What constitutes a logged dive?

[JulesVerne]

i also record pool/lagoon dives when i practice specific skills. An entry could look like
- OOA drills w/o mask
- valve shut off -> difficulty w/ center manifold
It helps me remember what i did/didn't do well and reminds me to try it again when i have the opportunity.

There are no rules. It's your logbook and your diving history.

 

[Teamcasa]

"Logged" = dive recorded in a written logbook &/or by a dive computer.
That being said, the rest is subjective. Dubiously, some boost their numbers by counting every submersion in scuba no matter how short or shallow (even to 3 ft to clean the pool filter). Training organizations generally count 20 mins/20 ft as a minimum.
It's about documenting your true experience. If documenting a very short dive, were there circumstances that made it a learning experience worth remembering/sharing?
Logs are for you as you discover the 3/4ths of the Earth that is underwater. You will be asked to show logs as you pursue further training or at some dive destinations that offer spectacular but challenging dives and want to see that you have the experience/training to make those dives safely.

Excellent response. I have logged short dives because I learned something important and I've not logged some long but uneventful dives.

Logging is for your personal reference, a way for you to go back and see what experience you gained.

Forget the hard rules about logging, it is your book.

One Caveat: An instructor or agency may need written prove but you should have enough memorable/lessons learned dives logged before taking those courses anyway.

 

[thanksforallthefish]

When I learned to dive we were told that we should log anytime you are underwater breathing compressed air, no matter if it is in a pool, ocean, or a water tank, but as DiveMAven stated you do not have to give it a dive number.

The reason given for this was that if you have any problems later (ie signs of DCS etc) then there is a record for those that need it to look at.

My personal opinion is it is better to be safe than sorry, so I log everything. However saying that my shortest dive in the last 200 has been 22 mins ... this was sitting at 2 metres and sucking a tank dry to know what it felt like.

A dive log is also useful if you are going to dive somewhere you don't dive very often ... you can read your previous dives and gain valuable information such as entry and exit points, depths etc.

As well as this it can, for the older divers (me), when you read it bring back lots of pleasant, memories of dives.

 

[jridg]

As many have said, I do not log pool dives - however - I did log my aquarium dives when I was a volunteer diver. They were 45 minute dives every week in the caribbean tank or shark tank - depth 15-20 feet. They were all fun and a great way to keep my skills sharp when I was far from the coast for a couple of years.

As has also been said - the logbook is a tool that is mainly for the diver to recall what was seen/learned/experienced during those dives. Some of my logbook entries as short, some are long, it all depends on what I did and what I experienced.

Bottom Line, make it for you - keep it up as much or as little as you want. For me, I log every non-pool dive.

 

[mselenaous]

Excellent response. I have logged short dives because I learned something important and I've not logged some long but uneventful dives.

Logging is for your personal reference, a way for you to go back and see what experience you gained.

Forget the hard rules about logging, it is your book.

One Caveat: An instructor or agency may need written prove but you should have enough memorable/lessons learned dives logged before taking those courses anyway.

Thanks.

It is all personal experience and memories.

Here a few of my odd "Mastercard" moments amongst the many "typical dives".
6 ft/45 min. - supplied air (not even scuba) in a cage - but that first up-close eye-to-eye with a 16 ft Great White Shark - speechless! :shocked2:
27 min/10 ft - playing hide&seek the entire dive with a sealion pup - aaawwww sooo cute
50ft/8min - first Catalina kelp forrest dive - 61 deg on surface chilly, 51 deg at 50 ft - BRRRRRR

Hopefully you will fill your log with many more memories of fun exciting dives even hohum uneventful dives rather than scary learning experiences (but those are the ones that tend to make us better divers in the future).

 

[austriandiveress]

I have never had a pool dive, so I cant comment. But I find it useful and interesting to record not just the statistics of a dive (depth, duration) but how I felt; if something scared me, if I felt that I was mastering skills.
Also, I have found it very useful to record how much lead I needed: in a lake, in the Adriatic in the Red Sea. Its a good reference for when I return there...

 

[jridg]

I have never had a pool dive, so I cant comment. But I find it useful and interesting to record not just the statistics of a dive (depth, duration) but how I felt; if something scared me, if I felt that I was mastering skills.
Also, I have found it very useful to record how much lead I needed: in a lake, in the Adriatic in the Red Sea. Its a good reference for when I return there...

+1 on that.

 

[BlueDevil]

I always record details of my gear configuration and the weight I used for every dive. This is very valuable if you are changing configurations from time to time. For the diver who always dives in the same suit and with the same tank etc it may not seem important. But for people like me who have 3 wetsuits, a drysuit, use both single and twin tanks etc it is essential to keep records of the weight required for different setups.

 

[Sas]

I think people should log whatever they feel is a dive, there's no 'log book' police. However, the only thing to bear in mind is that if you are required to have a set number of dives for a course then some dives may not meet the requirements as to a 'logged dive'. I'd just be open with any instructors about my dive history and they can make up their own minds.

I personally don't log pool dives, or dives under 20mins (actually I've never done a dive that short anyway, unless it has been to retrieve things for people, have done quite a few quick dips for that purpose). I do log dives shallower than 6m though (often shore dives I do are between about 4-9m) but I rarely do a dive under 60mins at that depth so I guess I meet the 'consume 1400L' rule. I've logged two dives I did when I was uncertified and one in an aquarium as well My instructor said they don't count but meh, it's my log.

 

[imasinker]

The shallowest dive I have ever done would be a pool dive and I don't count those. Outside the pool a 35 foot was the shallowest dive I have ever done, but we were down for 61 minutes. To me I go with the 20/20 theroy. Past 20 feet for 20 minutesor more or it isin't a logged dive for me. I dive with the same group and buddy since we are out every weekend. We know how many dives we log each season, so there is always someone to verify we been out and diving.