Scuba Diving Legends on California Diving, Photography, and the Scuba Show

We chat to Dale and Kim Sheckler, who’re absolute mines of knowledge on diving the west coast of the United States, seasoned underwater photographers, authors, and the founders of the California Diving News journal and the long-established Scuba Show.

Photographs courtesy of Dale and Kim Sheckler

How Dale and Kim Sheckler Discovered Scuba Diving

Q: As we all the time do with these Questions and Answer classes, how did you first get into scuba diving?

Dale – A: When I used to be a really younger little one, I begged my uncle for a transparent glass bowl stuffed with vibrant fish as a result of I needed to see underwater. My superhero was Mike Nelson within the Sea Hunt TV present. While my favorite journey at Disneyland was the submarine, my greatest early reminiscences got here from Marineland of the Pacific. I glued myself to the TV for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. I knew from the age of 12 what I needed to do was to be an undersea adventurer. A snorkelling journey into the life-filled seas off a southern California breakwater sealed the deal. My father didn’t enable me to be taught scuba till the age of 16, so I saved my cash and the day I turned 16, I signed up.

Kim – A: I grew up in Southern California, a mile from the seashore, and spent my complete life within the ocean – going to locations like Marineland of the Pacific was an everyday household outing. I snorkelled with my Dad and my brother off Palos Verdes. Though Dale and I ceaselessly snorkelled collectively, together with on our honeymoon within the Virgin Islands, it wasn’t till he obtained the thought of beginning California Diving News that I obtained licensed. Alongside ten different relations, together with my Mom and Dad, we have been licensed as a household. I made my checkout dive off Malaga Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes; my first official dive was on Lulu Reef on Catalina Island.

Over 5,000 dives later, the remaining is historical past. I have to say with all these dives below my belt, just one was with out Dale, manner again in 1984 off Catalina. In 2001, I used to be inducted into the International Women Divers Hall of Fame. I solely want there was one thing corresponding to honour Dale for all the things he has finished for the diving group.

From Commercial Diving to Underwater Photography

Q: Dale, you initially went down the business diving route. What was the draw of such a diving, and the place did your business diving profession take you?

Dale – A: Initially I needed to grow to be a marine biologist however a educated mentor made it clear I must spend years in faculty after which years in a lab earlier than I’d get some critical water time. I didn’t have the endurance for that, or the {dollars} for school. I noticed an advert in a dive journal promising ‘Travel, High Pay and Adventure’ as a deep-sea diver after attending their commerce faculty. Sign me up! I discovered the ability of welding, and that began me on the trail of underwater welding.

Through my profession as a business diver, I gained the extra abilities of underwater building, underwater ditch digging (sure, there it such a factor), and underwater images as a part of my underwater inspection abilities. My acquired abilities led to regular work. I travelled to work within the offshore waters of Venezuela, Brazil, the Persian Gulf, and Africa, in addition to the coastlines of California, Texas, New Jersey, and Louisiana.

Q: How did you get began on this planet of underwater images?

Dale – A: As a business diver, the extra abilities you had, the extra money you made. Underwater inspection images got here pure, so I started to dabble within the more-creative portion of underwater images. Besides, it beat underwater ditch digging!

Kim – A: Dale all the time had a digicam in hand after I started diving with him. We discovered collectively easy methods to body divers, fish and surroundings. I used to be his underwater mannequin and beloved each second making an attempt to assist him discover one of the best images. We discovered a crude underwater manner of speaking, with a little bit American Sign Language thrown in. As Dale noticed the scene by the digicam, I discovered to view the world backwards to get one of the best photographs. Once shortly he would hand me the digicam, therefore with over 100,000 photos in our library, only a few are of him.

The Story Behind California Diving News

Q: You based California Diving News journal manner again in 1984. What have been among the causes you arrange the journal, which I imagine is the oldest constantly revealed diving journal within the USA?

