South Seas Schooner Arrives in Yap

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Mnuw (Sea Hawk) has arrived in Yap On Saturday, September 29, 2001 at about 3:30 PM, on a beautiful warm and sunny day in Yap, Bill Acker and his crew sailed into Yap harbor in our new floating restaurant and bar – otherwise known as Mnuw proudly waving the white starred on sky blue background flag of the Federated Sates of Micronesia. After the 12 day and 2,100 nautical mile sail from Surabaya, Indonesia, Bill and crew were welcomed by family, friends and employees of Manta Ray Bay Hotel and Yap Divers with nunuws (traditional Yapese flowered head-bands), beer, hugs, laughter and more beer. Bill, the crew and Mnuw are home. The idea of bringing a South Seas schooner to Yap was hatched between Bill and a good friend of his, Mr. Peter Howard of Maui, Hawaii, over two years ago. Since that time, Bill has scoured the world to find the right ship, find the right person to re-fit the ship and securing all the clearances needed to purchase and bring the ship to Yap. From South Texas to South Sulawesi, from Northern Madagascar to Northern Borneo and from the Eastern Caribbean to Eastern Sumbawa, Bill searched high and low for the right vessel. Finally, on the 10 th of March, the deal was signed in a law office in Ginyar, Bali under a ceiling fan with tropical birds singing in the garden selling the traditional Buginese cargo ship Bunga Berkat Usaha to the Manta Ray Bay Hotel. The restoration started on March 23, 2001 in Sumbawa Bedsar, Indonesia where most of the physical refit was accomplished. She was then moved to Surabaya, Indonesia in August to install electrical, plumbing and some mechanical aspects plus make the modernization process complete. To get an idea of the magnitude of this project – 20,000 man-hours used just in the Surabaya drydock, 10 carpenters, 10 boat builders, 5 miles of lumber, 4,800 pounds of copper sheets, 130 pounds of copper nails, 5,000 feet of electrical wiring, 750 pounds of nails, 500 yards of rigging wire, 1500 feet of concealed water and waste-water piping, and more were used in the project. Most of the woodworking tools and skills have been handed down from generation to generation over hundreds of years and no levels or measuring tapes were used. All this was done while maintaining the original lines and integrity of the ship. Was it worth it ? Well, just imagine yourself sitting at the Crow’s Nest Bar on a 100 year old wooden sailing schooner, measuring over 170 feet (55 meters) in length, having a cold beer and reminiscing with your dive buddies about the school of manta rays that were hovering inches from your head an hour ago. The schooner was renamed Mnuw. In the Yapese language, Mnuw is the name of a rare sea hawk that is seldom seen but yet famous in Yapese traditional lore. After some final construction and maintenance, she will sit in front of the Manta Ray Bay Hotel and offer our guests, two air-conditioned private dinning rooms, two bars, a movie room, a game room, meeting rooms, Internet café, micro brewery and the ambiance of the South Seas. Our famous Nautical Weaver Bar will be moved to the wheelhouse deck and will command a gorgeous view of Tomil Harbor. Guest will also see changes to the hotel with the addition of 8 more rooms for a total of 31. Two of the new rooms will be junior suites with living area and separate bedroom with harbor view. The hotel will further boast additional 3 rd floor deluxe rooms with electric curtains, freestanding bathtubs and unobstructed views of the harbor. This event is the culmination of countless hours of discussions, thousands of miles of travel, weeks in the jungles of the world and last but not least, many cold beers shared between our fearless leader, and head pirate, Bill Acker and his crew. This is the single biggest event to happen to Micronesian tourism in many years. Certainly old hotels have been renovated and names have changed but nothing this new and exciting has happened. For more information, contact us at:

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