8:30 AM: We board the Spirit of Freedom, our live-aboard dive boat that will be our floating home for the next four nights on a dive tour of the northern portion of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef was formed about 20,000 years ago, after the end of the most recent ice age. All that melting of ice around the globe resulted in a 100 meter (330 foot) increase in the level of the sea. The continent of Australia was much larger than its present-day size and was actually connected to the islands of Papua & New Guinea.

The outer edge of the reef was once the edge of the continental land mass and the low-lying area between the waters edge now and the reef edge was flooded. Sea depth drops off the more than 3,000 feet just beyond the edge of the reef.

We would be including some photos and videos, but those will need to wait. The boat has Starlink satellite internet but it’s not the same as broadband, so it will be a few days before we can post those.

Cheers till then!