Back from Yap, Travel Delays, & more

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Well, at least it didn't rain every day we were there this time . . .

BACK FROM YAP - We had a good trip. In fact, you could say it was a VERY good trip given all that we saw. The one deficit - and granted that we go to Yap with high expectations - was that we didn't get the number or quality of Manta Ray encounters that we expected. A lot of this, we think, was due to the winds (strong breezes really) that plagued us the entire trip. There was a storm system off of Japan and another one off of Hawaii (you may have read abut the massive flooding in some parts of Hawaii) and those generated swirling and ever-changing winds of 10-25mph with occasional gusts of 20-25mph. There was only one day (thankfully our first day for the afternoon checkout dive) where it was too rough to go outside the fringing reef, so we stayed inside at the protected macro sites and dove there, despite the much-lessened visibility (15-20 feet) at those places. But over the course of our 10 dive days there, we got outside plenty of times, had a number of dives where the viz exceeded 100 feet (hard to complain about that), everyone commented at how extensive and healthy the Yap coral reefs are, we had a really nice shark feed (I need to work on the video of that), and the staff at Manta Ray Bay did everything they could to ensure that we had interesting dives and saw good stuff. And the highlight was . . .

BEST MANDARINFISH DIVE EVER - I'll cover this in greater detail in the trip report but one of the staples of any visit we make to Yap is a dusk dive to search for and hopefully observe the nightly mating rituals of the gorgeous Mandarinfish. Every night around sundown, they start flitting about their shallow coral homes, nibbling on the polyps, and also on the lookout for some action. Because we're so shallow (10-15 feet deep), these tend to be long dives. In fact, a lot of times it's jokingly referred to as a safety stop dive because of the depth. There have certainly been times when we've only seen a few Mandarinfish, or we didn't observe mating, or we even got skunked. But on lucky Friday the (March) 13th, we got an incredible show. While everyone said they had multiple Mandarinfish (each diver is on their "own" coral head so experiences may differ), I hit the motherlode where by the end of the dive - I had to end it because (1) I'd already been down 98 minutes (and still had 1500psi), and (2) I killed my strobe batteries and it was dark - I could probably see a dozen or more Mandarinfish deciding whether or not they wanted to get frisky. I think I got some good shots as you'll hopefully agree by looking at these six from the dive. (The big one is the male, the smaller one's the female.)

TRIP REPORT & PIX - We got back, somewhat jet-lagged, Sunday morning at 6:15AM. So I've been moving slow today. I've been able to get all the pix tweaked but am only halfway through the trip report. Hopefully I'll get that all done and posted by the end of the week and will send them to you separately.

TRAVEL IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-OF-HEART - Yap is one of those destinations where it's a slog to get there. But it seems that getting there is easier than coming home, since you do most of the travel (LA-Honolulu-Guam-Yap) during daylight hours. It's a different story on the way back. The flight leaves Yap at 2:30AM, 3-hour layover in Guam, 7-hour flight (7:30AM departure) to Honolulu (so you land when it's dark again), 3-hour layover in HNL and then redeye into LAX, where it's sunrise when you land. I don't sleep well on planes, even with a lie-flat seat, so arrived home somewhat discombobulated. Hopefully a "regular" night of sleep tonight will significantly reset my internal clock for tomorrow.

NO TSA DELAYS - We've been reading about massive security lines at various airports due to the DHS/TSA funding still being withheld by Congress. All I can tell you is that we didn't observe or experience any of that at the airports we went through (LAX/HNL/GUM) where you need to clear a TSA security line. They had a few security lanes closed at HNL when we returned, but it didn't seem to create any bottlenecks.

CHAMBER DAY/EVE 2026 UPDATE - The Reef Seekers Chamber Eve table is now full, but we've still got plenty of seats left overall, and we can always start a second Reef Seekers table if need be. (Send me a direct e-mail if you want to sit with us if the website won't clear a seat for you.) We've also got plenty of room for you on the Flying Dutchman and we're always happy to add your name to the donors to the Chamber Challenge. the big day is Wednesday, May 6, and we hope to have your support. Sign up here: CHAMBER DAY/EVE 2026 SIGN-UP FORM.

And that’ll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!

- Ken