Looking back at the dock, the security of solid land gets smaller and smaller. I think of how my crew and I had to lug our gear- diving suits, flippers, goggles, BSD vests, regulators, bulky air tanks and all- onto the boat. I turn my eyes to the blue abyss ahead of me, but it is not the soft light blue-green that we find at the shallow end but the deeper, more somber blue that represents the enigma of the ocean and the journey that lies ahead of me. Then the boat stops moving and it's time to get ready for our first dive. We have to go through such a simple routine of setting up and checking our and our partners gear, but one small mistake and you or your partner are stuck under 60 feet of water and pressure with no air and no
