We decided to try a new spot for the full 4-barrel drop, this time swimming them out from the shore. The liter barrels are smaller than the 3-liter guys we usually use for our hospitality clients who require both higher volume and greater efficiency from the trips. These barrels were easy to load onto our small raft that carries a dry bag, the Nikon and the dive flag. The sea was flat flat, the sun was out, and it was warm for early December. We pushed off the beach and swam east.

The barrel drop for Barbancourt’s Seagroni had to be solo this time, despite perfectly flat conditions and favorable weather. No Nick or Billy and the high seas camaraderie that usually ensues. But I wasn’t exactly solo out there, a trusted spearfishing buddy met me so we could get a little camera footage of the drop and some reef hunting in afterward. We paddle far out to our spot in the placid North Atlantic, and shoot footage of the barrel underwater and at the surface for social promos.

The sky was clear but the wind had picked up to about 12 knots and the tide was coming in so we had a little bit of a fight on the way out there. Nothing crazy, mostly 2-4 ft swells on our way out to the first reef line. Today were were able to get on the barrels pretty quickly and the wind didn’t push us back very far as Eddie strapped on his mask and fins. He found them quickly and we hauled them into the boat within 5 or 6 minutes. The vacuum-seal bag on the big one hadn’t locked and it was filled with water, but the barrel was clean so it all looked good. The small barrel was still sealed in the dry bag and had been floating 2-3 feet off the bottom, which is ideal. Water will get in no matter what, but a sunken bag is a sign of a burst barrel.