The Mighty Thor
Contributor
I'm thinking of joining my local volunteer underwater search and recovery team. Are there any words of wisdom to talk me out of/into this decision?
Thinking of joining local SAR
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OP
The Mighty Thor
Contributor
Great. Thanks everyone. I will carry all of your words of wisdom with me always.
Hey. Sorry I haven't offered any words sooner, but haven't been on much lately. I would suggest going and talking with your local team about what they do and the types of environments in which they dive. Also inquire as to any requirements the team may have for membership. Perhaps they may allow you to attend and observe some of their training sessions to get a better understanding.
Also ask yourself why are you wanting to join the team. Much like a volunteer fire department or any other type of volunteer organization, there is usually a driving force for the members to do what they do. If it's simply "because it seems cool" (which we have encountered in both PSD and fire services), then it is not a good fit and will be counter-productive to the team and also to yourself.
PSD are more times than not conducted in low to no visibility in harsh environments. The diver also has to contend with higher levels of stress due to entanglement hazards, etc. and also emotional stress from dealing with deceased victims and other unpleasant situations.
I will certainly not try to talk you out of possibly joining a team. It can be a rewarding experience. The best piece of advice I can give you is to make an honest assessment when you have more information. There is ABSOLUTELY NO shame in saying this type of diving is not for me. It is not for everyone. Someone who does PSD in no better nor no worse a diver than someone who does not.
And even if you decide that PSD is not for you, but would still like to help out, I'm sure the team could use you in some form. There are several jobs involved in a PSD operation other than the diver in the water. While many do not require a diver to fulfill the role, having someone with an understanding of diving could be beneficial.
So go talk to your local team and see what you find out. If you have any questions or I can help in any way, please contact me.
Best wishes,
Chad
Also ask yourself why are you wanting to join the team. Much like a volunteer fire department or any other type of volunteer organization, there is usually a driving force for the members to do what they do. If it's simply "because it seems cool" (which we have encountered in both PSD and fire services), then it is not a good fit and will be counter-productive to the team and also to yourself.
PSD are more times than not conducted in low to no visibility in harsh environments. The diver also has to contend with higher levels of stress due to entanglement hazards, etc. and also emotional stress from dealing with deceased victims and other unpleasant situations.
I will certainly not try to talk you out of possibly joining a team. It can be a rewarding experience. The best piece of advice I can give you is to make an honest assessment when you have more information. There is ABSOLUTELY NO shame in saying this type of diving is not for me. It is not for everyone. Someone who does PSD in no better nor no worse a diver than someone who does not.
And even if you decide that PSD is not for you, but would still like to help out, I'm sure the team could use you in some form. There are several jobs involved in a PSD operation other than the diver in the water. While many do not require a diver to fulfill the role, having someone with an understanding of diving could be beneficial.
So go talk to your local team and see what you find out. If you have any questions or I can help in any way, please contact me.
Best wishes,
Chad
Last edited:
You should speak to Rich aka Dbuggy who joined his local SAR a few months ago.
Well spoken Chad P.
Boater Dan
Guest
Waterdog:
Chad did a great job of explaining this. In "most" cases, the diving we do is not fun. You cannot see, you are diving in unknown waters, you are stressed, you are perhaps looking for a body, you are diving solo, and are dependent first on yourself when something goes wrong. You must be able to remain calm and apply reasoning to get yourself out of trouble while the team is coming to assist. If you do this long enough, you will have "your dive" which will stay with you forever and may even drive you away from diving.
Perhaps the best person on this board to address the conditions is Gary D. I HIGHLY recommend you do a search of his posts and read them. Gary has unfortunately done more than his share of recoveries and had presented some excellent posts on this subject.
You need to completely think through what you will be doing and see if aligns with your goals for wanting to do PSD. If you feel you are mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared to perform this type of diving, then go for it. You are obviously doing it for the right reasons and have the proper make-up to take on the challenge.
Dan
Chad did a great job of explaining this. In "most" cases, the diving we do is not fun. You cannot see, you are diving in unknown waters, you are stressed, you are perhaps looking for a body, you are diving solo, and are dependent first on yourself when something goes wrong. You must be able to remain calm and apply reasoning to get yourself out of trouble while the team is coming to assist. If you do this long enough, you will have "your dive" which will stay with you forever and may even drive you away from diving.
Perhaps the best person on this board to address the conditions is Gary D. I HIGHLY recommend you do a search of his posts and read them. Gary has unfortunately done more than his share of recoveries and had presented some excellent posts on this subject.
