Q. When /
where did you start diving?
A. I received my NASDS certification in May 1975
in San Diego
Q. What motivated
you to become a diver?
A. I moved to San Diego in July 1973 from the mid-west. A couple of
years later I was dating a man who was a sport diver and I decided
to get my certification so we could share the experience. This turned
out to have been a good move. This is where I met my future husband:
Howard Hall was a dive instructor at the San Diego Diving Locker.
Q. Where have
you been?
A. I've been fortunate over the last 30 years to have dived a number
of places, starting with my own backyard: California's Channel Islands.
I later explored the waters of the Cayman Islands, Cocos Island (Costa
Rica), Papua
New Guinea, Fiji, Hawaii (Kona and Maui), the Tuamotu Islands, the
Solomon Islands, Philippine Islands, the Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of
Mexico (Flower Gardens Marine Sanctuary and Stetson Bank), the Bahamas,
Bonaire, Cancun, Cozumel, British Columbia, Australia (South Australia,
Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea), Belize...
Q. What diving
accomplishment are you most proud of?
A. I'm fortunate that I've been able to turn my avocation into a vocation.
During the past 15 years I've producing 7 major hour-long films for
television including a National Geographic Special, and 2 IMAX feature
films. This has allowed me to share the beauty of our oceans with millions
of viewers, and has also provided the means for publicizing important
conservation issues concerning our oceans.
Q. What will
the sport of diving be like 20 years from now?
A. I think technical diving will play an increasingly larger role in
undersea exploration, allowing divers to stay longer and go deeper.
Q. Who do
you admire in the diving community?
A. Stan Waterman and Howard Hall are at the top of my list.
Q. Do you
have any pre-dive, dive, or deco rituals?
A. Just before jumping in the water I check for currents and then proceed,
going down the anchor line if there is a current, and in any case always
being sure that I can navigate back to the boat. At the end of the
dive I follow a conservative profile of safety stops starting with
a stop for a minute or 2 at ½ of my deepest depth, and ending
with a minimum of 3 minutes at 10 feet. Often I stay longer to just
looking around, savor the quiet time, and to review in my mind what
I just experienced. Depending on where I am, this also might be a chance
to see a manta ray or whale shark swim by!
Q. Do you
have any advice for a new drysuit diver?
A. On one of your training dives, find a shallow spot where you rest
on the bottom at between 10-15 feet. Then begin removing weight until
you're neutrally buoyant. Try to avoid carrying any more weight than
you have left on at that point.
Q. Do you
know any good dive / fish jokes?
A. Well, this isn't really a joke, since I'm learning how true it is!
How do you spot an old time diver - he/she is deaf in at least one
ear!
Q. Where can
people find out more about you, your photography,
and films?
A. At www.howardhall.com
