COURTESY JAMES L. WING

Catch a few Rays

As if on cue, six other mantas join her: Sugar Ray, Curly Ray, Koji, Vicky, Rocky and Lefty, who's easily distinguished by her deformed left cephalic fin.

If you go ... What: Manta Experience Where: Keauhou Bay, adjacent to the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa When: Thursday through Sunday at 6:30 p.m.; more often if demand warrants Cost: One-tank dive is $89 per person (you must be a certified diver). Snorkelers and riders pay $79 per person, $59 for children under 12. Price includes snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, mask, snorkel and fins. Scuba divers must provide their own gear; otherwise, there's a $5 fee for each item needed. Phone: (808) 322-2500 on the Big Island or (800) 322-KONA from other islands. The tour also can be booked via the Sheraton Keauhou's concierge desk, (808) 930-4900. E-mail: mantaman@dolphindreams.com Web site: www.dolphindreams.com

In the beams of divers' lights, the mantas' feast of microscopic plankton looks like snowflakes swirling below the surface of the sea. Waterborne ballerinas, the creatures circle and spin in a beautifully choreographed feeding ritual. No wonder Rodale's Scuba Diving, Sport Diver and Skin Diver magazines regularly rank this as one of the 10 best dives in the world.

"Manta rays swim through the water with a grace that is almost hypnotic," observes James Wing, founder of Dolphin Dreams Images, which offers a 2 1/2-hour Manta Experience most nights. "People often say this tour is the most incredible thing they have ever witnessed, that it is a surreal, almost religious phenomenon."

Like its cousin the shark, the manta ray is a cartilaginous fish that doesn't have bones. Unlike sharks, however, mantas don't have teeth; they are filter feeders, meaning that instead of teeth, they catch their food via a complex system of filters in their mouths. Among the largest creatures in the ocean, they can reach 22 feet in length, 22 feet in width and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.

Dolphin Dreams Images specializes in manta encounters. "No one spends more time underwater with manta rays than we do," asserts Wing, a professional photographer and PADI scuba diving instructor. The Discovery Channel, CNN, TNT, ABC, A&E, ESPN2, the Travel Channel, the New York Times, and Islands and Outside magazines are among the media outlets that have shared his magnificent photos and videos of mantas.

During the Manta Experience, they often glide within inches of awestruck divers. Although they look like big, eerie phantoms, Wing describes them as "completely harmless; they have no barbs or venomous stingers, and they don't bite. Their method of defense, if threatened, is flight."

Although Wing can't guarantee the mantas will appear, he notes there's an 85 percent chance tour participants will see them on any given night. Near the boat, at a depth of 35 feet, a light shining upward from the ocean floor attracts plankton, which, in turn, attracts the mantas.

For about an hour, in an otherworldly setting that would be ideal for the "X-Files," divers watch, mesmerized, as the mantas -- sometimes three, sometimes a dozen, sometimes more than 20 -- dance around them in seeming slow motion. Snorkelers float above, marveling at the spectacle on the surface of the sea.

Either way, your mind will clear, your body will unwind and your breathing will get deeper and more measured as you slip into the gentle rhythm of the mantas. With the waters in Manta Village averaging a bathtub-warm 80 degrees Fahrenheit, this is the ultimate relaxation therapy.

"I love venturing beneath the waves to a part of Hawaii that relatively few people explore," says Wing. "I also love the feeling of weightlessness; not seeing anything man-made; and observing strange, mysterious and beautiful creatures like the manta rays."

Even the "riders" on the tour (those who've decided not to snorkel or dive) get to meet the mantas. Explains Wing, "The mantas often do barrel rolls within inches of the surface, and we set up overhead lighting on the deck of the boat exactly for that purpose. That way, no one gets left out; everyone is rewarded with great views of the mantas whether or not they're in the water. Even better, we see them year round; they don't seem to be affected by the seasons."

SINCE HE EARNED his scuba certification in 1991, Wing figures he's made more than 2,000 dives with manta rays -- adventures that always enthrall him.

"Aside from their appearance, what fascinates me about the mantas is the sense of peace I always have when I'm in the water with them," he says. "During those times, I am content and live totally in the present; thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow do not occur to me. I feel I'm in the presence of unfathomable intelligence and pristine beauty. I have a strong fondness for them, much like people have for their pets. At the risk of seeming anthropomorphic, I believe they recognize me."

Beyond that, Wing revels in his role as guide and instructor. Teri Hatcher, star of the hit television series "Desperate Housewives," is among the thousands of guests -- as many as 10,000 per year -- who've enjoyed the Manta Experience since he launched it in March 1994.

Says Wing: "It brings me great satisfaction to help people overcome their fear of water and marine life so they can experience the same joy, excitement and wonder that I do when I'm diving. I appreciate the opportunity I've been given to teach people how to dive and to change their lives by doing so."