I guess when I dive, I am looking for the feeling of diving. The relaxing ability to just float and breath. I like to be warm. And seeing things is nice. Certainly I loved seeing a sea horse. But I logged about 10 dives in the begining and then just stopped logging them. I guess I don't really care what depth I went to, or what I saw. For me, it is all about the relaxed nature of the sport. I am often happy just sitting on the deco safety spot for a long time. Sure I like seeing fish, but don't have the initiative to figure out what kind of fish.
Must just be a defect in me. The where, when, how deep and what I saw is not what it is about for me....
Um..hmm..
First of all it's not a "deco safety stop" it's a "safety stop". While there is some "decompression" taking place, the word "deco" implies a mandatory obligation and a virtual ceiling. Safety stops are optional. Mincing terms can get you into trouble but that's as much as I'm going to say on that lest I'll veer this topic completely off the rails.
Generally speaking, a dive log needs to contain the following:
Location, time and date, bottom time, and depth.
Many divers like to add the exposure they were wearing, the temperature at the bottom (as per their computer), their weights, and any problems or memorable experiences during the dive.
That way, when they dive again, especially if it's been a while, they have a good idea of what sort of exposure to wear and what weights to use, so they can RELAX AND ENJOY the dive without being too COLD, or over or under weighted which can cause them to over exert themselves and get fatigued and use more gas and shorten the dive unecessarily. If they made a mistake..which happens quite frequently, by writing it down for future reference there is much less chance that it will be forgotten and repeated, especially if diving is done only a few times per year while on vacation.
You see my point? Dive logs contribute to the dive experience, they don't detract from it.
And unless you're taking some sort of underwater naturalist or fish counting specialist, you don't have to say one word about the fish you see.