Big Bend

Big Bend is a reef wall site on the outer reef of Yap, Micronesia, located near the southern tip of the island where the Pacific Ocean meets the Philippine Sea. The wall is sheer and decorated with small sea fans. Shark cleaning stations are found along the slope on the way down, where cleaner wrasse work the gills of resident sharks.

The site is known for grey reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks, with the possibility of silvertip sharks as well. Sharks gather in schools of 20 or more when attracted, and can be observed at cleaning stations orbiting coral heads with mouths open. The surrounding reef holds abundant fans along the wall face.

Big Bend is a boat dive with no mooring; divers roll off the boat and drop to the ledge. The dive runs as a drift, moving with a pumping current along the wall toward the southern tip of the reef, finishing with an ascent over the top of the reef through surge and cracks. Divers should deploy an SMB for the ascent. Current at this site can be strong, and surge is present near the top of the reef.