Watching the water is what Greg Woods has done every summer for 50 years, and on the morning of 9/11 his skills were put to the task.

The career lifeguard and firefighter who worked aboard the FDNY's Marine 1 found the perfect place to marry his professional passions, until it was all shattered on that bright blue morning.

Woods says, "We went out, looked on the dock, it's about a mile down you can see the Twin Towers. You can see a black hole with smoke coming out of it."

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Woods quickly boarded the fire boat and went racing toward the terror. Little did Woods know but he was about to become part of the largest water evacuation in American history. Once docked he joined his fellow firefighters in boarding the injured.

"There was a nursery there. We had babies. The attendants at the nursery were handing down babies," says Woods.

The boat filled quickly, and at one point, two women ended up in the water, but Woods was quick to jump into their rescue.

"You rely on your training and as soon as you see someone in trouble you just go," says Woods.

It's been 20 years since that day, and Woods has since retired from the FDNY. His one constant in a world drastically changing is the beach.