does anyone check log books ?

[MaconBubbles]

I think it's great for me as a new diver to show progression, record new accomplishments, remind me of the interesting things I saw at a location and the new people I met there. I know they might be able to go again if I ever want to go back. It would also help to remind you of the temps and gear needed. I can also note where I stayed for future reference so I will know where to stay when I go back, where the good places to eat are, etc. For my last few dives I've been recording my average breathing rate to see if it will ever decrease as I get more comfortable. It's also a great place to gather the "autographs" of different dive buddies!

 

[plot]

Why would they check for a c-card to get air fills? I could understand if it was nitrox, but alot of people fill up air tanks for uses other than scuba.

 

[captndale]

Dale, that is a perfect example of how logged dives are deceptive. This is not directed personally at you but consider; Yes, you had 350 dives, but if they're all logged from ages past, how do you gauge how much of whatever you learned is still intact? They also tell me diving has changed significantly since the bronze age. So do logged dives have an expiration date or are they like twinkies, good forever?

It was not that I did not have more or more recent dives; I had thousands. I had just sent him copies of the first 350 of them. Few divers will carry around a log book of more than fifty or so dives because most log books don't hold that many dives.

As for what to include in a log, It is up to the diver. I prefer to use a book, such as a composition book, with blank, lined pages. That way I can write whatever I want in the book, include drawings and charts and whatever else I want without trying to figure out what to do with all those silly diagrams and pictures that are in the pre-printed books that the agencies sell.

 

[scubapro50]

Why would they check for a c-card to get air fills? I could understand if it was nitrox, but alot of people fill up air tanks for uses other than scuba.

It use to be an "ironclade rule" that anyone wanting to get a tank fill with air had to show a C-card or be knowned by the dive shop as a certified diver. This was to keep nondivers from mailordering dive equipment and using it without proper training. Now that PAINBALL has become popular it's a common pratice to buy old used scuba tanks and get them filled to "reload" you gun with air pressure. I have seen several dive shops where people have brought in tanks to get filled and the LDS didn't ask for ID unless they paid by check. FUNNY .... DO YOU NEED A VIP STICKER ON THE TANK FOR DIVING BUT NOT PAINTBALL ? Several of the paintball tanks I have seen filled looked bad and I didn't notice a current VIP sticker on them. Heck ...... I don't even know it the filling attendent checked the HYDRO date to see if it was still good ! I guess they were hit in the head once too many times playing PAINTBALL to think about this .

 

[Colliam7]

I've used a couple of operators in the Keys that wanted to seen AOW card before they'd take you to some of the wrecks. As an alternative, they said they'd also be happy with an OW cert card and a logbook that showed some recent dives deeper than 100'.

Yep. Had the same experience in Largo.

 

[RICHinNC]

I was asked for my log book in Barbados one time.....2004 or 2005 I think. It was High Tide that asked. I have been back since and they didnt ask the next time. Maybe it was just the person at the desk.

 

[diverdowndh]

I've dragged mine around everywhere I go, never been asked for it. I have always been asked so show my c-card though, if a place didn't ask I'd probably wonder about them. I still carry it around because I like to fill it out during the trip for the memories of each dive. I've learned a lot from doing this, when I am about to go on a trip I review it so I can re-learn all of the subtleties that I forgot working the corporate America machine....

 

[divermatt]

I have no idea what has happened there to make them so paranoid, but any time you want to dive in the Red Sea from Egypt, they want a log book. I guess enough people have bought the farm at Blue Hole that laws have been passed.

 

[plot]

It use to be an "ironclade rule" that anyone wanting to get a tank fill with air had to show a C-card or be knowned by the dive shop as a certified diver. This was to keep nondivers from mailordering dive equipment and using it without proper training. Now that PAINBALL has become popular it's a common pratice to buy old used scuba tanks and get them filled to "reload" you gun with air pressure. I have seen several dive shops where people have brought in tanks to get filled and the LDS didn't ask for ID unless they paid by check. FUNNY .... DO YOU NEED A VIP STICKER ON THE TANK FOR DIVING BUT NOT PAINTBALL ? Several of the paintball tanks I have seen filled looked bad and I didn't notice a current VIP sticker on them. Heck ...... I don't even know it the filling attendent checked the HYDRO date to see if it was still good ! I guess they were hit in the head once too many times playing PAINTBALL to think about this .

I was under the impression that if something was going to go horribly wrong with a tank, its usually going to happen when it's being filled. So wouldn't it be to the shops benefit to check regardless of what the tank is going to be used for?

Maybe that's not the case though.

 

[mred]

I have had my log book checked once... to verify I had been diving within 6 mos ... I believe it was in Key West. Some certification classes require a specific number and type of dives: ie: 10 dives deeper than 100 feet, so many Nitrox dives, etc. 100 dives for OWSI, 60 dives for DM ... these kinds of things.

It is also good to use to answer questions: how was the diving in kona? Well just a second I will tell you ... when I was there the water was 82 and the vis was 100' ...
It is also a reasonable guide for a first dive in similiar circumstances to gauging weight, equipment etc... I also write down what types of fish I saw ... this is good for jogging my memory later when I am looking at my pictures ... OH that is what that thing was...