Goofnuw Mini Wall
Wall dive on the south side of Goofnuw Channel, usually a drift with the incoming tide past 9–30 m vertical walls and coral slopes. Whitetip sharks rest on the sand near the shallow white-sand area (10–20 on a good drift) and all mantas moving between the cleaning stations and the Valley of the Rays pass through. Current can reach about 2 knots before high tide.
Facts
- Region: Micronesia – Yap, Pohnpei & Kosrae
- Area: Yap
- Depth: 9–37 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: strong
- Type: wall, drift, channel
- Coordinates: 9.55405, 138.19641 (approximate)
- Highlights: whitetip reef sharks, stingrays, leopard shark, humphead wrasse, manta rays, snapper
- Permit: Yap's reefs and lagoon are held under customary village ownership, so diving needs the permission of the owning community, normally arranged by your dive operator. A 2017 conference presentation reported that operators pay villages access fees (e.g. US$300 per month for Goofnuw Channel, US$2 per diver at Stammtisch) and that other sites need permission but no payment. No official fee schedule could be found – ask your dive centre; the Yap Visitors Bureau can advise.
- Issuer / contact: Yap Visitors Bureau
- Phone: +691 350 5005
- Website: https://www.visityap.com
- phone from the Yap State Government notice; visityap.com blocked automated access, no official email confirmed; other notices list 350-2298
- Unverified: Position is approximate: no published GPS was found; the pin only places the site on the right part of Yap's reef (dive centre site maps are not machine-readable). Ask the dive centre for the exact mooring.
- Tips: Can be combined with a short fast boat ride to Valley of the Rays; carry a surface marker and stay with the guide.