When something slips over the side of a boat or off a dock, a calm search is more useful than a lucky glance, and this PADI Search and Recovery Diver course teaches the patterns and lift-bag work to bring it back. Four training dives over two days from Port de Sóller cover effective swimming patterns and how to raise heavier objects without a scramble. Your instructor stays close so each search has a plan before anyone leaves the surface.
The first morning is about choosing a pattern, staying in contact while you search, and understanding how a lift bag behaves once it starts to rise. Four supervised dives then put those habits in the water, starting with simpler searches and building toward a heavier recovery, with your instructor watching whether the swims stay even and how the find is marked.
Debriefs between dives look at whether the pattern held, how the object was marked, and how smoothly the lift bag left the seabed. Day two is when the heavier recovery work lands. Once the knowledge work and all four dives are signed off, PADI Search and Recovery Diver certification is processed.
Sandy patches and harbour-edge water off Port de Sóller give useful ground for practice searches, with enough space to run a pattern without fighting a cluttered reef. The northwest coast keeps the work close to the boat.
Lift-bag checks stay on the quayside, so briefing, kit and the boat stay in one compact place. The sheltered bay makes a calm start before you motor out to the practice site.
You should already be comfortable following a dive plan in open water, and you need a current scuba certification. Solid buoyancy leaves more attention for the pattern and the lift bag.
Bring an existing certification card and logbook so readiness can be confirmed. Anyone unsure should tell us so we can check before day one.
Small groups are how we keep safety real: enough eyes on every diver, enough time for an honest debrief. We have been based in Port de Sóller for more than thirty years, running a five-star PADI programme of daily boats, guided dives, snorkel trips and courses from beginner to professional on Mallorca's northwest coast. Care for the marine environment is part of that same habit.
Skippers and instructors know the local reefs, caves and open water, which is why a plan here can change with the morning without losing its purpose. Hospitality and well-maintained kit are waiting on the quay. Ask for a tailored outing if you want the boat and crew to yourselves.
Search patterns, marking a find, and using a lift bag for heavier objects sit at the heart of the four dives. Land briefings come first so the pattern and the signals are clear before anyone enters the water.
By the last ascent the aim is a methodical search, a calm recovery, and the habit of treating lost items as a planned job rather than a scramble.
The course runs over two days, with four training dives. Mornings start at 10:00 unless another window is agreed.
Finish times depend on the site, the sea and how the debriefs go. The shape of each day is confirmed with you before you arrive, so the four dives are not squeezed into a rushed harbour morning.
Search kit and the boat both start from the harbour in Port de Sóller. Briefing happens here before you leave the quay.
Anyone coming from Sóller town or further along the coast should allow time for the harbour road and nearby parking. Arrival notes follow once the place is confirmed.
Only certified scuba divers join this specialty. You should already feel comfortable in open water, and this is not a first dive.
Bring a certification card and logbook so previous dives can be checked. Anyone unsure about readiness should tell us so we can check before the first dive.
Four signed-off dives plus the knowledge work earn PADI Search and Recovery Diver. The instructor processes the card after that sign-off.
The new qualification sits alongside the existing card and is recognised wherever PADI credentials are accepted.
Same as any boat day: swimwear, a towel, a warm layer, sun protection, plus the existing certification card and logbook. Personal medication should stay with you for the day.
Anything else needed is confirmed before the first morning. Valuables that are not needed in the water are better left at the accommodation.
A search pattern needs water you can see. If the harbour or the forecast looks wrong, the dives move rather than going ahead in a stir.
A message goes out as soon as a day has to shift. The two-day plan can flex when the seabed is not safe to work on.
Lift-bag work is watched closely, so we do not run a loose crowd. Patterns and buddy contact are watched on every run.
Groups stay small so the instructor can watch every student. That keeps the searches close enough to correct on the spot.
We partner with Rewilding Britain to help protect our natural spaces for future adventures.
All centres are vetted for safety and quality. Your adventure is in good hands with adventuro.
À propos du centre
Port de Sóller
For more than thirty years we have welcomed divers and ocean lovers to the northwest coast of Mallorca from our base beside the harbour in Port de Sóller. As a five-star PADI dive centre we run daily boat trips, guided dives, snorkelling excursions and a full programme of courses for complete beginners through to professionals, with a strong focus on safety, small groups and looking after the marine environment.
Our skippers and instructors know the local reefs, caves and open-water sites intimately, and we also offer private charters and tailored VIP experiences when you want the boat and crew to yourselves. Whether you are earning your first certification, refreshing rusty skills or joining a family-friendly dolphin or snorkel tour, you will find warm hospitality, well-maintained equipment and a team that loves sharing the Mediterranean underwater world.
Géré par Octopus Scuba SL, partenaire de adventuro.
