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.

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