Hoodsport shop owners preview undersea event

Kirk Boxleitner | Mar 16, 20230

Katherine and John Yackel, co-owners of the YSS Dive Shop in Hoodsport, addressed Port of Hoodsport commissioners March 8 about the shop’s third-annual scuba expo and “Dive Against Debris” event May 6.

“The underwater world is so amazing, and it needs all the help it can get,” Katherine Yackel told the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

Through a separate correspondence to port commissioners, she vowed YSS Dive’s returning cleanup event would also impart to the public “why people should not pollute, and why we should continue to do cleanups of major waterways.”

Yackel said divers who volunteer to clean up are “incredible,” and she promised free lunches and free first airfills with one’s QR code registry, plus door prizes every hour and T-shirts for those who attend the event.

The Yackels have had cleanups twice a year since they opened their shop in 2020.

“This year, we were selected by Seiko Watches and the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Aware Foundation to be the cold-water diving destination for their Marine Debris Program sponsorship this year,” said Yackel, who credited the organizations with sending along Prospex diving watches for divers and nondivers to wear, in addition to helping sort the debris.

Just as the PADI 501(c)(3) nonprofit’s support through the past three years led to Seiko getting involved this year, so too has their joint sponsorship led to grant opportunities that Yackel said “we’re now available to apply for, to help with underwater cleanups.”

Yackel extended that credit to an estimated 15 vendor organizations for helping sponsor this year’s expo, while also having representatives on hand to feature “the latest and greatest scuba items.”

Yackel told Hoodsport commissioners that “our little town is getting some pretty cool publicity,” between the scuba-diving activity and the volunteers tending to the marine ecosystem, so she advised drivers to expect “the whole parking lot over at Carlos’ will be taken over, just like normal” for this event.

Among the complement of people that Yackel expects for the event are photographers, videographers and even drone operators for aerial shots.

“Everyone loves coming here (to) our little town, so it could potentially be really good for everybody who’s involved, so we’re excited,” said Yackel, who said the YSS Dive Shop’s facility-use agreements with the Port of Hoodsport don’t typically involve the use of portable toilets because the shop’s previous events have been smaller.

“I think, with the amount of people who are coming, though, we’re going to need them,” she added, while noting she’d already contacted AAA Septic of Shelton, based on the service she’d seen them provide in Lilliwaup during shrimping season.

Yackel assured the port the two “sani-cans” they planned to obtain from AAA Septic, along with a hand-washing station, would be sited on the shop’s property, with the intent of avoiding any significant hassles to the port.

When Port Commissioner Lori Kincannon requested an estimate for the event’s attendance, Yackel predicted it would draw “close to 50 divers,” plus their families and friends, for a total of roughly 100 visitors, enough that Yackel plans to contact to the Lucky Dog Casino and the Skokomish Indian Tribe regarding possible parking overruns, and even potential shuttle runs.