How do so many folks have so many dives

[MXGratefulDiver]

For most of the divers I know who dive a lot, the dive count isn't the goal ... it's the consequence. mrdre makes a good point that it can get boring diving the same place over and over ... but it doesn't have to. Depends on why you're doing it. I've got several hundred dives at my local mudhole. Sometimes I'll go deep ... sometimes shallow ... sometimes north ... sometimes south. Sometimes I'll bring a scooter just to see what's "out there" past where most people go diving. Couple years ago I used the scooter, a big sling and a very big lift bag to build a rock reef at about 60 fsw ... that broke the monotony in a fairly significant way. Now one of the pleasures of the site is to just go down there and see who's moved in.

Most times I'm content just doing the same ol' profile I've done hundreds of times before. It helps me relax after a day at the office ... and it's way better for me than a shot of whiskey ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[EFX]

Skill in the water is really the only thing that matters IMHO. Some inflate dive numbers up to them there are no scuba police checking log books. As long as people are honest about their self assessment and competence to do the next dive they are planning who really cares about the numbers?

PADI cares about the numbers. At least, that was my experience when I applied for the MD rating. My course director had to make a copy of my last dive from my log book which happened to be dive #77, and he had to send it in with my application to PADI HQ. At the shop I was running a debate in my mind whether I should take that dive out of my log book. It turns out it just happened to be that solo dive I did after the S&R specialty, and I signed it myself and included my rescue cert No. I wasn't rated solo at the time. I finally said 'what the hell' and gave my log book to the CD. He looked at it and didn't say anything and I got my MD cert a couple weeks later.

I think SSI shops would be even more sticklers for logged dives because they have dive number minimums for their cert levels (i.e., specialty=12, AOW=24, MD=50, etc.).

I log all my dives even the trivial ones because I enjoy going back and reading about them. I also use it for practical things like amount and position of weight, equipment config, buddy names, charter company info. Unless you're goal is a specific rating with dive number minimums and you don't need it as a journal, then it doesn't matter.

 

[Centrals]

I logged all my dives and always bring the latest log book when I go diving overseas. There are places that insisted to check the log book. And on couple of occasions, liveaboard, everyone had to do a check out dive regardless of experience and qualification.

 

[R-balljunkie]

Setting goals, then plan to dive & commit to future dives (trips). ....Failing to plan is planning to stay dry.

BD,

Seems you have a log book for everything, even life in general

Do you have a secret label for the wife in this planning book, perhaps 'deco stop #1'?



This is definitely a leisure sport. A majority of people in this world cannot book international trips on a whim to far flung BUT thats a whole new conversation.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I logged all my dives and always bring the latest log book when I go diving overseas. There are places that insisted to check the log book. And on couple of occasions, liveaboard, everyone had to do a check out dive regardless of experience and qualification.

Where have you had to show your log book to dive? The only thing I've ever had to show was a C-Card (appropriate to the dive/gas planned) and a credit card. I've never, not even once, been asked to show a log book.

Lots of places do checkout dives. They're basically a chance to orient you to the locale and procedures for that shop/boat/island/resort, test your gear, and make sure your weight is correct.

 

[EFX]

BD,
Seems you have a log book for everything, even life in general
Do you have a secret label for the wife in this planning book, perhaps 'deco stop #1'?

It can't be a secret label. His wife has to sign off in his log book regarding his performance on that specialty.

 

[Lorenzoid]

One could argue that. Just like driving every day to work doesn't get you closer to being Formula 1 racer or chilling in a swimming pool isn't getting you closer to being Olympic swimmer. On the contrary, one could develop bad habits which will become big problem later when the diver will decide to go cave for example. Only working on improving the skills makes a little better diver, IMHO.

My guess is that the term "logging" with respect to diving was borrowed from aviation and/or nautical customs. Pilots keep a log of flight hours. The point is to record some evidence that their skills are being maintained (or, in the case of student pilots, acquired). I have always thought of logging dives (or bottom time) in that sense. Just as a pilot doesn't stop keeping a log after 1000 hours or whatever, I don't see why a diver should stop at 100, thinking his skills will never improve or degrade after that. I do believe that the number of logged dives is at least a rough indicator of whether skills are being maintained. If someone averages 100 dives a year, I think that's reasonable evidence that their skills are sharp.

 

[mrdre]

..There are places that insisted to check the log book....

What places that would be? And if the person uses a language other than English will he need to bring a certified translator with him? Do they require people to use Arabic notation to write numbers? Are they going to contact my buddies to verify that my dives are not made up? Would they try to investigate if my buddy isn't lying?

Check out dives are different. Many places do. If a person had 2000 dives - all in Caribbean, I could assume he has high chance of getting in trouble diving in Alaska. But it won't matter whether he did log his dives or not. You do a simple dive to see how the person dives. I can't imagine a place which would reject business to someone who flew half-the world to the destination and just didn't think of bringing a log book.

 

[sphyrnidus]

My guess is that the term "logging" with respect to diving was borrowed from aviation and/or nautical customs. Pilots keep a log of flight hours. The point is to record some evidence that their skills are being maintained (or, in the case of student pilots, acquired). I have always thought of logging dives (or bottom time) in that sense. Just as a pilot doesn't stop keeping a log after 1000 hours or whatever, I don't see why a diver should stop at 100, thinking his skills will never improve or degrade after that. I do believe that the number of logged dives is at least a rough indicator of whether skills are being maintained. If someone averages 100 dives a year, I think that's reasonable evidence that their skills are sharp.

The difference being that a pilot has to do a required amount of air time to keep his license. A diver like a driver once certified is so forever, regardless of how many dives he/she has done.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The difference being that a pilot has to do a required amount of air time to keep his license. A diver like a driver once certified is so forever, regardless of how many dives he/she has done.

I'm drawing a parallel, not saying it's somehow equivalent. Of course there's a difference!

But would it be such a bad thing to require divers or, for that matter, drivers to do a required amount of time to keep their certifications?