SSI Stress & Rescue — the person every dive boat wants aboard
Training
Pool + Open Water
The SSI Diver Stress and Rescue course changes how you think about diving. You go from being a passive passenger to someone the group can count on. You learn to spot stress in other divers before it turns into an emergency, and to act on it when it does.
It's a prerequisite for the SSI DiveMaster professional certification. But even if you never go pro, finishing Stress and Rescue makes every dive safer, for you and everyone around you.
What makes this course different: Most diving courses are about your own skills. Stress and Rescue is about everyone else, about staying aware, keeping a level head, and acting well under pressure.
SSI Stress & Rescue — the skills you'll learn
Stress RecognitionIdentifying pre-dive anxiety, underwater panic indicators, and post-dive stress in yourself and other divers. Prevention is the first rescue.
Self-Rescue TechniquesBuoyancy emergencies, out-of-air self-management, controlled buoyant ascent, surface survival skills.
Panicking Diver ManagementApproaching a panicking diver safely, defensive rescue techniques, calming and controlling a diver at the surface and underwater.
Unconscious Diver ProceduresLocating an unconscious diver, removing them to the surface, in-water rescue breathing, bringing them to the boat.
Missing Diver ProceduresLast-known-point searches, coordinating a surface search, boat-based search patterns, calling for assistance.
Boat-Based RescuesWorking with the boat crew during a rescue, using boat equipment, bringing an injured diver out of the water onto a vessel.
Shore-Based RescuesSurf entry/exit with a casualty, shore rescue breathing, managing a casualty on the beach.
Emergency Action PlanningFirst responder procedures, contacting DAN (Divers Alert Network), oxygen administration handover, evacuation coordination.
You practise each skill first in confined water (the pool), then again in realistic open water scenarios on the actual dive boat. By the end you've run through every scenario several times.
Who can take SSI Stress & Rescue
SSI Open Water Diver or equivalent (PADI OWD accepted)
Age 15 years or older
React Right first aid certification recommended (can be done at FlyingFish first)
Physical fitness — this course has some physical demands (towing a person)
Recommend 20+ logged dives before starting
React Right: We recommend completing the SSI React Right (CPR, first aid, AED, oxygen) course before or alongside Stress & Rescue. React Right is required for SSI DiveMaster — it makes sense to complete both during the same visit.
Where your rescue training takes place
You practise the confined water scenarios in the pool at Novotel. The open water rescue scenarios happen at Grandé Island on the actual FlyingFish dive boat.
Boat-based scenarios: You practice real boat-based rescues — an unconscious diver scenario in open water, then bringing the casualty back to the boat using the actual dive vessel. This is not a simulated boat in a pool. It is the genuine environment you will face if a real emergency occurs.
Grandé Island Reef5–18m · All levels
Coral gardens, moray eels, snappers, parrotfish. The primary training reef — gentle conditions and rich marine life.
Suzy's Wreck12–18m · OW+
British-era vessel thick with soft coral. Resident groupers, blue-spotted stingrays, moray eels. Light-zone penetration possible.
Sail Rock14–24m · AOW recommended
Rocky pinnacle with currents and pelagics. Eagle rays, drift diving. One of Goa's most dynamic dive sites.
Shelter Cove6–14m · All levels
Protected bay, very gentle. Nudibranchs, pipefish, seahorses. Ideal for skill-focused dives without current distraction.
Bounty Bay5–12m · All levels
Shallow reef for long bottom times. Macro life — nudibranchs, ornate ghost pipefish. Great for photography and hover practice.
We usually run the open water scenario dives at the calmer sites (Shelter Cove, Grandé Reef), where conditions stay manageable during the more physical rescue exercises.
What's included in this course
Theory sessions and knowledge reviews
Confined water rescue skill practice (pool)
Shore and boat rescue scenarios
Open water rescue dives
Full ScubaPro equipment rental
SSI Stress & Rescue certification card
Not Included
- Optional video editing
- Personal expenses
- Damage to rental equipment
- React Right first aid certification (separate course — ask us about bundling)
Certification: Your digital certification card is issued immediately upon successful completion. You are certified before you leave Goa and can dive anywhere in the world.
After your SSI Stress & Rescue certification
This certification opens an important door:
Mandatory prerequisite for SSI DiveMaster training
One of the most respected certifications you can hold on any dive boat
Pairs directly with React Right (CPR/first aid) to give you complete emergency coverage
Qualifies you to assist on guided dives as a dive guide assistant
Foundation for SSI DiveMaster internship at FlyingFish
Plenty of experienced recreational divers who never intend to go pro still call Stress & Rescue the most useful course they've done. The confidence it gives you carries into every dive afterwards.
Why take your course with FlyingFish in Goa
Here's what actually sets us apart, minus the marketing fluff.
ScubaPro gear, serviced on schedule
Pro-grade gear serviced every 100 dives or 6 months, not when it fails. MK25/S620 regulator, Hydros Pro BCD, Aladin Sport dive computer. You train on the same kit our working instructors use.
Maximum 4:1 diver-to-instructor ratio
Your instructor always knows where you are underwater. No crowded groups. If a skill needs more practice, you get the time, not whatever's left over after 8 other students.
Both SSI and PADI certifications at one centre
We teach both agencies at the same location, so you can pick the certification that fits your future dive plans. You get honest advice, not a push toward whichever we sell more of.
A proper base at 5-star Novotel Candolim
Proper briefing rooms, clean rinsing stations, a structured course schedule. The difference between a real dive school and a beach shack matters when you're doing a multi-day certification course.
Real boat, real open water rescue scenarios
We don't fake rescue scenarios in a pool and call it open water training. At FlyingFish the scenarios run on the actual Grandé Island dive boat, with the crew taking part. You find out what handling a rescue is really like in a real setting, which is the only training that counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are equivalent in scope and outcome — both cover stress recognition, rescue of conscious and unconscious divers, missing diver procedures, and emergency action planning. Both are prerequisites for their respective DiveMaster programs. The key differences are agency (SSI vs PADI) and some specific skill terminology. The practical rescue abilities you develop are the same.
React Right (CPR, first aid, AED) is strongly recommended but not a strict prerequisite for the Stress & Rescue course itself. However, React Right IS required for SSI DiveMaster — so if DiveMaster is your eventual goal, it makes sense to do both on the same trip. We can structure a schedule that includes both.
You will practice: approaching a panicking diver safely, towing a tired diver to the boat, removing an unconscious diver from underwater, in-water rescue breathing at the surface, bringing a casualty onto the boat, shore-based carries, and coordinating a missing diver search. Each scenario is repeated in both confined water and open water.
Yes — particularly the towing exercises. You will be in the water towing a mannequin or training partner, which requires genuine physical effort. Standard adult fitness is sufficient. If you have any physical limitations, let us know before booking and we will advise accordingly.
The ability to recognise and respond to a diving emergency makes every dive you participate in safer for the entire group. Many experienced recreational divers credit this course with making them significantly more confident underwater — not because they have had to use the skills, but because they know they could. It is also worth noting that diving emergencies are rare — but when they happen, having someone certified in rescue on the boat is invaluable.
SSI does not specify a minimum logged dive requirement beyond Open Water certification. In practice, we recommend 20 or more logged dives so you are comfortable enough underwater that you can focus on the rescue skills rather than managing your own buoyancy during scenarios. Students with fewer dives find the course significantly more challenging.
