NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver
70 Search and Recovery
LEARNING GOALS
In this chapter you will:
1. Learn the basics of finding and recovering objects
lost underwater.
2. Be introduced to the general procedures of search
and recovery operations.
3. Learn how to rig a found object for lifting to the
surface.
4. Learn about the equipment used on search and
recovery.
5. Understand the techniques and precautions of
search and recovery.
6. Explore a typical Advanced Scuba Diver course
search and recovery dive.
INTRODUCTION
You won’t be a diver for long before you will lose
something and need to find it or before someone asks you
to find and recover something they have lost in the water.
Most non-divers assume that because you are a diver you
can easily find something that has been lost underwater.
This usually isn’t the case unless you have been trained in
at least the basics of searching for and recovering objects.
Finding things underwater requires a proper approach
for success and safety. This is also true of recovery. This
chapter will introduce you to this very useful activity area
and will provide you with a few basics that will help you
find and recover lost equipment, items dropped from a
boat while at anchor, and lightweight objects found while
diving. The techniques described will also help you in
searching for good dive sites. This chapter, however, is
not intended to prepare you to salvage heavy objects or to
engage in search and recovery operations that would be
considered commercial or professional. The scope of this
introduction is limited to the basics of the topic, practice
of simple searches, and the use of a small “lift bag,”
which will be described later.
NAUI Search & Recovery Diver Specialty courses
are available to help you learn more complex aspects of
this topic, and you can greatly increase your capabilities
in this area during the NAUI Master Scuba Diver course.
Your initial studies and introductory dive will help make
your attempts to locate and retrieve items safer and more
effective. You will also find that your search and recovery
training involves the application of many diving skills that
improve as you apply them for a new purpose. You will
become a better underwater navigator, for example, and
will also develop increased underwater awareness.
GENERAL PROCEDURES
We will divide the general procedures into those for
searching and those for recovering.
The first fundamental of searching for an object
underwater is to define the area to be searched and to
mark the starting point. The sooner the point at which an
object has been lost can be marked, the better the chances
for recovery. Some experienced divers carry a marker buoy
on all dives just so they can mark the location of an object
that has been found or one that might be dropped. In this
way, they are able to relocate and recover objects easily.
Having a marker buoy handy in your gear bag at the
surface is also a good idea. If someone drops something
FIGURE 7-1. Marker buoys are indispensable for successful search
and recovery operations.