I logged dive number 547 on Saturday. I had my buddy sign my log book. I love logging my dives. I know a lot of people with over a thousand dives that have said they wish they had kept logging them. I have a rule for my book, as I dive with a lot of DM's and Instructors... unless I have paid you to train me or guide me, you sign my book as a buddy! No ticking off the "instructor" or "DM" square! It ticks off a lot of instructors, but makes me laugh!!
Why log... many of the reasons have already been stated... primarily, for me, it is to highlight great dives (they have more writing and sometimes even drawings!). I put all info: gear config, weight, depth, BT, temp vis, gas used, and type of dive (hunting, photo, drysuit, nitrox, etc). I talk about the topography and any unusual fish or invert behaviors I notice. WHen on a boat, I log the boat name and my friends that were on the boat (sometimes, even the stuff that is supposed to "stay on the boat" gets into my log... :laurel
I love going back through old dives...it's like being there all over again. I also use it as a tool, I have a drysuit, three diff wetsuits, five diff tanks, and dive cold and warm waters. The log helps me to remember which weight system to use for which exposure protection.
I have shown it when I travel. I forgot my nitrox card once... showed the captain my nitrox training logs, as well as all the dives I written in as "Nitrox," so he still allowed me to use nitrox on the boat. When in Loreto, I showed my log book to get off the "resort dive" boat and get onto the experienced sites boat... I was sooooo greatful!
My fav log story is how at 100 dives, I looked back through the logbook at my first dives. They were in Thailand. I dive off the beach in Southern California and am usually very happy with 10+
FEET of visibility. After my third dive in Thailand, I had asked my instructor what the vis was. I wrote in my log "instructor says today is poor vis... only 20-30
METERS" When I re-read that for the first time... after 10 months of diving in cold, dark, Cally waters, I nearly died! METERS!!!! :shakehead I promise to never complain about 30 meters of vis ever, ever, again! promise!
Now, can I have some????:blinking: