The glowing sun disappears, the water turns from slate to violet to indigo, and the sky erupts with stars. It is a day to be glad of boats. Those of us on the Makai are on our way to dive and snorkel with manta rays. Mantas are one of the largest fish in the sea, strange creatures rarely seen even by scuba divers, who usually catch only brief glimpses from a distance. For most people, they are little more than tantalizing shadows sliding away beneath a boat, a distant flutter of wide, dark wings underwater.
Manta rays are elasmobranchs, cartilaginous fish that are almost entirely flexible.
Their nearest relatives are sharks, stingrays, devilrays, and skates. They are marked by mystery, a seductive sinuosity, a strangeness hard to penetrate. What look like wings to us are the manta's pectoral fins. But they are strong. If a manta gets entangled in an anchor line, it can pull a boat for miles.