Description

This specialty is designed to acquaint the diver with special skills and techniques necessary to successfully plan, execute and evaluate a search and recovery dive.

Who this course is for:

  • The certified diver looking for more information to maximize the use of search and recovery for scuba diving

Course prerequisites:

  • SDI Open Water Scuba Diver, SDI Junior Open Water Diver, or equivalent
  • Minimum age 18, 15 with parental consent

What you can expect to learn:

The SDI Search and Recovery Diver Course takes an in-depth look at all of the following and more:

  • Navigation
    • Compass use
    • Estimating distances
  • Natural navigation
  • Limited visibility diving
    • Factors affecting visibility
    • Hazards of limited visibility
    • Techniques of diving
  • Search techniques
    • Shotgun
    • Circular search
    • Grid search SDI Instructor Manual
    • Current (overlap) search
    • Signals for search diving
  • Salvage techniques
    • Depth considerations
    • Lift bags
    • Lifting drums
    • Necessary qualities of lifting devices
    • Knots and rigging
    • Fill techniques
    • Mud/silt suction considerations

Some of the required skills you will have to demonstrate include:

  • Review compass techniques
  • Review search techniques
  • Practice and perform different search patterns
  • Review lifting techniques
  • Recover an object from depth
  • Salvage and recovery of an object with a water weight of between 11 and 33 kg/25 and 75 lbs
  • Simulate scuba emergency using a minimum of 2 searching techniques
  • Log dives

What’s in it for you?

Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may engage in diving activities without direct supervision of the SDI Instructor* so long as the following limits are adhered to:

  • The diving activities approximate those of training
  • The areas of activities approximate those of training
  • Environmental conditions approximate those of training

Also, the SDI Search and Recovery Diver certification counts towards a single specialty rating to achieve the SDI Advanced Diver Development Program.

SDI Search and Recovery Diver minimum requirements:

  • Complete all open water requirements efficiently
  • Demonstrate mature and sound judgment concerning dive planning and execution