Sami Paakkarinen

Sami Paakkarinen is a jack-of-all-trades in diving; he has been diving since 1995 and has worked in diving-related professions ever since. He works for the Finnish Coast Guard but also runs his own company that offers training services in technical and cave diving, as well as professional diving services. In addition to his training work, Sami has shared his experience in search and rescue operations with professional organizations from various countries that perform demanding dives. In his free time, Sami heads to the Baltic Sea to dive on wrecks or search for new ones. Natural caves also interest Sami, and he often travels with his team in Northern Europe, searching for and mapping new caves. 

Title of the presentation: Rebreather, a time machine in the world of SAR 

Sami Paakkarinen comes to talk about the world of Search and Rescue, where equipment and methods used in technical and exploration diving can save lives. SAR diving has historically been very traditional, leaning heavily on regulations. More demanding rescue operations have not been possible with existing equipment. By taking advantage of equipment and procedures from advanced exploration diving, it’s now possible to perform Search and Rescue missions that were formerly unthinkable.