Log Book question.

[matt_unique]

What I meant when I said "nobody" is:

Nobody can give you a universal answer. Dive operator "one" might say "Suunto printout is OK". Dive operator "two" might ask for a signed logbook. Dive operator "three" might ask for signed logbook with some additional proof. And each and every one is right.

One thing is certain. The ocean will ask neither for cert card nor for logbook.

You said it - the ocean will demand your experience and needs nothing else. How you get there is your business relative to the demands of the ocean.

To add my .02 cents, the logbook is for you. In some situations someone else may need to read it as an added means to verify experience. It will serve only as an aid for them to take the chance on allowing you to participate in a particular dive. Any DM or instructor or boat captain worth his/her salt will watch you carefully underwater for the first dive to see if the written proof matches the demonstrated proof of skills.

I use the PADI logbook pages and record time, depth, weight used, exposure protection used, gas(es) used, total deco time (if applicable), site information including sea life or anything of interest/unusual, water temp, sometimes I will draw maps, record current, and lastly - tips for the next dive. I want to capture the feeling and complete experience of the dive not only to reminisce later but to be able to recall best practices for the site.

--Matt

 

[armyscuba]

Never have I had the ability to look back at My underwater experiences, like the rest of My life. I forgot what I did yesterday..even Diving..I'm in the sea so much down here..it's all become a blur. It's nice to go back in Your log book and recall fun days..or not so fun days..what You did..who You were with and what You saw..That has actually been more imortant for Me, than producing the information for someone else to look at..which ..reminds Me..I have to go fill out My logbook..right now. Thank God for a computer's memory..

 

[Nay]

I don't see any reason to lie about a log book because once a person gets in the water the truth will probably become evident very soon as to what type of diver they are. I also take what people say on the boat about their diving abilities with a grain of salt, sort of I'll wait and see for myself type of person.

In same cases you can even tell what kind of diver they are before they even get in the water. During on my my check out dives there was a lady who couldn't even set up her reg onto her tank properly. My instructor was sort of watching her from the other side of the boat (she wasn't with the class) and make the comment that she's going to be a problem. As it turned out, as soon as she jumped in, she had forgotten something (I was too far away to see what it was) and my instructor had to jump in to bail her out.
Luckily, none of his students had similiar problems.