Sunday, July 09, 2006
Keeping a Dive Log--Part 1
Dave Rowell, my basic diver instructor, advised me to keep a log book so I could enjoy reviewing the details of my dives in the years to come. I pictured myself sitting in front of the fire turning the pages of my log and reliving each dive in vivid detail through the observations I recorded, as if writing down the water temperature would allow me to feel the bone chilling numbness of a February dive in the Channel Islands. I diligently filled out the one-dive-per-page-format of my official PADI logs for my first 50 dives, completing two log books, and then I stopped. The word “cryptic” and “bad Hemmingway” describes the literary style of my log entries and I cannot recall the details of the dive from the information scribbled in the log. I do not feel cheated. I never really had the desire to relive any particular dive but always looked forward to the next one. For me the blank pages were something to be filled in so I could turn it to the next blank page and increase the number of dives by 1.
I am always amused when a dive buddy comes up and asks me to sign a log book as if to verify the accuracy of the entry. Some buddies do this with the attention to detail of a border guard checking the visa in a passport, complete with signature and date stamp! Some newly minted divers actually believe that the dive will not count unless the entry is countersigned, which places the buddy in the role of a wet notary public. I usually sign without comment but wonder if anyone has ever actually been asked to produce a log book to vouch for the number of claimed dives.
Examining the pages of anyone’s log usually reveals a water stained bundle of stuck together pages containing barely legible writing. The dampness of the marine environment seems to conspire with the slick paper to make the ink run or fade before it has a chance to dry. I advise them to get a spiral bound, pocket sized note book with waterproof paper (such as those produced by Writes in the Rain) and use a No. 2 lead pencil to make the entries—an unbeatable combination in the marine environment.
I am always amused when a dive buddy comes up and asks me to sign a log book as if to verify the accuracy of the entry. Some buddies do this with the attention to detail of a border guard checking the visa in a passport, complete with signature and date stamp! Some newly minted divers actually believe that the dive will not count unless the entry is countersigned, which places the buddy in the role of a wet notary public. I usually sign without comment but wonder if anyone has ever actually been asked to produce a log book to vouch for the number of claimed dives.
Examining the pages of anyone’s log usually reveals a water stained bundle of stuck together pages containing barely legible writing. The dampness of the marine environment seems to conspire with the slick paper to make the ink run or fade before it has a chance to dry. I advise them to get a spiral bound, pocket sized note book with waterproof paper (such as those produced by Writes in the Rain) and use a No. 2 lead pencil to make the entries—an unbeatable combination in the marine environment.
# posted by covediver @ 10:58 PM 
