and   Mozambique, Chuuk-Pohnpei-Kosrae, Palau, Bali & Lombok, Guam & Yap