While sitting out the August job-search doldrums, I followed the advice of Ann Aylesworth, director of crew placement at Northrop and Johnson, to upgrade my dive credentials.

Knowing Brownie's Southport Divers caters to yachts, I decided to go with owner David Carmichael's advice to take my courses from his senior PADI instructor, Mike Mandich. With wisdom significantly beyond his years, Mike is one hell of a fun guy to do a dive course with. Over the next 31 days, we completed the PADI Advanced, Rescue, First Responder, Divemaster, NITROX and Gas Blender certifications.

The dive scene off Ft. Lauderdale turned out to be a lot better than I expected. Somehow I got to believing that the reef was dead in these waters and there would not be much marine life.

That notion was proven dead wrong when I came face-to-face with a 500-pound Goliath Grouper at 95 feet on the Mercedes wreck, about a mile off north Ft. Lauderdale beach. This old fish was the size of a Mini Cooper. We swam a waltz together for 20 minutes, myself in awe and that ol' man just sizing me up for a snack I reckoned (or was that too much nitrogen?).

Another notion that turned out to be fantasy was that the above-mentioned six courses would be a cake walk. After paying the two grand to Brownie's, I was handed a 9-inch stack of books, all of which had to be assimilated and regurgitated in the form of completed knowledge reviews.

About 50 hours of lectures were followed by 11 written tests. Man, did this dive scene become more serious from when I got my open water C-card back in the double-hose, single-stage days.

During that month of diving, I had several conversations with David Carmichael on what led to his worldwide recognition as "the guy" when a captain wants to install a dive tank compressor, service a yacht's dive equipment, purchase new dive gear, go technically exotic with a NITROX maker or design an entire custom installation.

With the ubiquitous wireless head set plugged faithfully into his left ear, Carmichael is always ready for the next request for his wide breadth of underwater equipment knowledge. Handling more than 150 calls a day, he is passionate about diving. Carmichael's first open-water dive had him touching the Christ of the Deep statue off John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo. When his brother, Robert, got into Third Lung manufacturing, he decided to get into the retail side. He looked around and met Chet Major, who started Divers Haven in 1963.

"I remember the place was filled with antique Jacques Cousteau gear, an old two-man sub in the window and enough cobwebs and roaches to choke a horse," Carmichael said.

This humble beginning has evolved into three stores tied together with a Web site enabling a captain to order from anywhere on the planet. His goal, he said, is to be the world's leader in high-caliber installations of diving equipment in yachts.

NITROX what a difference

My first dive with NITROX on the Tenneco towers three oil platforms donated by the oil giant and sunk off of Hallandale Beach was another milestone for me. With more than 1,400 hours under the sea with compressed air, I was impressed at the extended bottom time I got at 110 feet with a 36 percent oxygen mixture. Personally, I found that I felt better after the second deep dive of the day and did not have any type of aches, all attributed to the higher oxygen content.

The NITROX course made a real believer out of me. More oxygen is the way to enjoy deeper dives and worth the time and money it takes to get the NITROX certification. With NITROX becoming more popular, Brownie's has a unique, yet amazingly simple method of oxygen generation for NITROX tank fills on board a yacht. Supplying NITROX is no longer just for the 200 footers. Brownie's systems have been installed on as yachts as small as an 84-foot Lazzara.

Brownie's has two instructional programs: the PADI recreational dive school taught by Mike Mandich and a high-tech program taught through Global Underwater Explorers with in-house instructor Dean Marshal. From the initial open water dive to the most advanced Tec One license (diving with a mix of helium, oxygen and compressed air), Marshal teaches it all.

For anything between a scuba refresher course and the dive master, Mandich will customize a program of fun and adventure. Our drift dives along the third reef were a lovely visual of fan corals, small brain corals and a healthy amount of colorful fish.

"Mike has been a great asset to Brownie's," Carmichael said. "His dive courses can be individually tailored to fit a busy yacht crew's schedule. He will even move on board to facilitate the crew's schedule."

A highlight of the dive master course for me was the teaching component. My first class had an 11-year-old and 12-and-a-half-year-old sister team from Ecuador and their dad. My apprehension for them evaporated upon watching how comfortable they were at Tigertail Lake. This freshwater facility is world class, paid for by Broward County taxpayers. With its underwater trampolines at 10 feet and 20 feet, conducting scuba classes is a breeze.

So crawl out of the bilges, engine rooms, galleys and pubs and enjoy the underwater world here in Lauderdale while waiting your next "go here" orders from the owner. For more information about Brownie's and a list of locations, visit www.yachtdiver.com  or call 954-524-2112.

Comments on this story are welcome at david@hare.com . If you have a product or service you'd like to see reviewed, contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com .