PADI Search and Recovery Diver

Become a Search & Recovery Specialty Diver

It does happen and people lose things overboard on boats or anchors come loose from their chains.

As a search and recovery specialist diver you will have the skills and knowledge to find the lost object and bring it safely back to the surface.

Included in the OTB Diving Search & Recovery Specialty Course

• PADI Search & Recovery Manual/eLearning
• 4 Search & Recovery specialty training dives
• PADI Certification card
• Rental of all scuba equipment
• FREE use of Dive Computer
• Maximum 4 students per PADI Instructor

To enroll on a PADI Search & Recovery specialty course you must:

• Be an Advanced Open Water diver
• Have recent diving experience – we recommend completing a scuba review if you have not dived for 12 months
• 12 years of age or older
• Medically fit to dive

2 Day OTB Diving PADI Search & Recovery Specialty Course

The course consists of two sections:

• Knowledge Development – read the PADI Search & Recovery manual/eLearning and complete the knowledges
• Open Water training – 4 Search & Recovery training dives

Orientation & Knowledge Development

We start the PADI Search & Recovery specialty course with an Orientation that includes completion of some paperwork and the PADI Medical statement.

There is a Search & Recovery specialty manual to read and 18 question open book knowledge reviews to complete that your dive instructor will guide you through and review if you have not selected the eLearning route.

The Specialty Instructor led knowledge development is conducted during the morning of day 1. Some of the subjects you will cover include:

• General steps in planning a search and recovery dive
• How and when to use various search patterns such as expanded square, U shaped search pattern, jackstay and a circular rope search
• Procedures for controlling, rigging and lifting an object using a lift bag
• How to tie commonly used knots for search & recovery and review what you use each knot for
• Review how bottom topography and water movement can affect a search
• Procedure for pinpointing a fix on a submerged object while at the surface & how to relocate the object later using the fix.

There are 4 Search & Recovery training dives to complete to become a PADI Search & Recovery specialist.

Search & Recovery training dive #1

This dive is action packed and lots of fun and we usually conduct this dive somewhere shallow and plan for a long dive.

Once you are underwater, your Dive Instructor will ask you to tie the three knots you practiced on land earlier before demonstrating how to safely rig and bring to the surface an object less than 10kg using an appropriate lifting device.

You will have an opportunity to practice this skill before making your first search.

The first search you make will be for a small submerged object that we will place in an area 15 metres by 15 metres. Once you have found the object using an underwater search, you will rig the object to the bag and bring it to the surface using a lift bag.

The second search will be in a larger area. This time the object will be placed in an area 30 metres by 30 metres and again when you find the object and you will need to use the lift bag to bring it back to the surface.

This dive is lots of fun and probably one of the busiest and longest dives you will have made.

Search & Recovery training dive #2

Following on from the action packed first dive and once again you will be using a compass, this time focusing on demonstrating an expanding square pattern, as you practiced earlier on land.

Your Instructor will place an object within an area approximately 18 metres by 18 metres and once you have found it you will bring it back to the surface using a lift bag.

A long and challenging afternoon, most of which you will have spent underwater but the dive is exciting and full of skill practice.

Search & Recovery training dive #3

More practical thinking underwater and this time you will be finding an object using a Jackstay search.

Having already practiced this on land, this time you will be using the search to find a submerged object in an area 60 metres by 60 metres.

Once you have found it, bring it back to the surface using a lift bag, ropes and the knots you are now an expert at tying.

Search & Recovery training dive #4

The final dive of the course is the finale and known as your Search & Recovery scenario.

You will now have the opportunity to put into practice and apply all the knowledge and skills you have learned during the past two days to plan and conduct a search and recovery dive.

Your Dive Instructor will set up a scenario where an object needs to be recovered and you will choose an appropriate search pattern based on information you have gathered about the lost object, to find it.

Then you will use a lift bag to bring the object back to the boat. Once successfully completed you are now a PADI Search & Recovery Specialist.