There were just two days remaining before the 2008 Boca Grande Pass Dive & Clean Up Project on April 1st. That still left time to splash on a couple patch reefs off the coast of Pompano Beach, Florida. All Brooks and I had to do was was wake up at 3:30am on a Sunday and not miss our ride an hour later at the shop in Port Charlotte with Course Instructor, Jim Joseph and team diver, Alan Randisi. If the day went well, we'd have a hell of a time, maybe snag a few lobster and get issued our NAUI seal of approval by Coach. After the more casual diving we've done over the years, it was going to feel good doing it for real. We'll be the first ones to say, the extra confidence that comes from actually knowing what the hell you're doing is sometimes underrated.

As it turns out, we caught a short nap Saturday night and made the 2.5 hour down I-75 and across Alligator Alley to Florida's Gold Coast. We arrived in Pompano right on time at about 7:30am and immediately began unloading our gear and preparing to board our platform for the day; South Florida Diving's 'Aqua View'.

Brooks and I were extremely pumped to be doing a 2-tank drift drift dive on this trip. It's a specific technique commonly defined as: 'A type of recreational diving where the diver is transported by the currents caused by the flow of a tide or river'. Or, for those that don't dive, I've heard it referred to simply as, 'Jumping out of a perfectly good boat before it motors away, leaving the divers in open water'. For Brooks and I, it spelled adventure, exploration and experience, which meant we were chomping at the bit to jump out of a perfectly good boat on this day.

Of course, the drift diving experience varies greatly depending on location, conditions and skill level. This location consists of a series of patch reefs located just off the coast of Pompano Beach, Florida, north of Fort Lauderdale. The reef system runs parallel to the beach and is situated in depths ranging to over 100 feet. It supports a wide variety of marine wildlife representing the bottom to the top of the food chain. Jim arranged for our first drop on Booger Reef in approximately 60' of water. Our second splash would be on Sunkist Reef with depths pressing about 70'. Conditions, as previously mentioned, were looking favorable with cloudy skies, calm seas, and decent visibility. Our team's skill level pretty much covered it all from our course instructor, Jim Joseph who has so many dives in different environments that I can't count that high, Alan Randisi with hundreds of dives, and then proudly representing the bottom of the barrel ... the two of us.

We had a lot to think about on this dive and an end result we were highly focused on. But as usual, we needed to document the effort. Fortunately, Jim came armed with his filtered mini-DV cam in an 'Ocean Images' housing. We're working on one of those, but we did bring our usual topside gear. For the wet stuff we were packing an $8 WallyWorld waterproof 35mm. So look the hell out!

By this time, Brooks & I were beginning to get that same warm feeling in the gut that comes when you're on stage, at your battle station, when the lights go out before a concert. The curtain is about to drop as the first beat hits the floor. Anticipation, expectation, adrenaline and freedom from everything. It's show time and you had better rock ... or else.

Jim gave us the head's up to: line up, look before we leap, and hold our masks before we jump. Finally, moments later, the boat captain shouted for our team on the starboard side to dive! Dive! DIVE! With that, Jim was wet, followed by Brooks, me then Al with our dive flag. We all gathered in a tight group, then took our final check before eagerly following Jim's 'OK' to descend.

After being picked up and on the surface for nearly an hour, we had off-gassed enough nitrogen and were on our way to suck a second tank on Sunkist Reef. En route, we stopped to pick up divers from a wreck called the 'Captain Dan'. The wreck is a 175-foot U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender built in March of 1937 that rests in 110' of water.

The vessels fishing this wreck in the background were professionally unfamiliar with laws requiring boats to keep a minimum distance of 300' from diver down flags. They were quickly 'persuaded' to relocate before our boat's Dive Master, Robert Shearer, suited up and headed down to remove the descent line from the wreck. With that task finally complete, Captain John Wilson had us underway.

Our second dive, other than being cut a little short by the two air suckin' dogs on the team (your's truly), was also a success. We went a little deeper into about 70' of water this time on a larger and livelier reef. Accordingly, Jim swiftly subdued two lobsters; one of which would be making it to a dinner somewhere. We didn't see any sharks, but Jim told us of other spots we could visit in the future he knows attract them. That didn't disappoint us in the least because, after all, we had plenty else to keep us occupied, including some key skill tests we had to pass with Jim.

The day came off without a hitch. However, as a result of our anticipation and excitement, we were consuming gas at a rate approximately 30% faster than our dive mates. Note to self: when on a drift dive ... drift more and kick less. Even though the currents weren't exactly ripping on this dive, we could've worked less and did so our second time down. By doing that, and remembering to breathe slower and deeper, we managed to eek out about 10 minutes more on the day's second round. Hopefully, the trend will continue.

All kidding aside, diving is something we're taking to heart. Not only is it a personal passion, but it's a skill that can only enhance our efforts in documenting wildlife behavior and our adventures in the marine environment; both above and below the surface. We plan to look back on 1000's of dives some day in the future. This little expedition was merely the tip of an iceberg that Brooks and I both know will always remain the one that started it all. I can guarantee one thing. We won't need a dive log to remember it.