Fastwater Diving Specialist

Dives in currents greater than 1/2 knot require platform operational diving in most cases. After three knots diving can no longer be tethered and requires other procedures. The course content for your department depends on how fast the water is, underwater visibility, how well the divers/tenders can perform the basic RDS&R I skills, and available boats. The mission of the program is to always ensure that all team members can go home when the job is done – and at the same time do the best job possible.

Course Details

• Prerequisite: Rapid Deployment Search & Rescue/Recovery I or Rapid Deployment Ice Diving Rescue/Recovery
• Course size: a maximum of 20 divers and ten surface personnel
• EMS continuing education credits: can be applied for.
• Certifications offered: NAUI, ACUC or PADI Fastwater Rescue, Blackwater, and ACUC fastwater Tender
• Diver certification requirements: a minimum of 3 dives, two contingency underwater dives, serving as a tender for a minimum of three dives.

Course Fees

See the RDS&R/R for more details on course fees.

First Day

4 hours classroom

1. Pre-assessment quiz on RDS&R I safety standards and procedures, patient handling, etc.
2. Review of the above information
3. Fastwater lectures include:
• What is fastwater?
• Where is the victim most likely to be
• How to figure out where to deploy the first divers and how to set up the entire search area - fastwater often involve large areas to search
• Setting up a boat for fastwater and for fastwater diving
• Anchoring the boat for fastwater diving
• When can the operation be shore/dock based
• Diving in fastwater

Day Two

1. Begin in the lecture area and move to an area outside.
2. Equipment modifications for fastwater diving
3. Check that divers/tenders can dress rapidly – under 4 minutes
4. Review the diver-tender signals
5. Make sure the boats are fastwater diving ready
6. Move to the water site with the boats – the skills covered depend on the speed of the water
• How to set up a buoy system to mark the search area
• Hurricane boat anchoring
• Search dive operations

Day Three

Begin in the lecture area for a short debriefing and briefing

Search dive operations including:

• Entanglement contingency dives
• Back-up diver contingency operations
• Finding a lost diver

Day Four

1. Begin on the water site
2. Search dive operations
3. Students run all aspects of the operations
4. Return to a lecture area for debriefing, question/answer period, and written examination

The hours for this program are similar to all of our RDS&R/R programs – approximately 10 hours daily. The course is also backed by the same guarantee.

All programs can be customized to meet the exact needs of the hosting department.