Moving On To AOW - Need 411 on Search & Recovery

[shotthebreeze]

I'm really interested in the Search and Recovery option for the AOW class. Has anyone taken this elective and what do they teach you as far as search/recovery methods?

 

[Ted S]

Your post & profile don't indicate if you're certified through any particular agency so I'll assume you fall into the PADI category as that's most common.

Search and Recovery is a full training speciality course that includes learning how to handle recovery dive organization and planning as well as techniques to avoid and deal with problems. In the full course you learn and try search patterns, locate items and preform lifts. The PADI materials always say that you'll end up using the techniques to find something you yourself lose and their probably right.

 

[shotthebreeze]

Your post & profile don't indicate if you're certified through any particular agency so I'll assume you fall into the PADI category as that's most common.

Search and Recovery is a full training specialty course that includes learning how to handle recovery dive organization and planning as well as techniques to avoid and deal with problems. In the full course you learn and try search patterns, locate items and preform lifts. The PADI materials always say that you'll end up using the techniques to find something you yourself lose and their probably right.

Hi Ted,

Yes, I am certified through PADI. When you say it is a full training specialty course, how does that differ from what ever else they offer? I realize that the "boat dives" and "fish ID" could be considered something you wouldn't need "full" training for. Is this what you meant?

 

[bmcsteve]

I think that Ted was referring to the full course vs. the adventure dive for AOW. In AOW, you only get a small exposure (called adventure dives) to each of the specialties that you choose as your 5 dives for the class. You will most likely be doing the deep dive, navigation, night, and then two other "elective" adventure dives.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[shotthebreeze]

So there is an actual search and recovery course all in itself? Like aside from AOW?

 

[bmcsteve]

So there is an actual search and recovery course all in itself? Like aside from AOW?

Yep... pretty much all of the adventure dives in the AOW book are just sample dives of the different specialty classes you can take. If you take five specialty classes and a couple other things, you can become a Master Scuba Diver under the PADI system. Its all explained in your Adventures in Diving AOW book.

If you decide to take a specialty class after AOW, you can count the adventure dive towards the required dives for the specialty.

 

[khblair]

For the adventure dive in AOW, best advice is to stay at least 8-10ft off the bottom. You can still see (unless viz really stinks) and u wont have to worry about mucking up the bottom and totally ruining your chances of recovering anything (not that i know this from experience or anything) you didnt mention where you will be doing your dive.

 

[ClayJar]

A buddy and I added NAUI Search & Recovery to our Rescue course. Ours involved a good bit of instruction pulled straight out of the Public Safety Diver course taught by the same instructor. (One of the handouts he used for search patterns also had a nice little section on water temperature versus time to re-float a body... but we didn't actually cover that part. )

Anyway, when we were doing the checkout, we actually got to work with someone who is also a working public safety diver with one of the local fire departments. He gave us quite a bit more information about how things *actually* work when they're out there doing a recovery. It was quite enlightening (and a bit creepy -- don't think I'm cut out for PSD stuff).

The course seemed to work well enough. I lost a depth sounder over the stern the very next weekend. My buddy and I set the search pattern, and a few minutes later, the brand-new piece of equipment was back in my possession. Saved me the price of the course right there, it did. :biggrin:


If you can find out what's actually part of the S&R, it's probably an easy choice whether or not to go for it. If it's just "put on this blackout mask and find this one thing in the pool", that's not worth it. If it's more than that (possibly with information from people who actually *do* S&R), by all means, go for it. (Just if you have a real PSD teaching or assisting, either don't eat a big meal beforehand or don't get them telling too many detailed stories.)

 

[shotthebreeze]

For the adventure dive in AOW, best advice is to stay at least 8-10ft off the bottom. You can still see (unless viz really stinks) and u wont have to worry about mucking up the bottom and totally ruining your chances of recovering anything (not that i know this from experience or anything) you didnt mention where you will be doing your dive.

I will most likely be diving the Boston Harbor islands. If you're 8-10 feet above the bottom, you don't have a chance at finding anything, but luckily, its more of a rocky bottom composition.

 

[UncleJoes]

When we teach Adv. Open Water we reccomend that our students take Search and Recovery and Peak Performance Bouyancy as their electives.

Both help to improve your skills as a diver in general as well as saving you some money on boating gadgets