Question about Divemaster and logged dives.

[jsjohnson]

Hi all,
I was on this forum several years ago and I guess I lost access to my old email and info. Anyhow I am working towards my Divemaster. History: Open water with Padi in 1985, AOW and Basic Nitrox with IANTD in 2009, currently working on Advanced Nitrox, and Rescue with IANTD. I have between 300 to 500 Dives over the years (if not more) but never logged anything other than my cert dives.

My question is should I attempt to go all the way back to 1985 and attempt to recreate all the dives I have done since that point or just recreate the past 5 years? For most of it I would only have dates for Dives, in the past 5 years I would have more accurate info. A lot of recent dives have taken place off Texas coast on Oil rigs spearfishing ect. How important will the logged information be for the logged dives for Dive master?

Also if I decided later if I wanted to cross certify with SSI or another agency how important would those logs be?

Thanks

Also I have a good idea of why it is important logged dives are for Tech Diving, although the planning I believe is way more important. But I have never seen the benefit of logging recreational dives.

 

[nimoh]

I think it is unlikely that the instructor(s) with which you will be doing your DM training will ask to see your log book, provided they are convinced that you have actually done the dives you say you did.

Logging dives is almost entirely for your own benefit, such as being able to look back on dives with fond memories. As a divemaster, you may be asked from time to time to help students logging their dives, so from that perspective, you should be proficient in filling out a log page the way that the instructor does.

As for tech diving, the planning is much more involved, but the logging is about as important as in recreational diving (IMHO).

 

[iamjblevine]

As a DM you should be exhibiting role model behavior. If you are in a leadership position, will you be requiring students and other divers you are leading to log their dives? (I'm not familiar with the IANTD Standards) If you will be requiring them to log the dives will you log yours at the same time in a similar fashion?

 

[Steve_C]

The instructor needs to verify somehow that you have the prerequisites for the course. If nothing else this has liability repercussions.

For DM you will need to show a certain number of dives and a level of experience. You can always log them after the fact. Date, place, depth, and a few other details should suffice. With the exception of dives as part of a course I often do not worry about a signature from a buddy.

I have had instructors look at my log book but only to check that I had the needed numbers of dives. The experience bit was covered by taking the needed certs. However, experience was also covered by the number and types of dives.

As DM you are qualified to assist in courses within your experience so it is good to know what is, and what it not, in the courses that you assist in.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I have worked with DM candidates, I checked their logbooks to see that they had the required number of dives, and that was it. On the other hand, when I did my DM, the instructor took my log book and photocopied enough pages to cover the requirements and put them in my file. What and how you log could be major or inconsequential. Talk to the person who will be handling your training to see what is going to happen in your case.

You don't need a whole lot of dives to meet the minimum number for DM, but if you intend to go on to instructor, you will need more. If I were in your situation, I would make a log book that notes your history and then tries to recreate as faithfully as you can the last dives you did, up to the number you need to meet the standards. I would then continue to log accurately after that. You may find that you need a log in the future. For example, I had to log 50 cave dives after full certification in order to be certified for cave DPV.

 

[scubadiver888]

Do you have a dive computer? If you have enough dives in the dive computer that is sufficient. I didn't log my dives so when it came time to do my DM I didn't have a logbook. The shop I was doing my DM at was the same shop which sold me a computer. I was something like 6 dives short in the computer so the instructor told me to get 6 more dives in the computer and I was good to go.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I suggest everyone log all their dives, for a number of reason about which I have written on other forums and I have a blog post on the subject. For jsjohnson, I recommend recreating your log from the present going backwards as far as you can identify individual dives and dive buddies who can verify the dives. When you reach the limits of detailed memory, do a summary entry something like this: FROM 1985 THROUGH 100, I DID APPROXIMATELY x NUMBER OF DIVES WITH A BOTTOM TIME of y HOURS. THESE DIVES WERE DONE AT ( LIST LOCATIONS AND APPROXIMATE DATES AND NUMBER OF DIVES FOR EACH.)
I have known a lot of people who have regretted not logging their dives. I have never met anyone who regretted the fact that they did log all dives with lots of information as to each dive. Its not to late to start.
DivemasterDennis

 

[boulderjohn]

I recently wrote in a different thread about logging dives that when people don't log dives, there is a serious tendency to overestimate the total. I don't believe it is lying, because the word lying implies intent. If I did not see a number in ink on my logbook, I would seriously overestimate my totals myself. It just feels like I have to have a lot more dives than I actually do. If someone were to come to me with an estimate of hundreds of unlogged dives, I would in my mind lower that estimate considerably.

It really doesn't matter, though. The number of dives just gets you into the door of your training. You get out the door with certification when you perform up to the standards of the course. A diver with hundreds of dives should have no trouble meeting those standards.

Next, when you get that certification, you don't usually just walk into an operation and get a seriously responsible job as a DM. Oh, you may get hired right away and assigned simple tasks, like assisting classes to make sure divers don't drown while the instructor is focusing on another student, but you will rarely be put into a truly responsible situation until you have proven yourself. This past winter I dived for over a month in Florida, with many of those dives with an operator who during that time was working with a series of new, young DMs. They would accompany an experienced DM through the job, learning a little at a time.

As I said, the number of your dives is only fractionally as important as your actual ability to perform.

 

[yardpro]

i quit logging at 100...

 

[TMHeimer]

I suggest everyone log all their dives, for a number of reason about which I have written on other forums and I have a blog post on the subject. For jsjohnson, I recommend recreating your log from the present going backwards as far as you can identify individual dives and dive buddies who can verify the dives. When you reach the limits of detailed memory, do a summary entry something like this: FROM 1985 THROUGH 100, I DID APPROXIMATELY x NUMBER OF DIVES WITH A BOTTOM TIME of y HOURS. THESE DIVES WERE DONE AT ( LIST LOCATIONS AND APPROXIMATE DATES AND NUMBER OF DIVES FOR EACH.)
I have known a lot of people who have regretted not logging their dives. I have never met anyone who regretted the fact that they did log all dives with lots of information as to each dive. Its not to late to start.
DivemasterDennis

Yeah, that's what I would do. No one's ever looked at my log book, courses, charters or otherwise. Many of my dives are solo, so no signature--I don't think the agencies have a policy about entries that are not signed. It's always pointed out that you could cheat and just make stuff up--but why would anyone do that, especially if wanting to become a DM?