As I think of the unforgettable characters that I have met
in my four decades of scuba diving, Dennis Divins standsout as one of most
unforgettable characters. I was recently
reminded of this when my Facebook Memories tab reminded me that Dennis passed
away on May 14, 2013.
I first met Dennis when I enrolled in a Rescue Diver course
in 1985 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dennis was the Diving Safety Officer and co-taught
the course with Ed Stetson. I have been
blessed in having several mentors as a diver over the last four decades, Dennis
is first among equals. He was a real
professional and demonstrated by example what it was to be a professional. He was a hell of a waterman, as I was to
learn in several expeditions with him to the island and coastal reefs.
In almost every aspect of my diving, Dennis had an
influence; he was a friend and teacher.
In his capacity as Diving Officer, Dennis taught the Research Diver
Certification course. I took the course
from him before I enrolled as a graduate student at UCSB. That training enabled me to volunteer with
the National Park Service, experience that led to my eventual employment as a
maritime historian at Channel Islands National Park. I volunteered to help teach openwater diving as
an assistant instructor through UCSB Outdoor Recreation, service for which
Dennis always expressed his appreciation.
During graduate school, I was a member of the Diving Safety Control
Board and worked with Dennis on a variety of issues. I also helped him teach a couple of segments
of the 100-hours class. I recall one
exercise he had us undertake was to mow the kelp off the pipes that connected
the offshore water intake to the marine lab--a great learning experience and a
lot of fun.
Dennis had been a fixture in the Santa Barbara diving
community since the 1960s. It seems like
everyone I met knew him and respected his contributions.
Certified as a scuba diver in 1961, Dennis spent the next
five decades becoming progressively more involved with diving in the underwater
sciences. He would train thousands of
divers, spend countless hours underwater conducting research dives in locales ranging
from tropical coral reefs to the Antarctic ice shelf, make valuable
contributions to the professionalization and management of scientific diving
programs all while helping to transform a small regional university marine
laboratory into a world-renowned institute.
A well-earned collegial recognition of his accomplishments came in 2012
when Dennis received the American Academy of Underwater Sciences’ (AAUS) Conrad
Limbaugh Memorial Award for Scientific Diving Leadership.
In the mid-60’s, Dennis worked at a number of marine-related
jobs including collecting marine organisms for the newly established University
of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) marine laboratory. In 1967, he received a scientific diver
certification from the UCSB Diving Safety Officer (DSO) Don Duckett. For the next two years, Dennis worked as a
diver in the interpretation program at the Undersea Gardens, a floating marine
aquarium in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
Throughout the 1970s, the UCSB DSO was a part-time position.
Dennis, in addition to his duties as the DSO, worked as a university ambulance
attendant and Santa Barbara County firefighter until the DSO became a full-time
position in 1979. The following year, he
testified at the Los Angeles hearings conducted by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration on establishment of the scientific diving exemption from
commercial diving regulations. Creation
of the exemption and the expanding opportunities for ocean science research
caused proliferation of scientific diving programs. Through his work with AAUS, Dennis
contributed greatly to the practice and administration of scientific diving.
For the next quarter century, Dennis worked as a tireless
advocate for the UCSB diving program, adapting evolving technologies and
techniques into the program to ensure operations were conducted safely. While his work took him to a variety of
locales, the Santa Barbara Channel Islands were his very favorite because of
their wide variety of species and overall beauty. As a consummate waterman, he had a unique
appreciation of the aquatic environment’s nuances. Shane Anderson, a retired UCSB staff diver,
recollected that during dives at the Channel Islands to guage the recovery of
Giant black sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), Dennis could seemingly summon the
fish by rhythmically rapping a dive knife against the base of his scuba tank
and have them remain motionless for the longest time.
I think Dennis’ greatest contribution may be the thousands
of rigorously-trained, disciplined scientific and sport divers (including his
wife Sherry). His legacy is the way he inspired countless young scientists to
pursue their careers and influence he played to so many of the people he befriended. Dennis not only instilled safe diving
practices in people, he infused an appreciation and enjoyment of all aspects of
diving and the ocean.
The accompanying picture is of Dennis in 1985. I had just received my assistant instructor
certification and was helping teach my first class. Dennis was on our boat trip out to Anacapa
Island. After one dive, when we got back
to the boat, I mentioned to Dennis that a
barracuda had shadowed my group as we approached the stern. On hearing
that, he grabbed his spear gun, fins and snorkel and hoped into the water. Next
thing I know, he comes back with a fine specimen for the evening's dinner. Like I said, he was one hell of a waterman
and a very good friend.
I recall on instance when in 1989 Dennis needed to purchase
a couple of oxygen units for the small boats the University used for research
dives. Budgets were tight back then and
he just did not have the funds to purchase the much needed units. I was speaking with him in his office of
Environmental Safety and Health one afternoon about the problem. I predicted
that as a result of the recent Loma Prieta earthquake money would be made
available for “emergency preparedness.”
The key, I noted, would be to frame the request for portable oxygen
units in those terms, not as units for the boats. It would not be a stretch to do so. I reminded him that the University’s
Thunderdome became the evacuation center earlier that summer when the Paint
Fire closed Highway 101, essentially halting any southbound traffic. He was a bit skeptical and our discussion
moved on. A few months later he called
me in my office at the MSI Ocean and Coastal Policy Center and excitedly
related how he had just received funds to purchase the units as part of the
preparedness initiative.
His influence went well beyond diving. About that time, he became the proprietor of
Pizza Bob’s an Isla Vista institution.
He retained the name when he took over ownership noting that “Pizza
Dennis did not have the same cache as Pizza Bob’s.” On a personal note, when I asked him to write a letter of
recommendation for me to gain admission into graduate school, he wrote one fine
letter for me. It came from the heart,
for it did not speak to my education qualifications but rather to my
character. I found out later that his
heartfelt recommendation especially impressed the graduate selection committee. After I graduated, I always made it a point
to visit Dennis whenever I was back on campus.
He was always very happy to see me greeting me with an affectionate bear
hug. Dennis stepped up to help students
organize the short-lived UCSB Ocean Rescue team in early 1993. The team did not
last long because of jurisdictional questions with Santa Barbara County over
who could provide emergency response.
They did not want us playing their sandbox.
He was a colorful character and a good friend. Thank you for everything Dennis, it was an
honor to have shared the ocean with you.