Dale – A: When my business diving employer was purchased out, they usually supplied me a reduce in pay, I walked and headed dwelling to California. I attempted getting a job with a nationwide dive journal in promoting gross sales. Turned down, I spotted the massive inhabitants of California divers have been ridiculously underserved. They, together with I, have been thirsting for info and inspiration on diving California. With no publishing expertise, Kim and I dived proper in.

Kim – A: There was little question in my thoughts that Dale’s thought would achieve success, he’s a really decided man. With his love of the ocean and his work ethic, I knew he had a fantastic thought within the works. I labored as a Registered Nurse at night time and we labored collectively elevating a brand new child and a six yr previous, all of the whereas placing the journal collectively. Though our faculty levels weren’t in publishing, we each had nice experiences in writing and English courses.

Favourite Dive Destinations Around the World

Q: You are clearly devoted followers of diving in your native California waters, however you may have additionally travelled extensively all over the world. Where have been a few of your favorite locations to go to?

Dale – A: That will not be a good query. All areas of the world provide their very own distinctive underwater journey. Try all of them. And I nonetheless have many, many to discover. There are, nevertheless, locations of unsurpassed magnificence that deserve point out. I beloved the reefs of Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

In the Caribbean, Little Cayman and Cozumel. Roatan is fairly cool, too. The boys and me thrilled on the sharks within the Bahamas. Kim and I’ve been to the Sea of Cortez many occasions. My favorite dive location? California, after all. Kim – A: I like wall diving and wreck diving. Anywhere that has that can maintain me occupied till my backside time runs out.

The Origins of the Scuba Show

Q: You created the Scuba Show in 1988, an annual client occasion that lately celebrated its thirty eighth yr in operation. What led you to arrange this present, and what – after promoting it in 2011 – retains you actively concerned, together with many household and mates, within the behind-the-scenes organisation of the occasion.

Dale – A: As a lot as I beloved disseminating info in California Diving News, it lacked the direct interchange of knowledge in a one-on-one foundation. Through the massive circulation of California Diving News, I might inform the readership was good, however I needed to get to know the diving public on a private degree. Ultimately, I’ve discovered as a lot about diving from most people as they’ve discovered from us. And so many within the diving group have grow to be family and friends. The Scuba Show is a big household reunion.

Kim – A: By 1988, I used to be full time with diving, writing and operating a profitable enterprise. Dale and I put our heads collectively and incredulously got here up with the thought of placing on a client present. We have been on dive boats and seashore dives on a regular basis and ‘everyday’ divers would inform us that they might like to attend the DEMA present, however it was not allowed for them as they weren’t concerned within the business. That thought saved ringing in our ears and although we had by no means finished one thing like this earlier than, we knew the California dive group was itching to expertise one thing like this. Thus, SCUBA ’88, The Dive Show was born.

When we began the present, we reached out to each member of the family and good friend and yelled, ‘help!’ With a workers comprised of each facet of the household and plenty of shut mates, it grew to become clear we had a profitable formulation. As the present grew from 101 cubicles in 1988 to finally nearly 300 in 2011, our formulation didn’t change. Every household and good friend stayed with us as we gathered extra alongside the best way. We went from having a babysitting room of 11 kids on the Queen Mary to these kids working the present, together with our three now-grown boys, who labored their manner by faculty working CDN and the Show.

When we offered the present to Mark and Ginny Young, we requested our ‘family’ to assist us with the transition in 2012. Starting with that present, we mixed our ‘family’ with their ‘family’ and now all of us work, have enjoyable and luxuriate in each second – Scuba Show is as a lot enjoyable for us as it’s for the diving public.

Most Memorable and Challenging Dive Experiences

Q: What is your most-memorable diving expertise?

Dale – A: Three. The first was mendacity on my again within the kelp forest having fun with the daylight shattered into beams by the kelp and fish swirling about on this magical place. It was a easy but profound imaginative and prescient and religious expertise. I wept.

