what can be considered a loggable dive?

[ScubaFeenD]

Im a relatively new diver and IMHO I would be ashamed to ever record a pool excursion as a dive. Heck, I am a little queasy about logging quarry dives as "dives" even if they are below 15-20 ft for >20min. Sure they are necessary to get your skills down, but even being new I wouldn't respect anyone bragging about their pool "dives."

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Im a relatively new diver and IMHO I would be ashamed to ever record a pool excursion as a dive. Heck, I am a little queasy about logging quarry dives as "dives" even if they are below 15-20 ft for >20min. Sure they are necessary to get your skills down, but even being new I wouldn't respect anyone bragging about their pool "dives."

To clarify, I don't think that the OP intended to "brag" about pool dives at all. He was just asking a legitimate question about what constitutes a loggable dive that counts toward the DM requirement. Fair question IMO.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

To clarify, I don't think that the OP intended to "brag" about pool dives at all. He was just asking a legitimate question about what constitutes a loggable dive that counts toward the DM requirement. Fair question IMO.

Fair question indeed; I was just trying to illustrate my emphatic bias towards not counting pool dives for DM (or any leadership type rating). As a n00b, I know what it is like to trust dive leadership, and I would always want to be positive that at least the minimum requirements have some substantial experiential component (ie not just pool dives) Then again, as a n00b I could be way off here ( I am always willing to accept that my viewpoint is off). Hence, the disclaimer: IMHO

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Fair question indeed; I was just trying to illustrate my emphatic bias towards not counting pool dives for DM (or any leadership type rating). As a n00b, I know what it is like to trust dive leadership, and I would always want to be positive that at least the minimum requirements have some substantial experiential component (ie not just pool dives) Then again, as a n00b I could be way off here ( I am always willing to accept that my viewpoint is off). Hence, the disclaimer: IMHO

I don't think your opinion is off-base at all. As a novice diver, you should expect to get a dive pro that knows what he's talking about and can react appropriately to keep students/customers safe.

Just curious. Did you ask every DM who helped out with your basic OW class how many total dives he/she had? There's a huge range in DM experience level -- I've seen DMs with 61 total dives and DMs with 500+ dives (more than the instructor in some cases). I'll also admit that more experience doesn't necessarily translate into a better, more capable DM. Same goes for instructors BTW.

Personally, I think that DMs should have at least 200 dives, and instructors should have double that in a variety of different diving conditions. There's no substitute for experience in my mind. Then again, I don't make the rules and I'm not even a dive pro...so my opinion really doesn't matter much.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

I don't think your opinion is off-base at all.

Just curious. Did you ask every DM who helped out with your basic OW class how many total dives he/she had? There's a huge range in DM experience level -- I've seen DMs with 61 total dives and DMs with 500+ dives (more than the instructor in some cases). I'll also admit that more experience doesn't necessarily imply a better, more capable DM.

Personally, I think that DMs should have at least 200 dives, and instructors should have double that in a variety of different diving conditions. There's no substitute for experience in my mind. Then again, I don't make the rules and I'm not even a dive pro...so my opinion really doesn't matter much.

Well it depends on when I took the training. When I was initially trained I really had no clue what to ask, and being young I didnt have the gumption to actually put forward tough questions. Now, though, when I arrange with an instructor I ask many questions about dive experience, type of diving, conditions comfortable in, etc, etc.

Regarding DMs: I haven't asked them specifically, because I always (wrongly I realize) assume that they are competent to be in the position they are in. It has worked out well for me so far, but probably only because 1) I dont have too many dive experiences under my belt yet and 2) because I have only been with very reputable operations (even this makes the huge assumption that quality assurance is kept high).

In the end I want the standards to be fairly high so people like me, who are new to the sport, wont be injured or mislead, and so that I won't have to worry about the DM or instructors that are around me. The world is not a perfect place though.

 

[Bob DBF]

My opinion is no pool dives count and 1 tank = 1 Dive. Now I understand all manner of exeptions can be justified, heck sometimes I dive an old steel 72 and call that a tank, but the 1 tank rule will get you the time under and experience that most divers expect when you say you made a dive.

Of course I expect to be called a weenie by the Tec crowd who need to carry 3 or 5 tanks to make 1 dive.

Bob

 

[Sas]

My opinion is no pool dives count and 1 tank = 1 Dive. Now I understand all manner of exeptions can be justified, heck sometimes I dive an old steel 72 and call that a tank, but the 1 tank rule will get you the time under and experience that most divers expect when you say you made a dive.

I'll count all my doubles dives as two dives then hey. 1 tank = 1 dive just doesn't work for me given how I do my dives (and I have an average dive time of 64mins so I don't do short dives often). To each their own though.

 

[JB]

jagfish, Interesting comment. I think that pool dive might be NEMO33 in Brussels. I went for a dive there last month just for the hell of it. It's a fairly trendy restaurant/bar with windows through to the pool area and seemed packed with people having afterwork drinks. Then at certain times divers go through a locked gate to the pool entrance and do a 45 minute dive. The deepest spot is a circular tube probably 6 -10 meters in diameter that plunges vertically down from around 10 meters to 33.4 m on my depth guage. There is even one section with some current, must have a mega pool filter! Yes I did log it as a novel/unusual dive. I wonder if this is the pool that you referred to? N E M O 33

 

[elan]

I'll count all my doubles dives as two dives then hey. 1 tank = 1 dive just doesn't work for me given how I do my dives (and I have an average dive time of 64mins so I don't do short dives often). To each their own though.

Our buddy who dives with us is going for an instructor and he needs dives now. Once we were diving in the bay and half of the dive I ran him on a long hose just to show him some new things , 45 ft dive 77 mins. He logged it as 2 dives as he figured out noone would believe he did 77 minutes on 1 AL80

 

[Bob DBF]

I'll count all my doubles dives as two dives then hey. 1 tank = 1 dive just doesn't work for me given how I do my dives (and I have an average dive time of 64mins so I don't do short dives often). To each their own though.

And I wouldn't say a word. Of course you are not looking to have the magic number of dives it takes to be a good diver like some who have just certified.

Before the last storms came through No. CA I was looking over a shallow reef for dinner, vis was on the fishes side so I had a burger later, it took me 85 min to empty a LP95 in 50 F water and I was coooooooooooooold when I got out. It felt like two dives.



Bob
----------------------------------------
I may be old but I'm not dead yet.