First real boat dive coming up – Log questions

[DivemasterDennis]

Absolutely log each individual dive, in your case, 6 dives. I recommend you record a lot of specifics : location, air temp, water temp, other conditions (surge, waves, current, etc), Not maximum depth and time for the overall dive. Note the equipment you were wearing: at least exposure suit and the amount of weight you used, and the type and size of tank. Note anything special you saw or did, and who your buddy was. Whether its you first dive, your 50th dive, or 500th dive, you should log this information.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TMHeimer]

Each dive gets its own log entry. Dives done for a course still count. Either DM or buddy can sign, if that's important to you. Some dive shops have a stamp they can use to do it. Nothing wrong with your questions.

EXACTLY. Interesting that log questions get so many responses. Just returned after 2 months away, but there is no need to read further here. I guess I'll add my usual thing that you need not log at all unless you'll need logged dives for other courses.

 

[KKalar]

I'd like to piggyback onto this thread with a question of my own. What is the convention for numbering dives after your certification dives? Do you number them starting at #1? or do you continue on from whatever you left off from during training?

 

[Doby45]

I am only at 11 dives, but I log them all. I have been doing computer only but was told that I needed to start having an actual logbook that can be signed as I plan to go to Divemaster. So I will be going after work today and getting me a little $6 dive logbook and I will keep both a data log and paper logbook.

I'd like to piggyback onto this thread with a question of my own. What is the convention for numbering dives after your certification dives? Do you number them starting at #1? or do you continue on from whatever you left off from during training?

There is no reason not to log your certification dives as well. I logged my very first dive of 30ft for 30min on my discovery dive in St. Maarten. That is dive #1.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'd like to piggyback onto this thread with a question of my own. What is the convention for numbering dives after your certification dives? Do you number them starting at #1? or do you continue on from whatever you left off from during training?

I dare say there is no "convention" for ANY aspect of how to log dives. Do whatever you like. If you did four open water dives as part of your certification, you are free to label your next dive your fifth dive if you wish. Plus or minus four dives will make no real difference to anyone once you start doing a lot of dives.

 

[TMHeimer]

I counted my OW course dives as 1-4. I think this is the norm.

Doby45, Was it the shop you may do DM course that said you needed a paper log book that's signable to take DM? Haven't heard of that. If so, I guess you have to have one. What counts as a "logged dive" has been much discussed. Many people use computer print outs only. Then there is the question is it a "countable" dive if it's not signed? No one has ever looked at my book-- for courses (including DM) or charters.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I have had to show my logbook in Queensland and NSW Australia. I have an electronic dive log and occasionally print out the dives for the paper logbook. I print it up to date before a dive trip but often will only take the last 20 dives or so. The dive ops have checked dates, gas consumption and dive profiles.

Lots of good advice already. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is for medical reasons. People have suffered from "Undeserved hits". In the hopefully unlikely event of a DCI information from your logbook can provide information helpful in medical treatment. I was taught that every time your breathe compressed gas under pressure, you log it for that reason.

Numbering is a different issue that is personal. I have logged a 5 minute dive that got aborted but I do not consider it in my total dive count. I did log and count my two recreational/educational Chamber dives.

My log helps me work out weight for different configurations/tanks, work out likely gas consumption, exposure protection, and just enjoy the memories.

I also save my dive pics in individual folders named for the dive, date and location. Renumbering pics so the first numbers of the pic identify dive number has had some unexpected benefits. I have been able to advise people of the best locations and times of year to find specific creatures s they can plan accordingly.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have had to show my logbook in Queensland and NSW Australia. . . .

That reminds me that my "fifth" dive--my first dive after receiving my OW certification in California--was in Cairns, Queensland. I did not show them a logbook (which would have been empty but for the four certification dives), but I did tell them it was my very first dive after certification. I think the bottom of the reef where they took me was about 10 meters.

 

[ev780]

The stamps are a marking ploy and funsie fluff. There are many traveling and diving divers that have never seen a dive stamp in their life. The lack of any market for counterfeit dive logs is also a good indication that they are not an official document.
Use common sense. A logbook can be faked (a colossal waste of effort, but no difficult trick), it can also be written in any one of a hundred langauges (you think we maintain sepate internation versions of our logbooks in English or French?). How could it possibly be a necessary document?

Good point! I am going to switch my dive log to Latin. Pig Latin except for the medical words I know which I know in real Latin.

When my husband and I first started diving we wouldn't log anything while on the boat (unless we wanted to quickly write down what fish/critter we saw on a dive), and then we would take our log books and computers to dinner in the evening and write everything down. It was SO much fun! We became more familiar with our computers, learning how to scroll through and find our air in/out, dive time, temp, etc - and we learned this new 'dive language' and enjoyed every minute of re-living each dive. The dive shop will have a stamp when you get back to port - and collecting the stamps is also loads of fun. We just went on a dive trip and we didn't log a single dive while on the boat for a week - but we got our pages stamped! Now that we're home we need to go through and log some things - but we're not as detailed as we were at the beginning. The most important - for us - is to keep track of water temp, what we wore, and how much weight we needed.

I hope you are having tons of fun learning this new sport with your wife!

That is one of my simple pleasures! I LOVE sitting in a tiki bar, or on a quiet deck of a liveaboard and log the days activities while watching condensation collect on a glass of something and listening to the waves lap against an obstacle to their continued travel. All the while writing on old fashioned paper with my favorite pen. Quiet HEAVEN!!

I'd like to piggyback onto this thread with a question of my own. What is the convention for numbering dives after your certification dives? Do you number them starting at #1? or do you continue on from whatever you left off from during training?

When it gets higher than 20 nobody will care. 20 vs 24 is of no consequence let alone 520 vs 524. Count them or don't. Who cares.

 

[stuartv]

When it gets higher than 20 nobody will care. 20 vs 24 is of no consequence let alone 520 vs 524. Count them or don't. Who cares.

The agency I've been training with requires 25 dives for an Advanced Scuba Diver card.

They also require 25 dives for entry into at least one of their Tech courses, I think.

They also require 40 dives to start the Rescue Diver course.

They also require 50 dives to get the Master Scuba Diver card.

I think they also require 40 dives to start the Dive Master course and 60 logged dives before completing the DM course.

They also require 100 dives to take the Solo Diver course.

That all made me think it would be prudent for me to at least keep logging dives until I can show 100 in my book. I would like to take the Solo Diver course some day.

Anybody know if there are any agencies that have any courses that require more than 100 logged dives as a prerequisite?