Tim to Headline Yap Manta Fest

Join TIM ROCK for Mantas, Photos and Fun



4th Annual Manta Fest Photo Festival
Yap, Micronesia
September 4th — 14th 2010
Come rub elbows with the top underwater shooters in the world, experience great diving and have lots of fun.

The intention is for Manta Fest to evolve into an island-wide celebration involving other hotels and dive shops but for now, The Manta Ray Bay Resort is taking the lead in trying to establish this fun educational program where everyone is a winner.


Photojournalist Tim Rock



Photo and Video Pros • Seminars • Photo Contest • Daily Presentations

Plus prizes like this full color, hard cover coffee table book below:

Yap - Micronesian Magic III - NEW! NEW! NEW! by TIM ROCK | Make Your Own Book

I'll be on hand as the professional digital still photographer and diving with my group. Andy Sallmon, Underwater and Marine Life Nature Photographer, will be at Manta Ray to also help our guests with any of their photographic and video needs. There will be nightly presentations on the big outdoor screen on the restaurant ship Mnuw as well as individual classroom seminars in the afternoons. The pros will also compile a presentation from our guests efforts to show on the last day with awards given to those participating.

Photo Contest

This year’s program will be a shootout with various categories:

•Grand prize in each category is going to be a 7 night/5 dive day trip back to Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.

•2nd Place in each category will be a copy of Tim Rock’s great photo album about Yap (a $139 value).

•3rd Place will be tee shirts, mask straps, and lots more goodies.

    * Mantas/Sharks
    * Macro
    * Behavior
    * Reef Scenics
    * Land/Culture and People.

Bookings

Here's the deal:

A 7 night/5 dive day package is $1,359/person (Standard View Room), $1,439/person (Ocean View Room) and $1,779/person (Deluxe Ocean View Room).  This includes tax, airport transfers, 10 total dives and a complimentary daily breakfast. Additional dives are available and there will be one shark dive during the trip fro those interested.

To book your spot for Manta Fest 2010 via this site just click on my CONTACT link!


Attention European & Asian guests: Airfare Update

The Manta Ray Bay Resort has been working with Continental Airline to make it easier for European guests to travel to Yap and Palau. Now that Continental Airlines has become a Star Alliance member, European travelers can get to Yap on their preferred European Airline (Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss Air, Austrian Air & more.) Please join us for Manta Fest 2010! We also have deals from Manila and Tokyo for Asian guests.

Europeans can find out more about this airline deal here.

Diving with Yap Divers Still Great Experience

I just got back from probably my umpteenth visit to Yap in Micronesia with Yap Divers and Manta Ray Bay Hotel.

See some images HERE.


In fact, a lot of local building is going on with new fulaws down by Gilman and past the stone money bank Bubul.

Small business is flourishing and the diving is great with regular manta ray, reef shark and bigeye jack school sightings.

In All, a great place to visit.

A BIG THANK YOU to Yap Divers and Manta Ray Bay Hotel.

Yap - Micronesian Magic III - NEW! NEW! NEW! by TIM ROCK | Make Your Own Book

Best,

Timbo

Yap's Outer Islands by TIM ROCK | Make Your Own Book

NEW PHILIPPINES Coffee Table Book

Here's the latest and greatest:

The Philippines by TIM ROCK | Make Your Own Book

The Philippines

   The Philippine islands, some 7,000+ of them, are the gateway to the unique region of the western Pacific. This amazing country of islands, mountains, individual seas and biological diversity has been blessed with some of the amazing marine life the Earth has to offer. Considered part of the "Coral Triangle", the islands and reefs, deep trenches and submerged sea mountains all combine to give this country a smorgasbord of undersea beauty that divers of all ages and skill levels can enjoy.
   The topside regions of the Philippines are also part of this package. Many different regions have cultures within cultures that have histories dating far back into the man's first residence in this country. Visiting the people, seeing their lifestyle, tasting their cuisines and learning about their beliefs is a real bonus to any diving holiday.
    I have been to the Philippines many times over the last three decades and made a major tour to some of the tried and true dive sites and also visited some of the new and up-and-coming venues. The marine life and hospitality made the most recent trip and many in the past quite memorable. I want to share the experience. From the whale sharks of Donsol, to the open spaces of the Sulu Sea, from the untouched areas around north Palawan to the sea mounts off Malapascua and back to the tried and true resort hotspots like Anilao and Puerto Galera, this book offers you the best the Philippines has to offer. And the good news is that there is still more to see in The Philippines!!!
    Enjoy this collaboration between my friend - model, diver and photographer Yoko Higashide - and myself as we travel to some of the hotspots and unique venues in the Philippines. There are 240 pages and 381 full color photos in this amazing book.


See you on a boat somewhere soon I hope!

Tim Rock
Author

Oil Spill a True Disaster for Our Seas

By TIM ROCK

For many years I worked with a guy named James Moore who was a gifted writer and had a real grip on reality. Sometimes people just don’t want to hear it like it is. But Jim tells us anyway.
Here’s his take on what many of us who love the ocean are watching unfold with great horror and sad anticipation… that is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.


READ HIS TAKE HERE

I’ve seen the tar balls he refers to in the Yucatan coast and on its remote islands.
Oil and ocean don’t mix on many levels.
The maximum resources and effort must be taken to avert any further damage. Let’s hope people with the power and resources grasp this.

Tim