First real boat dive coming up – Log questions

[fjpatrum]

I'm a paper and computer logger. I log all dives that aren't in a pool. Pool dives I track for informational purposes but don't "count" them in my total dive count. Before and after each dive I record relevant details in my paper log book. I use my computer log for tracking my real profile and determining where I need to slow down, work on my buoyancy, breath better, whatever. And attach photos sometimes.

 

[Is_907]

One tip:

To save time during the actual dive trip, there's no need to log each dive as it happens if your computer keeps track of the data and you can later download it. (Be sure to change the dive computer time to local time.)

However, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the details later, so it's a good idea to keep a few notes about your dives as they happen, such as name of the site, what you saw and you did/felt.

Then, when you get home, you can download the actual data and fill out your log and write a fuller description of your dive from your notes. It's a way of stretching out the enjoyment of the trip and being able to enjoy the scenery and your companions more during the trip.

I'm very new (8 dives so far) but I'm planning to use the mostly blank back side of each log sheet for random notes to add to my computer's logs. That way when I get home or to a dry place to log I can decipher what my computer's logs mean

 

[Cixelsyd]

I'm also curious as to what questions were asked and what was reviewed when your logs were reviewed. I log every dive, but I've yet to have any shop ask to review my log before heading out.

I typically wait until the evening after my dives to log them. I uses the numbers from my dive computer's memory and then make notes on my impressions, weighting, etc. I find that waiting a few hours lets me gather my thoughts, reflect a bit, and remember things better than trying to do it on a rocking boat deck.

 

[stuartv]

I have never worried about getting a DM signature because, if they are checkout dives, I will get the related C card afterwards to "prove" I had that training. For non-checkout dives there may or may not be a DM along anyway.

Me three for curiosity on where a place asked to review a log book, what the proposed dive was that required such a review, and what questions they asked or what details they actually checked in the log book. Are they just checking dates to confirm some relatively recent experience?

I wonder if handing them my computer and letting them scroll the log on the computer would satisfy them.

 

[FinnMom]

As enjoyment on a trip I note the my buddy's name, site's name and a few memories, even if in shorthand ASAP after the dive. Later when waiting for flights or on your first evening back home you can flesh out the details. I don't need to know what Nx mix or SAC, maybe dive time and depth, but the memories are great fun. It is nice to look back and see water & air temps too.

When you are starting out it is nice to have a more detailed list of stats for each dive. It can also be excptionally nice to know how much weight you had with exactly that suit and that size tank, maybe even where you placed the weight and how well that achieved good trim.

 

[wrybosome]

Me three for curiosity on where a place asked to review a log book, what the proposed dive was that required such a review, and what questions they asked or what details they actually checked in the log book. Are they just checking dates to confirm some relatively recent experience?

I was asked to show my log in Saba to do the pinnacle dives there. They are not difficult dives and I was surprised to be asked, but it was my first time with that operator. They asked how many dives and when was the last, and looked briefly at my log. No mention of aow.

I've only logged maybe half of my dives, and wish I had been more consistent. I don't worry about signatures.

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[Freewillow]

Well to answer your questions about logbook. As I said, most of the time we are on french speaking liveboards that require a minimum of 50 dives and AOW ( or rescue ) or Second degree from the French Scuba diving Federation. There are two reasons for this: have an idea about the DIVING experience and the number of dives AND in order to check when the last dive was done. This has to be shown together with your certification card, yout proof of insurance and a medical attest that you are fit to dive. This happened in Raja Ampat, Egypt, French Polynesia ( no liveboard there ), Maldives..... I know it is quite far away from the PADI Kingdom but this is the reallity that I have withnessed at several places .

 

[Deitsch]

You can't dive in Israel without showing a log book. If you haven't got a logged dive in the past 6 months they make you take a refresher dive before anything else. That is Israeli law.

 

[stuartv]

You can't dive in Israel without showing a log book. If you haven't got a logged dive in the past 6 months they make you take a refresher dive before anything else. That is Israeli law.

Interesting. Just curious, do they take steps to ensure that people don't just make something up and put it in their log book to avoid having to do a refresher?

 

[Lorenzoid]

You can't dive in Israel without showing a log book. If you haven't got a logged dive in the past 6 months they make you take a refresher dive before anything else. That is Israeli law.

Then I guess the guide who took me on a dive skirted the law. I showed my PADI card, that's it.