This series shines the spotlight on some of the incredible divers in the Shearwater organization. This is Shearwater's Customer Care & Marketing Coordinator, Trisha Stovel's story about taking diving from a hobby to a career, and learning from some of the best along the way. Through her experiences with wildlife, videography, and cave training, she highlights the skills, mindset, and mentorship that transformed her life underwater.
Photo by Jill Heinerth
Diver Origin Story: Getting Started
What first inspired you to try scuba diving, and do you remember your very first dive?
I joined my university dive club before my first day of classes and never really stopped. It began as curiosity about the ocean and wildlife, and before long diving had become a huge part of my life.
I remember my first dives at our local training site, Whytecliff Park, and experiencing all of its chilly glory in a wetsuit.
The feeling that drew me underwater in the beginning hasn't changed for me much.
Was there a specific moment early on when you realized: “This is more than a hobby for me”?
I don't think there was one specific moment. It was more that diving gradually became the centre of so much of my life.
It became how I spent most of my free time and what I was planning my life around. Thinking about the next dive, the next trip, getting out with my buddies, and the next skills I wanted to learn and work on.
Fairly early on, I became just as interested in documenting dives as I was in doing them and started bringing cameras underwater, always capturing my buddies and encounters. I love getting out with buddies and sharing in the excitement, or just the pure peacefulness of being underwater.
Some of my favourite footage still comes from more simple setups like an iPhone, GoPro, or 360 camera. I like mixing those shots in because they really show what diving actually feels like.
What did your certification journey look like: from Open Water to where you are now?
After my Open Water certification, I completed my Advanced soon after to keep diving and learning with the same club and instructors. From there, I spent several years focused on gaining experience through lots of local diving in BC, a few specialty courses with buddies, and eventually working in dive shops.
I was initially hesitant about pursuing professional training and thought guiding might be as far as I'd go. Once I started working in dive shops, becoming an Instructor felt like a natural next step. I grew to really enjoy teaching new divers while continuing to guide and dive for myself.
My transition into technical diving was gradual. By the time I started tec training, I had a much clearer idea of the environments and types of diving I was most drawn to.
For me, training has always been about building comfort and more confidence in different conditions rather than working toward a specific endpoint.
Photo by Jill Heinerth
What skills or experiences early on gave you the confidence to advance into more technical specialties?
Weekly diving, guiding, video dives, and instructing all contributed to building experience and confidence over time.
I tend to feel most engaged in more challenging conditions such as cold water, currents, variable visibility, or changing surface conditions. They remind me that the ocean is in charge, which is something I've always respected, and part of what I find so exciting about diving.
As I started tec training in BC, I found myself leaning toward sidemount diving and caves.
I was also really intentional about who I wanted to learn from. Early exposure to some aspects of tec diving culture showed me what I wasn't looking for, and I found myself drawn instead to divers who approached it with calmness, humility, and mentorship.
Photo by Jill Heinerth
Diving as a Career
How did you transition from recreational diver to working in the dive industry?
It happened gradually. The more involved I became in diving, the more I found myself spending time in dive shops, guiding, helping out at events, and eventually teaching. Before long, I was spending as much time working around diving as I was diving for fun.
As videography and photography became a bigger focus, I found myself planning trips around different wildlife encounters and the opportunity to document them.
This eventually led to some production work, expedition filming, and my role at Shearwater in Customer Care and Marketing. Being able to combine diving, storytelling, and supporting fellow divers as part of the team is something I'm very grateful for.
Along the way, a close dive buddy and someone I look up to in many ways, Becky Kagan Schott, has encouraged and supported me in spending more time behind a camera while creating opportunities to experience polar expedition travel and video projects. Her recommendation connected me with Faith Ortins, who's welcomed me onto scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica as part of the image making team. All of these experiences have been absolute highlights of my diving career!
Have your professional experiences shaped you differently than your personal diving experiences?
Professional diving has taught me to think beyond only experiencing a dive for myself. There's more planning, teamwork, and responsibility involved when working on projects, capturing content, or being part of expedition environments.
At the same time, that work has made me appreciate personal diving even more. Some of my favourite dives are the ones close to home with friends, where I can be even more playful and relaxed underwater. There's no real plan beyond enjoying the dive, spending time together, and seeing what we might encounter.
The Pull Towards Cave Diving
What initially drew you to cave diving: curiosity, challenge, the environment, or something else?
Initially, it was absolutely the environment itself. Cave systems felt completely surreal to me. The clearest visibility in most cases, formations, geology, light effects, and haloclines all create an atmosphere that’s hard to describe until you’ve experienced it. Even the life you can see inside and around these systems is so unique and incredible.
The more I learned about cave diving, the more I appreciated the mindset behind it. It’s never really been about adrenaline or risk. It’s the calm thinking, patience, and discipline that come with it.
Sahara dust in Dan’s Cave. Photo by Jill Heinerth
How did you go about finding a cave diving instructor and why was that process so important to you?
Choosing an instructor was important to me because the person teaching you has such a big influence on how you approach cave diving.
I was especially interested in training with a female instructor, and while searching online I came across Jill Heinerth. The way she talked about exploration, education, and cave diving really stuck with me.
I asked one of my close dive buddies if she'd want to train together, and it turned into one of the most memorable experiences I've had in diving. We spread the training out over a couple of years, which gave us time to feel more comfortable with each stage before moving on to the next.
Learning in the Florida caves was an incredible experience, both technically and personally. Since then, I've had the chance to dive caves in Mexico with that same buddy and later reconnect with Jill in Abaco's crystal caves.
Being able to return to that style of diving with people I genuinely trust has made those experiences even more memorable, and it's something I hope to keep doing.
Trisha and Khrista Diving into the "eye" of Ginnie Springs. Photo by Jill Heinerth
What mindset or skills does cave diving demand that other forms of diving don’t?
It requires a very honest relationship with yourself. Technical skills are important, but so are awareness, decision-making, and emotional control.
It also teaches you to really slow down, think ahead, and communicate clearly. In overhead environments, there's very little room for poor judgement, which naturally builds respect for both the environment and the people you're diving with.
Despite the complexity, some of the most peaceful moments I've ever experienced underwater have been in caves.
Photo by Jill Heinerth
Cave Diving & Photography
How does being photographed while cave diving change your awareness or approach to the dive?
It requires a slower, more deliberate approach, especially when coordinating with photographers, videographers, and other divers underwater. Everything tends to happen a little more intentionally.
At the same time, photography and videography can really deepen your appreciation for these spaces. You start noticing details you might otherwise miss.
One of the most memorable parts of those dives was seeing the cave passages fully lit up all around us. Normally we're using focused spot beams, so you only see small sections at a time. Experiencing those massive rooms fully illuminated is something that'll always stay with me.
Photo by Jill Heinerth
Progression & Milestones
Are there milestones or paths you'd recommend for divers who want to progress but aren’t sure where to start?
I think building up comfort and skills in the water matters most. Things like great buoyancy, trim, awareness, communication, navigation, and learning to stay calm in different conditions. Those foundations carry through no matter what direction you eventually take.
It's also important to trust your own pace. Everyone develops skills differently, and there’s no need to rush into the next course or trip just because the opportunity is there.
Over time, it also helps to pay attention to what excites you about diving, whether that's shore diving, marine life encounters, wrecks, caves, photography, storytelling or travel.
Letting curiosity guide your progression tends to make the path more enjoyable and can lead you in directions you never expected.
