From one newb to another...LOG THE DIVE!

[Birddog1911]

Hey folks, since I'm new to the board, this has probably been discussed. But, this topic is a real thorn in my side right now, since I'm paying the price for my own laziness...literally!

I got OWC 11 years ago, and I've actually got around 50-60 dives; maybe a little more. For this time, I'd always just been an annual recreational diver, when the wife and I went on vacation. I've always wanted to take my training much further, and this year I am achieving that goal.

But I was lazy, and beyond my first year of diving, I didn't bother to log my dives. So now that I'll be doing my training, it's going to take me longer to get the needed logged dives to start my Dive Master training later this year. Which now means that I'll be making a lot of trips to Blue Hole, or Aurora. Not complaining about making more dives, that's what I want to do anyway. But in the long run, I did myself a serious disservice.

So to my fellow new divers, log your @*^$ dives!

 

[kelemvor]

Happen to own a dive computer? If so, it may have lots of dives stored that you could download to a PC or Mac and then print.

 

[iamrushman]

i support the logged dive theory......i have been logging my > 1000 dives...however some feel differently......So let the log vs don't log debate continue.

 

[Birddog1911]

Not yet. That is a piece of gear that I'll be looking at getting later. For the time being, it'll have to be a log book.

 

[SeaHorse81]

There came a point where I really didn't need to keep documentation of how many dives I've had, but I kept logging because it's been a priceless source of other information, like:

What level of exposure protection worked (or didn't) for a given water temp?

What was the ideal weighting for different levels of exposure protection?

Which of the many dive sites on a weeklong trip were the best to see, and which not so much?

Where was there heavy current, and is that typical at that location?

Etc.

There's all kinds of stuff I think or notice about a dive at the time, and assume that I'll definitely remember it in the long term when I need it. But experience has proven that my logbook is way more reliable than my memory.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Plus one for logging, as my memory is increasingly shot.

This is important for things like proper weighting w/ different exposure protection (I now note the relevent lbs, as well as if I felt if it was heavy or light or just right)

Its also nice for noting the marine life you see. I will sometimes go through my log (which is now on my phone) and recall a past dive and see a particular fish noted, and it will trip my memory, so I remember the fish & the dive more vividly. Nice to do, especially as Ive been prevented from diving for weeks & months on end by the bad local weather.

 

[sunnyboy]

I have logged every dive. When the paper book ran out, I bought the binder. When the pages ran out, I printed more. Eventually the binder filled up, so I went electronic.

Now I keep two logs - a spreadsheet with all the data from every dive. Actually several sheets; one for rebreather dives, one for open circuit dives, and one for teaching dives. That way I can keep track of them indendently. In addition to the normal type data (pressures, gear, location, depth, duration, etc.) I have columns with yes/no for all the things I counted up when getting the instructor rating - like whether the dive is nav, deep, boat, drysuit, dpv, photo, video, etc.

The second log is a set of web pages (one per year) with photos and descriptions of the dive and what I saw / felt / etc.

 

[Birddog1911]

Thanks, everyone, for the amplifying information on what a log can do for a diver.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Thanks, everyone, for the amplifying information on what a log can do for a diver.

Welcome to SB. Why and how people log dives (or choose not to log dives) is a popular topic of discussion on SB. Lots of interesting stuff on old threads if you wish to search for them.

 

[scubadada]

I'm scuba OCD. I've paper logged all 1273 dives since 1997, I have a summary spreadsheet with all the dives, I have computer download of the last 830. I enjoy having the records. I frequently go back and look stuff up for myself and for others. What were your bottom times diving with Reef Divers in Little Cayman, wait a minute, I can tell you that