PADI Search and Recovery Diver

Find lost items and lift them to the surface using lifting devices, not your BCD. Not only are these skills good fun, but very practical and ultimately useful because eventually you or someone you know will lose something in the water. As a Search and Recovery Diver you’ll know how to search for it, find it and recover it.

Minimum age: 12 years

Course prerequisites: PADI (Junior) Advanced Open Water Diver or PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver with the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty

What will I do?

You will have two and a half days of intense search and recovery diver training to complete. In our fully equipped multi-media classrooms, you will learn how to deal with many different scenarios, including how to plan for searching for and recovering objects of all shapes and sizes and considerations to take into account before undertaking a search and recovery dive.

You will put into practice what you learn in a combination of skills in four open water training dives including the use of a lifting bag and other search and recovery diving related equipment, culminating in actually recovering objects from depth with your PADI Instructor.

During your programme you will cover the following:

• Search and recovery dive planning, organisation, procedures, techniques and how to deal with potential problems
• How to locate large and small objects using different search patterns
• How to use various types of lifting devices including lift bags and other recovery methods
• Limited visibility search techniques

How do I get started?

Just pick your dates if you can and pay your £125 deposit and you will receive your PADI Search and Recovery Diver eLearning login details. Don’t worry if you can’t commit to a date straight away. There are plenty scheduled throughout the year and you can get started on the home study as soon as you have received your eLearning code.

How long will it take?

The PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty takes place over one weekend. Starting on the Friday evening at 6.30pm, you will review the theory sections from the PADI Search and Recovery Diver programme and watch the PADI Search and Recovery Diver DVD with your Instructor. The Saturday and Sunday will cover all the practical sessions during four open water training dives.

What will I need?

The PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty is open to all divers over the age of 12 years who hold the PADI (Junior) Advanced Open Water Diver certification or equivalent. You can also undertake this specialty as a PADI Open Water Diver as long as you also hold the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty rating.

Once you have booked onto your PADI Search and Recovery Diver you will receive your PADI Search and Recovery Diver manual to start you on your way. It is always a good move to buy your own compass for future dives, however we will supply one for the weekend if you prefer.

You will need to fill out a self-certification medical statement. If you have any medical conditions that you think may prevent you from scuba diving, please feel free to contact us and we will try to be of assistance.

All the PADI materials and standard scuba equipment needed to complete the programme are included in the cost. You will need to pay for your entry to the open water dive site and any required air fills while away from the centre. This is approximately £30 a day.

Where can I go from here?

Once you have completed your PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty there are a multitude of programmes open to you. As buoyancy is important when lifting an object, the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty may be ideal. The PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty will also extend your bottom time allowing for longer searches and increasing your chances of finding what you are looking for.

Once you have completed five PADI specialties, the PADI Rescue Diver course and have 50 logged dives you hold all the prerequisites for the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification. This is the highest non-professional rating in the PADI system of diver education.

Here at Aquasport all our Instructors hold this level of recreational certification. We recommend that every diver takes this route regardless of their further ambitions as we see it as a commitment to education and a real achievement.