California Diving News will publish its 25th anniversary edition at the beginning of lobster season. The longest published scuba magazine in the United States began publishing in October 1984.
California Diving News known for being the only publication dedicated to California scuba divers, will be marking its 25th anniversary issue in October. The October issue of CDN also happens to be one the most popular editions because it marks the beginning of lobster season.
Dale and Kim Sheckler started California Diving News in 1984, when Dale returned to California after spending years as a deep sea diver. Working out of their home and off one of the first Macintosh computers, they published the first issue, which was distributed mostly through the local dive stores in Southern California. Today, over 20,000 issues are distributed through over 300 dive stores, dive boats and dive clubs through out California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Utah.
In 1988, the Sheckler’s produced the SCUBA Show, a consumer-based scuba convention in a hotel near LAX. Over the next 12 years the show was held aboard the Queen Mary, until the show outgrew the space available there. The show has been held at the Long Beach Convention Center for the past 9 years. Exhibit space sold out the past two years and attendance has been consistently over 10,000 since 1991.
St. Brendan Corporation, who officially publishes CDN and produces the SCUBA Show, was named after the ‘unofficial’ patron saint of scuba divers, it has also published a variety of books. Currently, 3 books, Southern California’s Best Beach Dives, A Diver’s Guide to Monterey and A Diver’s Guide to Northern California, can be found at dive stores on the west coast and at amazon.com.
California Diving News also relaunched it’s website, www.cadivingnews.com, in January of this year. The site has over 300 previously published articles, as well as a searchable boat trip calendar, dive store directory, and dive club listings.
Dale Sheckler had this to say about this momentous occasion, “Wow, 25 years of publishing California Diving News! It has been a great ride. It would not have been possible without the support of the advertisers and the always enthusiastic readers. Thank you advertisers and readers a thousand times over.
We are looking forward to a bright future. The magazine continues to have strong support base of readers and advertisers and no shortage of material of which to write about. We are looking forward to an upcoming period of growth. We have an all new web site that continues to improve monthly and gain more readers daily and new ideas for the print publication. The California diving market, the largest in the nation, has always been a sure bet. California divers are extremely active, making an average of 3.5 dives a month. They purchase and own most of their own dive gear. They are the best dive customers in the world and there are a lot of them. And we will continue to have fun serving and diving with them.”
For more information about advertising in California Diving News please contact sales@cadivingnews.com.
For more information about the SCUBA Show please visit www.scubashow.com.
