Fred Drake began SCUBA diving on a family trip to Bermuda in 1978. Two years later he obtained his PADI Open Water Diver Certification. After graduating from high school in Fairfield, CT he attended Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA. He majored in Recreation Administration and Business while taking PADI Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster classes with H.S.U's SCUBA program. Shortly after graduating in 1988 Fred received his PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor rating and continued to work with the H.S.U. diving program.
Fred was next employed by Norwegian Cruise Line's Dive In snorkeling program leading passengers on excursions throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico & Bermuda. NCL sent it's first ship to Alaska in 1994. It was then that Fred and another PADI Instructor pioneered cruise ship snorkeling in Ketchikan. After 7 years Fred tired of ship life and opened Snorkel Alaska in May of 2001. He was voted Ketchikan's Tour Guide of the Year in 2001 by our guests from Princess Cruises.
Fred learning to dive
Erin with her first Halibut
Erin is our Dock Representative and Tour Guide in training. She's the first face you'll meet down on the cruise ship docks. Erin will be meeting your tour, coordinating the departure, helping out around the shop and getting in the water. She is originally from Carbondale, IL where she grew up and also attends Southern Illinois University. Erin's cousin lives here in Ketchikan so that's how she heard about Snorkel Alaska. She completed her PADI Open Water Diver and Advanced ratings all while diving at Mountain Point. Erin is currently majoring in Art History. 2012 will be her fourth summer at Snorkel Alaska.
Kurt is originally from Chicago, Illinois. A number of years ago he gave up his real job for the life of a PADI SCUBA Instructor. Since then Kurt has worked in the Caribbean on the islands of Antigua, St. Maarten, Saba, Puerto Rico, U.S. & British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and he's now in Maui. He's also worked on live aboard dive boats and luxury mega yachts. Kurt joined us in 2006 and was voted Tour Guide of the Season in 2009 by our guests from Princess. Kurt is coming back this summer for his 7th season!
Kurt
Gaby catches a Pink Salmon
Gaby joined us in June of 2011. She is originally from Loveland, Colorado and is currently working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She began her diving career with the rigorous UCSC SCUBA Program during her Freshman year and completed her Rescue training in the spring of 2011. Gaby spent this past fall in Costa Rica studying tropical biology and conservation while conducting research on Pacific Coast Spiny Lobsters. She plans to head to Corsica, France to continue research in Marine Biology after this season. Some of her other interests include snowboarding, mountain biking and surfing.
2011 was Matt's first season at Snorkel Alaska. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and has always been close to the water. Matt started SCUBA diving in 2006 and went on to get his Instructor rating in 2008 at Pro Dive in Florida. With his Instructor certification in hand Matt landed in Kauai, Hawaii where he worked for 2 years teaching all levels of PADI courses. Matt considers himself an avid outdoorsman and enjoys backpacking, biking, climbing, fishing and rafting. Matt will be back in 2012 for his second season.
Matt's first 2 Halibut
Melissa snacking on some kelp
Melissa will be joining the Snorkel Alaska team this May. She graduated from Humboldt State University in May of 2010 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology with a Marine Emphasis. Her most recent position was working on commercial fishing vessels documenting fishing efforts and reporting catch data. Melissa has worked at the Catalina Island Marine Institute Youth Summer Camp as a Divemaster. She also monitored Hawksbill Sea Turtles in Hawaii Volcanos National Park and was a Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern in Friday Harbor, Washington. She should fit right in here at Snorkel Alaska!
Billy will be joining the Snorkel Alaska team this coming May. He graduated from CSU Chico with a Masters Degree in Parks and Recreation in 2011. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology which he obtained in 2006. After becoming a PADI Divemaster in 2007 Billy worked in Costa Rica and also Kuaui, Hawaii. He met Matt in Hawaii and that's how he heard about Snorkel Alaska. He's held a variety of positions including English Teacher in Japan, Archaelogical Field Technician in Northern California and Graduate Assistant Teacher at CSU Chico. Most recently he was in Santa Barbara working as the Assistant Manager of Channel Islands Outfitters leading water based outdoor activities.
Billy on the dock
Kristi with a nice bug
Kristi will also be joining the Snorkel Alaska team this coming May. She graduated in 2011 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Kristi transferred there in 2008 after playing women's lacrosse at St. Andrews. She started her diving career in college taking Open Water through Divemaster classes and in 2011 went on to obtain her PADI Instructor certification at Utila Dive Center in Honduras. Her goal is to help others fall in love the sport she loves so much. Kristi has a varied background having worked in the Bahamas on a live aboard sailboat, at a dive shop in North Carolina and also as a Graphic Designer. Her other passion is rock climbing but also enjoys traveling, sailing, wakeboarding and snowboarding.
Lavonne or "V" is originally from South Carolina and is our final addition to the 2012 team. She has a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Psychology which she obtained in 2003 from Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. After graduating she moved to Key West, Florida to work on boats snorkeling, sailing and fishing. From there she landed a job working on private yachts as a mate and was able to travel, sail and focus on her photography. Since becoming a PADI Instructor in 2009 V has worked in Thailand and Kauai, Hawaii teach all levels of PADI courses. She met Matt in Hawaii and he suggested she give Alaska a try. V will be coming up directly from Honduras where she is teaching secondary school. Her passions include backpacking, whitewater and dancing.
