Direct Connection without internet/wifi

[iceiceninja]

Hardware: ESP-WROOM-32
Hello! I am new here and with ESP (and IOT) development in general. I am working on a project that involves a device that will float on the surface of the water, receive a command to go underwater and gather sensor data, then come back to the surface of the water and transmit that data to a nearby computer. At the location that this will be taking place, there is no internet/wifi access already set up. My question is, would it be possible for the computer to directly connect to this float and send/receive information? I have heard people say to set the ESP up as an access point and connect to it using the computer. Would this work? There is no routers nearby or anything of that nature so I was curious if I could just establish a direct connection with the esp when the float resurfaces. Thank you in advance for any assistance!

Extra info: The float won't be too far from the computer, max of around 20ft once it resurfaces. It will be encased in a water proof device and focused on reading sensor data when it goes underwater and then focused on transmitting that data once it surfaces again.