Early in September of 2017, Lacy, a US Army recruiter based in southeastern Florida, and his friend Carlin from California teamed up for their Enriched Air Nitrox and Advanced Open Water courses with us here at Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo, Florida! While discussing Adventure Dive options, the very idea of diving against debris yielded an enthusiastic and overwhelming vote. As such, Lacy and Carlin went all in to become certified Dive Against Debris divers!

After collecting the required equipment, we loaded up on the boat, and headed out to the dive sites to collect what we could. Not only were we able to find and remove some debris, we came across a couple of instances where we got to hone in on the precision of removing fishing line from live corals on the reef. In the end, Lacy cut up some fishing line off of the reef, Carlin recovered a glass bottle and a piece of broken glass from a container, and an old BCD weight pocket with a lead weight.

Lacy and Carlin's attention to detail, excitement to be a part of the marine debris cleanup, and inquisitive dialogue not only testifies to the excitement of Dive Against Debris, but became an inspiration to others on the boat to pursue a more active role in becoming a part of marine cleanup events!