Question Taking notes over multiple dives (not just a dive log) - what do you use?

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

What’s your system to write down notes across multiple dives?

Example: you dive a cave repeatedly, so you might collate:

• Prep and research before trip - entrances, risks, …
• Existing maps which might be old, incomplete, lack detail
• Picture of entrance(s) and notes where to park, which route to use to carry gear and so on
• Multiple dive profiles, notes about flow, weather etc
• Your own map and notes (“so many minutes to a specific T”, the way things looked like in a cave - ongoing work across multiple dives

Similar thing for wrecks - especially when deeper, you might see only small part of it.

I use a paper dive log + Shearwater app (so 1 site : 1 dive : 1 entry) but I would like to move to a system that’s more site oriented rather than dive oriented. Not necessarily a dive-specific tool and don’t care about computer integration.

Tablet + hand drawings? Pen and paper? Something sophisticated like a personal wiki?

 

[inquis]

I use site-specific notes in Evernote to keep track of stuff like this, and including pics is trivial. Occasionally, I put a pointer to a dive log entry (typically just a date) for additional context if it might be helpful. (Google Keep is a free alternative that may work. There are many others as well.)

In addition to past experiences, I may also have notes about future plans (e.g., routes with estimated distances/gas). Perhaps a screenshot from a video for a less-than-obvious jump.

I like that it is accessible on both my phone (at a site or in bed at 3 am when I get a thought that keeps replaying over & over in my head) and desktop (easier to organize & edit).

 

[grantmac]

You can do all of that in subsurface if you wish.

 

[GreggS]

You can do all of that in subsurface if you wish.

Exactly right. Each specific dive site record has space to where you can put in pretty much any info you want or need.

 

[grantmac]

Exactly right. Each specific dive site record has space to where you can put in pretty much any info you want or need.

Including adding pictures, maps, notes.

I only use subsurface at a very surface (ha!) level. But I can't see needing more

 

[inquis]

Subsurface stores pointers to local media files, so access from multiple computers is complicated. You would need to store the images on a mirroring service like Dropbox or OneDrive. I don't think they are inline (within the text) either. No rich text, auto numbering, formatted tables, etc.

I'm a big fan of Subsurface, but I think it's not a great tool for this task. YMMV, of course.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I have a Rite in the Rain notebook that contains all my notes.