Fred Drake

Company Founder / PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer

Fred Drake’s journey began on a family trip to Bermuda in 1978, where he started SCUBA diving. By 1980 Fred was a certified PADI Open Water Diver trained by Bermuda diving legend Dave McCleod.

His academic pursuits took him west to Humboldt State University in California, where Fred delved deeper into the world of diving while majoring in Recreation Administration and Business. Here, he took PADI Advanced, Rescue, and Divemaster classes. Beyond the books, Humboldt’s allure lay in its vast outdoors, offering Fred a playground of whitewater kayaking, surfing, mountain biking, and more. After graduating from HSU, Fred received his PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor rating and continued to work with the HSU diving program.

Transitioning from HSU, Fred soon found himself leading snorkeling excursions across various exotic locations with Norwegian Cruise Line’s Dive In program. In 1994 NCL sent its first ship to Alaska, The M/S Windward. It was then that Fred and another PADI instructor pioneered cruise ship based snorkeling tours in Ketchikan, Alaska. With all the gear on board and a team of multi-talented Divers on board, The Dive In to Adventure Program was born. Fred and the crew led snorkeling tours in Ketchikan but also assisted tour operators in each port with hiking, mountain biking and sea kayaking tours. Fred’s many years of white-water kayaking experience made him a natural sea kayak guide. With a kayak on loan from one of the local vendors Fred gave sea kayaking demonstrations and instructions in the ships pool! Forest Service permits were garnered so the Divers could also lead hikes on the countless trails of Southeast Alaska. And in Skagway and company provided mountain bikes and a van so mountain bike tours could be led by the ships Dive In to Adventure Guides.

After soaking in seven years of life on the seas and a brief tenure as the Division Manager of Gray Line of Alaska, Fred’s vision materialized with the inception of Snorkel Alaska in 2001. A testament to his dedication, he was honored as Ketchikan’s Tour Guide of the Year by Princess Cruises’ guests in the very same year. Fred continues to run and operate Snorkel Alaska, sharing his passion for the water and all things outdoors.