Almost as much as regular air versus enriched air, divers tend to become polarized when it comes to keeping a log book.
When you are first trained to scuba dive, you are also instructed to fill out a dive log book after every dive. Explanations as to why range from cherishing memories to necessity to move through the ranks of professional divers.
Throughout the certification process, a log book may be required to calculate surface intervals and no decompression limits to avoid the risk of decompression sickness. Some certification agencies require proper log book usage for certification.
During training, log book maintenance seems to be consistent and methodical. However, either when a diver becomes a dive professional or purchases a dive computer, this behavior can change dramatically. Let’s look at a couple ways these can fall short.
Dive Computer
Many modern dive computers now sync with a home computer and sometimes even include online software. This can lead a diver to believe they don’t need to manually record their dive profiles. Unfortunately, not every diver is diligent about syncing their dive computer with their personal computer.
Some dive computers lose their entire log when a battery is replaced. Hard drives on computers fail. You can’t fax a dive computer to a dive center in a travel destination to fully reserve your trip before arriving. Needless to say, there are a variety of reasons why simply having a dive computer does not replace a log book.
Dive Professional
To reach certain levels of dive professional, divers must prove a certain number of dives. This is typically done by showing pages from a log book. After the rating is reached, many divers at this level begin to rely more closely on their dive computer instead of a written log.
Some dive professionals reason that they can now simply show their card and be allowed to do virtually any dive. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always hold true, so keeping an updated log book can still be greatly beneficial.
Why You Need a Log Book
Log books help you remember where you’ve been, what you’ve seen, and who you’ve gone diving with. They help verify quantity and types of dives, helpful both for booking trips and moving through the scuba diver ranks. Log books are inexpensive and provide a valuable analog backup to your dive computer, so add to one to your dive gear today!
