Dale was born into a commercial fishing family in Ketchikan. He grew up on a typical Alaska homestead, off the road system, with no indoor plumbing or electricity and with a considerable amount of time devoted to subsistance.

In his youth, Dale crewed on various boats, including the family’s salmon troller, a purse seiner and tug boats. He holds a Master of Education degree with undergraduate majors in Art and Biology. He has taught art in public schools and for the University of Alaska, S.E. Within Biology, his concentration is Marine Biology, and in Art his specialty is sculpture. He was employed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for ten seasons, as a Fisheries Biologist and captain. Dale fished commercially for fifteen years with his own vessels throughout S.E. Alaska, Prince William Sound and Bristol Bay in the Bering Sea. He is a licensed pilot and has flown as a contract spotter pilot for herring fishermen.

Dale has operated scheduled cruises and charters in S.E. Alaska for 20 years. He sold his business Alaska Cruises, including 5 vessels in 1999. During his last season, his vessels carried 30,000 passengers. For his contributions to the Alaska visitor industry, Dale has received several awards including the 2000 “Excellence in Tourism” award from the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau and the 1998 “Ginny Hill” Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association award. Well known personalities that he has personally hosted include Olivia Newton John, Joan Rivers, Bill and Melinda Gates, Francis Ford Coppola, Dan Aykroyd, Dennis Hopper and Candice Bergen.

He has been politically active on behalf of Alaska’s commercial fishing and visitor industries and has given presentations at the local, state and national levels, including testimony before a U.S. Senate Committee on Alaska Lands. Dale was appointed by the late Governor Jay Hammond as a founding director of the Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank. He was a director and President of the Commercial Fishermen’s Cooperative Association in Ketchikan. He was actively involved in the creation of several S.E. Alaska wilderness areas as well as Misty Fjords National Monument.

Since selling his business, Dale has focused primarily on building the “Misty Fjord”. However, he has taken some breaks. He has worked as a contract captain and as a naturalist aboard luxury yachts and has been a Destination Lecturer aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ships visiting Alaska.

Dale has a thorough knowledge of Alaska’s natural resources. He has a passion for Alaska, and loves sharing his knowledge with others. He is currently writing a book “Ketchikan and the Inside Passage”.