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PADI
Advanced Search and Recovery Divers Course
Instructional
Design: Harvey
Rogers and Cara Lillis-James
Mermaids
Dive Career
Development
Center
Pattaya,
Thailand, are always trying to
innovate and bring in new and exciting courses. The PADI Advanced Search and
Recovery diver course is a distinctive specialty created by Harvey Rogers. The
Advanced S&R Diver course is designed to be the next step after the PADI
search and recovery specialty and to help the student diver develop further
skills and knowledge for safe search and recovery diving. This is a very useful
set of knowledge and skills to possess as a diver at any level.
Prerequisites:
To
qualify for the PADI Advanced Search and Recovery Diver course, a diver must:
The
course consists of (3 days):
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- Academics
- & 3 confined water dives (1 day). |
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- 4 open
water dives (2 days). (6 - 15 meters of depth). |
Course
Overview
The
purpose of the PADI Advanced Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course is to
expand divers skills and knowledge in S&R planning, organization,
procedures, techniques, problems and hazards. It will introduce many fun aspects
of search and recovery diving also. The Advanced Search and Recovery Diver
Specialty course is intended to serve as a safe and supervised continuation to
the PADI Search and
Recovery Specialty Course. Dive training should emphasize fun and safety.
The goals of PADI Advanced Search and Recovery Diver training are:
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- To
develop the student’s practical knowledge of search and recovery diving. |
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- To
enable the student to plan, organize, and make search and recovery dives
in different and tough environments. |
The
Advanced Search and Recovery Diver course covers the techniques and application
of a variety of search and recovery methods. Such as:
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- The
planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems, and hazards of
search and recovery diving are covered in depth and expanded upon from the
first level. |
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- Black
water diving (simulated with blacked out masks) and underwater navigation
techniques. |
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- Proper
techniques and safety considerations for object location, including the
use of various search patterns, lines and reels. |
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- Proper
techniques and safety considerations for recovery of objects using several
lifting devices. |
The
Advanced Search and Recovery diver will deal with:
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- Sharp
objects and debris (protection). |
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- Entanglement. |
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- Poor
Visibility. |
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- Currents. |
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- Falling
objects. |
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- Boat
traffic. |
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- Rigging
and Lifting systems. |
Underwater
Searches mastered:
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- Dive 1
Pendulum Search. |
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- Dive 2
Semicircular search. |
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- Dive 3
Jackstay search. |
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- Dive 4
Students choice of search appropriate to the object to be found and the
conditions. |
Search
patterns using ropes: The circular, semicircular, jackstay patterns and arc are
the types of searches used in Advanced Search and Recovery. Rope signals –
Search patterns may require the use of diver-to-diver rope signals for effective
communication. Rope signals are taught during dive planning. You shall be taught
effective rope communications from diver-to-diver, tender-to-diver and
diver-to-tender.
Some
of the skills and tasks that you will be required to perform on the course to
make the grade and pass:
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- Breathing
underwater with a blacked-out mask. |
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- Tie 3
knots underwater wearing a blacked out mask. |
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- Follow
a 5m line underwater wearing a blacked out mask. |
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- Search
for and find a small object in an area approximately 10 meters / 30 feet
by 10 meters / 30 feet or other dimensions for the same area of search
using a pendulum search pattern. |
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- Demonstrate
Blacked out mask removal.
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- Follow
a line laid out in a square, or rectangle, not less than 20 meters in
length, maintaining contact with the line at all times, wearing a blacked
out divers mask.
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- Rigging
an object to a lift bag while wearing a blacked out mask.
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- Demonstrate
how to safely bring to the surface an object not more than 25 pounds/11
kilograms negatively buoyant using an appropriate lifting device.
Wearing a regular
mask. |
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- Demonstrate
the jackstay search for a submerged object
. |
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- Demonstrate
how to use an appropriate lifting device to safely rig an object approx
11kg/25 pounds – 25kg-50 pounds wearing a blacked out mask, then swap
the blacked out mask to a normal mask to bring to the surface an object
found with the jackstay search method.
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- Demonstrate
the pendulum search for a submerged object in an area approximately 20
meters / 60 feet by 20 meters / 60 feet or other dimensions for the same
area of search.
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- Demonstrate
how to use an appropriate lifting device to safely rig and bring to the
surface an object weighing not less than 25 kg found using the pendulum
search pattern, and remove from the water.
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- Demonstrate
the semi-circular search for a submerged object in an area approximately
20 meters / 60 feet by 40 meters / 120 feet other dimensions for the same
area of search.
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- Demonstrate
how to use an appropriate lifting device to safely rig and bring to the
surface an object (approximately
30 kilograms/66 pounds to 50 kilograms/110 pounds) with a lift bag, or
more than one lift bag) found
using the semi-circular search pattern. |
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- Organize,
plan and conduct a search and recovery dive with a dive buddy. |
The above is an overview of the Advanced Search and Recovery program offered
by Mermaids Dive Center. There are many other skills to learn and objectives to
reach. If you are interested in this new and exciting program then please do contact
me...
For PADI Dive Instructors: Mermaids have witnessed that the dive industry
prefers to take dive instructors on for dive employment from the MSDT level and
higher. Although it is possible to achieve dive jobs directly from an IDC
(Instructor Development Course), dive employers are more likely to offer a dive
position to a diver that has more experience. The MSDT scuba diving rating
displays that the dive instructor has good experience teaching diving. The MSDT
internship with PADI specialty diver courses can assist in your dive career.
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