Logging open water certification dives

[Coral-Reefer]

Such a silly question but as I am trying to consolidate my 400 or so dives into one dive log program (Dive Log 6.0) I have simply forgotten if the 4 open water dives during my PADI OWC certification are considered okay to log towards total dives. Does anyone remember?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[Martijn]

They are actually mandatory to log during your course

 

[Puppeteer]

No reason they shouldn't count as logged dives. The PADI logbook you get with your OW has them as your first 4 dives.

 

[Coral-Reefer]

No reason they shouldn't count as logged dives. The PADI logbook you get with your OW has them as your first 4 dives.

Excellent. Thank you. I have that first PADI logbook around here somewhere, but who knows where it is.

 

[Subcooled]

Such a silly question but as I am trying to consolidate my 400 or so dives into one dive log program (Dive Log 6.0) I have simply forgotten if the 4 open water dives during my PADI OWC certification are considered okay to log towards total dives. Does anyone remember?

Thanks!

Chris

You will choose that yourself - and if questioned, you will explain your rationale.

You can only log something as a scuba dive if it was done wearing a scuba set and the duration was longer than in possible for a feedive. OK, you should probably group those 7 minute dives if you do some repetitive work.... but.... yeah, those course dives were indeed true dives. If you want, you can keep a record of course dives and other dives separarately. And pool dives, open water dives, nitrox dives, nitrox dives,... Diving Log 6 allows you to tag them (Additional -> Dive Type).

ps. once you have 400 dives done, nobody cares about +-10. If you have 10 dives done, then it is a completely different matter.

 

[formernuke]

If you want to log them then log them, if not don't.

I have not logged a dive since 2010. I just don't bother. The only time it came up was doing my DM and IDC, all I did was show my dive computer.

 

[Subcooled]

[removed as repetition]

 

[Subcooled]

I tend to record everything in my logbooks (20 different dive type tags). It is a diving diary actually.
- Pool dives, course dives, lake dives, sea dives, night dives, ice dives, recovery dives, the list goes on...

 

[Subcooled]

I'd like to see your source for that "fact"

Well, I have no source except for myself. Very few things in this world are hard facts. Opinions abound, though. I will explain my reasoning below.

#1 without a SCUBA set it is not a SCUBA dive. Hence, equipment is required.

#2 if the dive is doable as a freedive, then it's not "mandatory SCUBA". Hence, classifying it as a SCUBA dive is a little bit odd. I could spend 30 sec at 3 feet with SCUBA gear, but would that be a SCUBA dive really? Yes and no! I would prefer "no" though. I prefer to assume the "mandatory" here. If it requires SCUBA, then its is a SCUBA dive, if it doesn't, then it's just an excessive equipment dive.

These requirements are done by me, but you'll understand that they are obvious.

Now, PADI has some requirements for "SCUBA dives counting as enough experience for course X". That is a diffrent thing. PADI does not define SCUBA. It only defines its own internal requirements. The same applies to CMAS, NAUI, SSI, and others.

I do a lot of SCUBA dives to three to ten feet depths. Usually these dives last between 15 to 45 mintes. Corporation X may or may not accept some of these, but that's irrelevant unless I want to attend some of their courses.

and I figure that was a typo and logging dives has nothing to do with whether the dive was through a paid charter.

True

To the best of my knowledge, any scuba dive can be logged regardless of how long or deep it is.

I agree

Now whether or not you'll be taking an advanced course some day and someone will look at that dive and say "Sorry that one doesn't count" is another matter. But it's not like there's a hard and fast rule.

Correct. You're on the point.

I logged a pool refresher dive once, it's in my logbook but I don't count it towards the overall number of dives, in other words in Subsurface digital logbook there's no dive number next to it. So that's another way to handle a marginal dive.

I do count two things:
- Non-pool dive #NR
- Pooldive #NR
This is possible e.g. through tagging dives with keywords.

I have 700 records in my dive logging app, but I only count them as 425 dives. Some records are clearly spurious (e.g. removing fins under water, 1-2 min). Some are parts of a multi-dive-event (many short dives in a sequence to achieve a goal), some are with one tank but many submersions. Hence, accepting divelogs is an unexact science. I tend to record most everything, and if someone asks for detail, I will provide it, and let them choose how many dives they accept as experience. An example: If you would like to take a hypoxic trimix course, then it might be your normoxic trimix dives only, that count - not your air dives to 60 feet...

 

[tursiops]

Now, PADI has some requirements for "SCUBA dives counting as enough experience for course X".

What PADI says is:

Logged Dives​

To credit as a logged dive for course requirements, the dive takes place in open water and specific information about the dive (i.e. date, time, location, depth, profile, etc.) is recorded. Training dives​

for PADI courses (in open water) qualify as logged dives.​

Also, for the open water course, they state:

During open water dives, have divers spend the majority of time at 5 metres/15 feet or greater,​

and breathe at least 1400 litres or 50 cubic feet of compressed gas or remain submerged for at least​

20 minutes.​

This has gotten twisted by some to mean that no dive can be logged unless it is at 15 ft or deeper, is at least 20 minutes long, and uses at lest 50 cu ft of gas.

Any dive can be logged. There are no rules other than self-imposed.