Destroyed Dive Log

[Kelton]

Hi Jamie, I completely understand why you'd want to keep a logbook. I do the same, and it's part of the enjoyment of diving, just like messing around with different gear configurations and taking videos adds to my enjoyment of the sport.

I suggest you do what you can to recover anything from the shredded pages of your logbook, and then do what you can to recall the dives from memory, you might be surprised what you can remember, especially with the help of pictures you might have taken, including above water pictures when on a tropical vacation for example. Did you dive with people you know or can get in contact with so you can get information from their logbooks?

Anything you can recover is better than nothing. Put all this information into a digital logbook that is backed up to the cloud so you dont have to worry about it again.

 

[jonhall]

To add to what others have said:

*If your checkout dives were the first 4 dives you recorded, maybe the dive op you did the dives with will have the info and sign off on logbook sheets.

*Maybe some of the dive ops you went with keep a record of dives. For example, Ocean Frontiers in Grand Cayman has been doing it for years. Found one of the ops we dove with in Hawaii this year did the same thing with basic info.

Might be worth contact with some of those dive ops you went with if you want to recover some info.

 

[gert7to3]

There are waterproof notebooks available, mostly from outdoors stores or scientific supply houses. Use pencil, it won't dissolve.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

There are waterproof notebooks available, mostly from outdoors stores or scientific supply houses. Use pencil, it won't dissolve.

There are waterproof log books, too

 

[Bob DBF]

Over the long run, as long as you keep diving you will make them up. I lost two sets of logs over the years, when there was no electronic backup, it didn’t hurt too much.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

If you're doing scientific diving in the US, you'll need a log to demonstrate you're "current" on diving activity. You'll also log all dives with the organization you're diving with.

 

[mwerle]

I keep both electronic and paper logbooks. There's just something "nice" about the paper one which feels more personal than the electronic one, and I like collecting the stamps. Even though the electronic one is far more detailed and convenient. I use "Subsurface" for that, runs on everything, is open-source, and supports a very large range of dive computers, or manual logging. Highly recommended.

As for your lost logbook, that's too bad :/ My paper logbook these days is a ringbinder, and I only carry the last few dives with me, the rest being safely at home. As others have said, don't sweat it too much, try to recreate what you can (even if just trip-summary and notable sights/dives), and continue on with dive #59.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

I can ensure you that you can live also without log book.
I logged everything during my first 10 years of scuba diving, years 1975-85.
See it here:
http://www.angelofarina.it/Public/Underwater-Certifications/Logbook_1975-1985.pdf
Almost 250 dives.
Then I became a professional instructor, started working in resorts, and doing 150-200 dives PER YEAR.
So I simply gave up.
After 5 years as a pro I went back to be a normal rec diver, and subsequently a scientific diver. I never logged anything anymore, and this had never been a problem.
Sometimas I regret that decision, and I would like to have some note of a memorable dive..
But the time wasted and the effort required, on the end, were too heavy compared with these minimal satisfactions provided supplementing my aging memories.

Nice early records!

It's funny when you look back through old logbooks going back years. They always start off packed with dive information, then gradually fizzle out to the bear bones and eventually nothing.

Some day I'm going to search in my parents attic and try to find my first log books.

 

[Bierstadt]

I sympathize. I lost 20 dive records or so to a dead computer battery (I'm not a very conscientious log keeper), and that was very frustrating. I would not have liked to lose my early diving logs. But we only do what we can. As everyone else has said, don't sweat it, rescue what you can, and dive on.

 

[Skulmoski]

No problem. Just start a new log book at dive #59.

When I finish a log book I start a new log book with the next consecutive number. No problem. Right? However, there is an ethical side to shredded log book pages: only you will know if you did or did not do the dives. Since you are ethical, then just start a new log book. (You might also document these early experiences by simply documenting what you remember such as dive centres, dive sites, and approximate dates and depths. Go into more detail if any of those dives were extraordinary such as using too much weight, seeing something cool underwater, etc. Keep it simple - 1-3 pages.)

As an aside, monitor the functionality advances in dive computer logs; they are becoming richer and more user friendly. I predict there will be a time when only a few divers will log their dives with paper-based log books and instead, most will download their dive logs from smart dive computers to other devices.

Best regards!