Rescue Diver

The Rescue Diver course at France Plongée shifts the focus from exploring the reef to managing problems on it. It's described as a step change in how a diver sees the water around them — moving from self-management to looking after the safety and wellbeing of the group. The team runs it as a genuinely challenging programme, not a box-ticking exercise.

The skills covered include recognising diver stress both above and below the surface, managing unresponsive divers in the water, underwater search patterns, and applying rescue techniques under real conditions. The Gulf of Thailand sites — Sail Rock's open-water exposure, the Koh Tao wrecks, the reef at Haad Salad — give you different environments to work in.

Prerequisite is an Advanced Open Water rating and a current Emergency First Response (EFR) certification. If you haven't done EFR, France Plongée runs that course too — it takes a full day and is open to non-divers as well. The EFR licence is valid for two years.

Contact the centre for current pricing and scheduling. The course is typically positioned as the natural step before Divemaster for anyone considering the professional track.