You need to completely think through what you will be doing and see if aligns with your goals for wanting to do PSD. If you feel you are mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared to perform this type of diving, then go for it. You are obviously doing it for the right reasons and have the proper make-up to take on the challenge.
Dan
leam
Contributor
Let me possibly talk you out of PSD; it depends on the team.
My first team had a few good folks. In PSD, even more so than buddy rec diving, you really have to trust the team. If they are half-you.know.what then you're in a very high risk environment. While I love it, I've been decently lucky to find some good team mates. There were some on my old team that were not safe to dive with and if Bob or Larry had not been on my old team I would have bailed much sooner. As is the "good old boy" gang filled too many slots and it was time to exit upright.
I've moved and am now looking at the local team to see if they are who I feel comfortable with. The team Captain is smart and seems driven to do well, the few team members I've meet seem to be squared away. We'll see how it goes.
Leam
My first team had a few good folks. In PSD, even more so than buddy rec diving, you really have to trust the team. If they are half-you.know.what then you're in a very high risk environment. While I love it, I've been decently lucky to find some good team mates. There were some on my old team that were not safe to dive with and if Bob or Larry had not been on my old team I would have bailed much sooner. As is the "good old boy" gang filled too many slots and it was time to exit upright.
I've moved and am now looking at the local team to see if they are who I feel comfortable with. The team Captain is smart and seems driven to do well, the few team members I've meet seem to be squared away. We'll see how it goes.
Leam
Cowdoc
Registered
I know a gentleman here in Rome who was formerly associated with the Leesburg, GA team. He seemed to think that they were a competent group. FWIW
PSD diving is totally different then rec or tech diving. I'm a very experienced recreational diver and have dived in enough challenging conditions - crazy currents, caverns, etc. The PSD team that I joined last summer is on the Hudson River in NY. Current, black water, lots of entanglement hazards, a good number of our calls are for bridge jumpers. The part that I've yet to get my head past is not all that stuff but the fact that as a PSD diver you're not in control of your dive and I've always had an issue with needing to feel 100% in control and responsible for myself when it comes to diving. At least the way we do it in the conditions we have, you're relying on your tender to send you to the right search area, give you the correct signals (and sometimes with consideration for the time it will take you to set yourself up to respond), and you have to trust that the tender is going to understand and take proper action to the signals you give on the line as well. We do have comms but we rely more on the rope signals because comms will and do fail. I'm still working on the diving but I'm completely happy being part of the team as a tender and EMT as well. Both of those roles are just as and sometimes more important then the diver. Everyone on the team is critical to a successful operation.
If you do decide to join a team, check them out first. PSD requires good training and a team that wants to be ready to answer the call needs to drill, drill, drill. We're out one evening a week, regardless of the weather.
A good book to get an idea of what's involved in PSD is Public Safety Diving by Butch Hendricks (of Lifeguard Systems) Public Safety Diving
And like someone already said, if you do try it and decide it's not for you, don't do it. I've seen guys with rec and tech certs out the wazoo gear up, jump in and call it a day. Any good dive team leader and members will not give you a hard time or push you if they feel you can't do it or it's not for you. If you decide not to be a diver but still want to be involved, many teams like to have dedicated tenders. That could also be an option. (Some teams also start you as a tender and have you do a lot of the tank changing, gear maintenance, gear checks, etc., before they consider letting you try diving.)
If you do decide to join a team, check them out first. PSD requires good training and a team that wants to be ready to answer the call needs to drill, drill, drill. We're out one evening a week, regardless of the weather.
A good book to get an idea of what's involved in PSD is Public Safety Diving by Butch Hendricks (of Lifeguard Systems) Public Safety Diving
And like someone already said, if you do try it and decide it's not for you, don't do it. I've seen guys with rec and tech certs out the wazoo gear up, jump in and call it a day. Any good dive team leader and members will not give you a hard time or push you if they feel you can't do it or it's not for you. If you decide not to be a diver but still want to be involved, many teams like to have dedicated tenders. That could also be an option. (Some teams also start you as a tender and have you do a lot of the tank changing, gear maintenance, gear checks, etc., before they consider letting you try diving.)
I just got word that my oldest grandson is working his way towards PSD. He’s going to college and is a Fireman. Sounds like his department has just started their water rescue/recovery training. My first instinct is to talk him out of the PSD part but whatever he decides I’ll support him. I just don't know if he has the mental toughness for it.
Gary D.
Gary D.
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