All hands on deck! Mask overboard!

What do you do when your brand-new dive mask slips beneath the waves? As a PADI Search and Recovery Diver you'd simply evaluate the conditions, choose a search pattern, grab your buddy (and a new mask) and go get your gear back.

Experienced divers know to leave their valuables at home, but sometimes King Neptune decides he needs a new pair of prescription sunglasses, or maybe a set of car keys. After completing your PADI Search and Recovery Specialty course you'll not only know how to find lost objects, you'll move one step closer to earning a Master Scuba Diver rating.

Divers tell us they pursue search and recovery training for many reasons, including these:

• Sooner or later, everyone drops something valuable in the water.
• It's fun and satisfying to plan and execute a successful search.
• Divers often want a taste of what some professional divers do for a living.

To effectively locate objects underwater, divers should be comfortable with basic dive skills such as buoyancy and navigation. Because of this, divers need to hold a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification* to enroll in the PADI Search and Recovery Diver specialty course. Enroll in the course and your training includes info on search-and-recovery dive planning, techniques and procedures for search-and-recovery diving and tips on planning for and overcoming potential problems. You'll also learn about a variety of search patterns and practice object recovery using lift devices. You can generally complete this four-dive** course in a single weekend – just see your local PADI dive center or resort PADI dive center or resort for more information. As a bonus, if you enroll in a PADI Search and Recovery Diver specialty course during the month of March you can receive a free PADI backpack (see photo). This sturdy, voluminous pack is a PADI staff favorite and will serve you well on your dive trips and adventures. Interested? Just go to the Specialty of the Month Specialty of the Month page at www.padi.com.

* Or present a qualifying certification from another training organization. ** You may, at your instructor's discretion, be able to apply the Search and Recovery Adventure Dive from your Adventures in Diving program toward the specialty.