Divers finding an old anchor on the seabed with a recovery line tied to it

Search & Recovery Diver

Name: Search & Recovery Diver
Brand: PADI
SKU: SRD001
Price: 4100.00 ZAR
Availability: InStock

SKU SRD001

R 4,100.00 ZAR R 5,450.00 ZAR

Product variants

Somebody drops something in the water. You're the one who gets it back.

It happens on every boat and at every dive site eventually. A camera goes over the side, a phone slips out of a pocket, an outboard prop shears off, a mooring parts. Most divers get in and swim around hopefully. Divers who've done this course get in with a plan, and the plan is why they find it.

The PADI Search and Recovery course teaches you to search underwater systematically rather than optimistically. You'll learn the standard search patterns, how to choose the right one for the area and the visibility, and how to rig and use a lift bag to bring something heavy up under control.

It's also, quietly, one of the better skills courses on the list. Running an accurate search pattern demands genuinely good navigation and buoyancy, and you don't get to fudge either. All scuba equipment is included for the duration of the course.

What Search and Recovery Gives You

You'll come away able to plan and execute a proper search operation: assess the area, pick and run the appropriate pattern, mark and locate the object, and recover it safely, including controlled lifts with a lift bag rather than the uncontrolled ascent that catches people out.

Underwater Navigator isn't required beforehand, but it helps a great deal, since a search pattern is really navigation with a purpose. Search and Recovery counts toward your Master Scuba Diver rating.

Ready to be the one who finds it? Book Search and Recovery below, or get in touch with our team if you'd like to talk through which specialities suit your diving.

What This Course Entails

Knowledge development covers how to plan a search: assessing the size and nature of the search area, choosing a pattern that suits the visibility and the object, and the limits of what's realistically findable in given conditions.

In-water work covers the standard search patterns, including expanding square, U-pattern and circular searches, running them accurately on a compass and a line, and marking a find so you can return to it. You'll then learn to rig and use a lift bag to recover a heavy object under control.

The course runs over four training dives across two days, built around mock search operations so you plan and run a real search rather than practising the components separately. All scuba equipment is included for the duration of the course.

Prerequisites

Certified PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or Junior Advanced Open Water Diver, or a qualifying certification from another training organisation.
PADI Underwater Navigator is recommended but not required.
Minimum age is 12 years old.
Complete a basic health screening questionnaire to confirm you're fit to dive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the prerequisites for Search and Recovery?

A PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or Junior Advanced Open Water Diver certification, and a minimum age of 12. Note that Adventure Diver isn't sufficient here, unlike some specialities. The course runs over four dives across two days.

What search patterns does the course teach?

You'll work through the standard underwater search patterns, including expanding square, U-pattern and circular searches, and learn to choose the right one for the size of the search area, the visibility and the type of object you're looking for. Picking the wrong pattern is the most common reason a search fails.

Do I learn to use a lift bag?

Yes, and it's one of the more useful skills in the course. You'll learn to rig and use a lift bag to bring a heavy object up in a controlled way, which is a genuinely different skill from simply finding the object. An uncontrolled lift bag ascent is dangerous, so this gets proper attention.

Should I do Underwater Navigator first?

It isn't required, but it helps a great deal. Search patterns are navigation with a purpose, and divers who are already comfortable on a compass tend to find this course much easier. If you're planning both, that's the sensible order.

What would I actually use this for?

Dropped cameras, phones, keys, outboard props, moorings and anchors, mostly. Every dive centre gets the call eventually. Beyond the practical use, it's a genuinely good buoyancy and navigation course dressed up as a treasure hunt, and it counts toward Master Scuba Diver.

Are air fills included in the course price?

No, and that is deliberate. Air is charged as you use it, per fill, and invoiced to you after your session. Every diver breathes differently, and building a worst-case air allowance into every course fee would mean the lightest breathers subsidising the heaviest, so instead you pay for the air you actually use and the course price stays lower for everyone. We confirm the current fill rate with you when we book your dates, and you are welcome to ask us for it at any point before that. Dive site entrance fees are also paid separately, at the site on the day.