The subsequent was freediving off Fiji and encountering a humpback whale and her calf. She was so awe-inspiring, so highly effective, but so mild of coronary heart. Then she gazed at me together with her eyes shifting, monitoring my cautious motion.

The third was on the vertical coral wall at Bunaken National Park in Indonesia. My head and shoulders hovered over the wall’s edge at 3m whereas my ft hung over 900m beneath, all of the whereas in a single look have been a whole lot of species of multi-coloured fish. I requested God why he created this. He replied, ‘This is for your delight Dale’. The wonders underwater usually are not just a few form of organic soup, however reasonably was purposefully designed for our surprise and delight.

Kim – A: The kelp forest off Catalina Island will all the time be my most favorite. Dale calls me a ‘kelp hugger’ as a result of that’s ceaselessly what I do after I first get into the water. I hug the kelp and thank it for harbouring such wonderful life. Nothing beats the kelp forest for its magnificence, and it appears like flying among the many redwood forest and I get to work together with each ocean animal you might probably think about.

The most-memorable must be freediving off Fiji with a Mama humpback whale and her child. Somehow she allowed us lowly divers to spend hours watching and taking part in together with her and her calf. When we might get too shut, she would sound and take her child together with her, however return just a few moments later to proceed the interplay. I felt like this was a present from God and I additionally thanked St Brendan (the patron of scuba divers) to assist us alongside the best way.

Lessons in Diving Safety and Risk

Q: On the flipside, what’s your worst diving reminiscence?

Dale – A: I obtained bent 4 occasions. Two have been whereas business diving (not my fault), and the opposite two sport diving. Of these, one was positively my fault. The different incident was an ‘unexplained’ hit. By the grace of God, I’ve come by all of these experiences comparatively unscathed.

Kim – A: I’ve to say that Dale’s worst reminiscences have been simply as unhealthy for me, I didn’t get bent, however watching the US Coast Guard carry away my husband was fairly unhealthy, simply because it was unhealthy for our youngest son watching an identical situation for bend #4.

Now for my worst expertise. It was a deep, chilly, darkish dive on an unnamed reef off Catalina Island. The captain had us go down the anchor chain to succeed in the reef. After huffing and puffing to get to the reef at 24m, I ignored all my coaching and didn’t examine my gauges. Dale and I reached the highest of the reef collectively and instantly noticed two ocean sunfish (also referred to as mola mola). We shortly obtained into place and commenced the job of modelling and taking photos with the creatures. Once the images have been finished, I checked by gauge and I had solely 15bar of air in my tank and was at 25m in depth. I knew I had made an unforgiveable mistake. All my years of diving and security went out the window to get a silly picture. Dale and I made it to the floor with out a security cease and I used to be okay, however scared to dying with that have burned into my mind. Nothing is price our security!

The Future Vision of Kim and Dale Sheckler

Q: What does the longer term holds for Dale and Kim Sheckler?

Dale – A: I’ve been in awe of what God has gifted me by the years. He has given me a loving household, shut mates, and a profitable enterprise, and great thing about nature particularly that residing within the ocean. I need to give again in service to others, specifically to present a voice to people who don’t have any voice in our society — the homeless and unborn.

I need to proceed to dive and write about it. I need to proceed to trade concepts and information about diving.

Kim – A: In round 2004, Dale obtained the thought (Ha, God gave him the thought) to grow to be an ordained Deacon within the Catholic Church. Together, we launched into a five-year mission of schooling earlier than being ordained in 2009. With that stated, we each had loads of concepts of how we can provide again to the group in a non-diving manner. Through psychological well being schooling, homeless work, the unborn, we ‘dived in’. But that didn’t take away from our love of the ocean and the diving group.

We nonetheless reside inside one mile of the seashore and cherish our Pacific Ocean. As lengthy as we are able to dive and snorkel, we’ll proceed to share the underwater world with as many as will pay attention and might learn. After all, God created the oceans, in addition to blessing us with an unimaginable life. We can’t assist however share and provides again.

Frequently Asked Questions