Logging 4 OW Dives

[rockjock3]

I don't know about PADI Europe but I do know that my Instructor (PADI USA) said that our checkout dives had to be at least 20min to count. He didn't specify any minimum depth just the time.

I take that to mean they count as dives. I also believe this is only a requirement so that you spend enough time in the water for the instructor to evaluate you. I say this because depending on the gas your breathing and depth that you go to there can be post-training dives that will not allow you to stay under that long.

I would say OW dives of any type count, confined water (pools, tanks and aquariums) dives don't.

 

[tjmills]

Pool dives....no

OW dives, even when training.....always Yes

 

[Argos]

Are you kidding? Now that's truly a ROFLMAO. Which will be the first agency to certify an Internet Diver? I better post more to get my idive count up!

No M8 Im not kidding.......... Stupid as it sounds. All Im trying to say is that you log what you want. Personaly I stopped logging my dives after 3000........ Unless I had something special that I wanted to remember.....Old age and too many deep dives tend to hamper the long term memory!! LMAO ! Of course it could be also called Alzheimers?

 

[Irene]

I don't know about PADI Europe but I do know that my Instructor (PADI USA) said that our checkout dives had to be at least 20min to count.

The 20 comment from instructors often confuses new divers. That guideline is a PADI standard for TRAINING dives. So, for a training dive to "count" as meeting the course requirement, it has to be 20 min. Otherwise, some fast-talking instructors could have you drop down, demonstrate some skill, and immediatley ascend. This guideline is one way for PADI to try and ensure student divers get some real diving experience and comfort level during training.

It does not mean that later, you are not allowed (or not advised) to log dives less than 20 minutes. Your first few times below 100 feet, you will probably use up your air faster than that...and that experience is a GREAT thing to log, so that later you can see how much progress you've made.

 

[Henryville]

I log pretty much any open water dive. My logic is it helps me remember how much I love it underwater, what I see, how I felt, gear issues or the result of trying slightly new things, what my buddy was like, etc. I probably write 3 - 4 paragraphs after most every dive. Given the ratio of above water to underwater, I like to preserve experience with immediacy so that I can look back through them later and re-live a little. It is really instructive to look back at your thoughts on early dives once you have started to gain experience.

 

[tedtim]

Ana, firstly to someone who lives north of the 49th parallel, is there really a cold part of Florida as indicated in the location part of your profile? I would be happy to have a winter as warm as any part of Florida.

I imagine this is as polarized as the mask issue. I have hard time understanding the concept of proving your experience with self-made paperwork; if there is a level of instruction that requires specific knowledge for real, how dare the instructor to accept the student by looking at written words and numbers.

Interesting. In the aviation world a log book is "written words and numbers." It is also required to demonstrate proficiency, and that someone has actually done what they said. So, why would a SCUBA instructor not want to see a logbook (all discussion about faking logbook entries aside - stupid to do this anyway)

Those logs are for my eyes only (maybe a friend can look) certainly not for a dive operator.

I actually had a dive operator ask to see my log book once. I have no problem with this. In their mind it was prudent to check before allowing me to proceed on the type of dive we were doing. Another resort operation did not even bother to check anything beyond a certification. One of the divers on the boat had not been in the water for over two years. The first dive he did was to about 85 feet. He lost some of his weight and was fighting the dive the whole time before that. A review session would have been prudent before diving. The resort operator did not care. IMHO it was a poor move by both parties.

People should count less and dive more, unless you are getting paid, what difference does it makes if you used 1750psi 1900 or everything that was in whatever container you carried your air?

The data in my log helps me to calcualte my SAC rate. It also gives me a reminder of how much weight I need when I switch from wetsuit to drysuit. Sorry, I am getting a bit older. My memory is very good, just a bit short.

Log dives if you want to, don't log dives if you don't want to.

 

[Walter]

Ted,

Ana is a dear friend of several years. When I met her, she lived in the Fort Lauderdale area where she handled the summers quite nicely diving in her wet suit. The winters were somewhat more difficult for her to handle, but she coped with a dry suit. At the time, Ana worked inspecting the underwater portions of all state maintained bridges in that part of the state, often diving in areas most of us would love to avoid. Gators were frequent dive buddies in water with no visibility. She's quite a tough young lady, but has a very low tolerence for cold. About 4 years ago, Ana moved to the panhandle. The panhandle is much colder than SE Florida. Yes, it's warmer than any part of Canada, but it is still colder than civilized people should have to endure. She does live in the cold part of Florida. This morning, I had to deal with frost, I can only imagine the frozen hell Ana is experiencing right now. My heart goes out to her.

If Ana decides she wants you to read her log, cherish the opportunity. If she decides you aren't going to read it, you will not read it. You won't take her on your charter without seeing her log? Not a problem, the guy down the street will.

Ana also happens to be one of the best divers I've ever met.

 

[tedtim]

The panhandle is much colder than SE Florida. Yes, it's warmer than any part of Canada, but it is still colder than civilized people should have to endure. She does live in the cold part of Florida. This morning, I had to deal with frost, I can only imagine the frozen hell Ana is experiencing right now.

Walter, there was no insult intended. Take a look at the big smile in the title of my post. It must have been the half hour I spent in my uncivilized part of the world shoveling the snow this morning. Hey, I spent a year living in Alabama. We loved the opportunity to go for a beach walk at Gulf Shores in the early part of the year.

You won't take her on your charter without seeing her log? Not a problem, the guy down the street will.

Not what I said. Take another look. What I said was that I don't have a problem if a charter operator wants to be prudent in checking on divers they take on their boats. If the operator knows you, fine. If it your first time on their boat, then if they ask for my log book I have no problem.

 

[Walter]

I never see smilies, but I never thought you intended an insult. If you did, you'd have more to worry about from Ana than from me. No worries, mate.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

The panhandle is much colder than SE Florida. Yes, it's warmer than any part of Canada, but it is still colder than civilized people should have to endure. She does live in the cold part of Florida. This morning, I had to deal with frost, I can only imagine the frozen hell Ana is experiencing right now. My heart goes out to her.

ROFLMAO! I LOVE it Walter, you really made my day We were out this afternoon and it was a balmy 38 degrees, I didn't even zip my jacket (not a coat, a jacket). I love you my friend!

I log all my dives including the first ones, the instructor had to sign our logbooks to indicate we had been trained and if we hadn't logged the dives there would have been nothing for her to sign. You would have to see my logbook to understand. I also tend to do rather long write-ups about some of my dives others don't get so much information. My log is in a 3-ring binder that includes postcards from places I've been as well as business cards and stickers from companies I've dove with. It's more like a scrapbook than a simple dive log. I never kept track of air pressure or SAC rate the first 10 years I dove and most of the time I still don't record my air pressure. Your log is your dive memory book, I always have my AOW students give me a copy of their logbook. Why? I like to see where they have gone diving, what kind of conditions they have experienced and what they thought about the sites. I never look at their air consumption I'm interested in the story of their diving life.
Ber :lilbunny: