Ten minutes after you climb back on the boat, every detail of the dive is sharp. By dinner, half of it has blurred. Learning how to log a dive turns those details into a record you can use, whether you are planning your next weight setup, signing up for a course, or simply remembering the turtle that swam past.
This guide is for new divers fresh out of the Open Water course and for anyone who has let their logbook slide. We cover what to write down, paper versus app versus dive computer download, and why logged dives matter when you want to train further.
How to log a dive, and what should you write down?
Quick answer: Log the dive soon after you surface. Record the date, site, maximum depth, bottom time, starting and ending tank pressure, water conditions, weights, gear, your buddy and what you saw. Use a paper logbook, an app such as the PADI App, or your dive computer’s download, and ask your buddy or guide to sign it.
Why log your dives at all
A logbook is your diving résumé. It shows how many dives you have made, how deep and in what conditions, and it is the simplest way to prove your experience when a course or a dive operator asks.
Some PADI ratings count logged dives directly. According to PADI’s requirements for the Master Scuba Diver rating, a diver needs at least 50 logged dives, along with Rescue Diver certification and five PADI specialty courses. Our Water Sports page of PADI courses and prices also notes that Divemaster candidates must be able to prove at least 40 dives before they enroll.
Proving experience for bigger dives
Advanced trips often ask about your certification level and recent experience before you board. Your log is how you answer. We explain the general idea on our page about Great Blue Hole dive requirements, and an honest, complete logbook makes those conversations quick and easy.
There is a personal benefit too. Looking back over a season of entries shows you how your air use, buoyancy and comfort have improved, which is often more encouraging than any certification card.
What to write in a dive log
There is no single required format for a personal log, but most logbooks and apps ask for the same core details. The table below lists the fields we suggest and what each one does for you later.
| Logbook field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date and dive number | The day, and a running total | Shows how many dives you have and how recent they are |
| Dive site | Site name and how you entered (boat or shore) | Lets you compare sites and remember favorites |
| Maximum depth | Deepest point, in feet or meters | Shows your depth experience before deeper dives |
| Bottom time | Time in and time out | Builds your total time underwater |
| Tank pressure | Starting and ending pressure | Helps you track how your air use improves |
| Conditions | Water temperature, visibility, current | Helps you choose the right exposure suit next time |
| Weights | Total weight and where you carried it | Saves guesswork when you set up your gear again |
| Gear | Wetsuit thickness, rental or own, any problems | Reminds you of fit issues or repairs |
| Buddy and guide | Names, and a signature if possible | Verifies the dive for courses and operators |
| Sightings and notes | Animals seen, skills practiced, how you felt | Keeps the memory and helps you identify species later |
Weights and gear: the most useful notes
New divers tend to skip the weight line, then spend the start of the next trip adding and removing lead. Note your total weight, your wetsuit thickness and whether you were in fresh or salt water. Next time you can start close to right, which makes it easier to follow our buoyancy control tips for divers.
Sightings: the part you will reread
Years later, the sightings column is the one you will enjoy most. Jot down each animal you can name, and describe the ones you cannot so you can look them up after the dive. A quick sketch works fine.
Paper logbook, app or dive computer?
Any of the three works, and many divers combine them. What matters is that the record is complete, readable and easy to show when someone asks.
- Paper logbook: needs no battery, is easy to hand to a dive operator, and collects signatures and stamps. It can get wet, lost or left at home.
- Logbook app: lives on your phone and is hard to lose. On its page about the PADI App and its digital logbook, PADI says your smartphone is also your logbook.
- Dive computer download: records depth and time automatically and accurately. It cannot record your weights, buddy or sightings, so add those by hand.
If you are still choosing a computer, our guide to the dive computer for beginners and what it records explains what the numbers on the screen mean.
How to log a dive, step by step
- Note your starting tank pressure before you enter the water.
- Right after the dive, write down ending pressure, depth and time from your gauge or computer.
- Add conditions, weights and gear while they are fresh.
- List your sightings and anything you want to practice next time.
- Ask your buddy or guide to sign or verify the entry.
Some dives deserve extra notes. On a current dive, record the current strength and how you handled it, as described in our drift diving tips for your first current dive.
Your first logged dives
Your training dives are the first pages of your log. Our PADI Open Water course on Ambergris Caye includes four open water dives, and our wider guide to learning to dive on Ambergris Caye shows where you can go from there.
Those early entries are worth filling in properly. They set the habit, and they are the dives you will be proudest of when you look back.
Dive and train with Elbert
Our shop, White Sands Dive Shop, is a 5 Star PADI Dive Facility in San Pedro. It is owned and run by PADI IDC Staff Instructor Elbert Greer, and local trips leave at 9:00 with pickup at your hotel dock.
A good guide gives you plenty to log. After two dives with Elbert, Susan wrote that “you pointed out so many cool things to look at, not to mention the manatee.” You can read her full note and others in our student letters about diving with Elbert.
How to log a dive: your questions answered
Do I have to log my dives?
It is not a rule for every dive, but logged dives are how you prove experience. PADI’s Master Scuba Diver rating, for example, needs at least 50 logged dives.
Does a digital logbook count?
PADI offers a digital logbook in the PADI App. If a course or operator asks for proof, check which format they accept before your trip.
Is my dive computer log enough?
It records depth and time accurately, but not weights, gear, buddy or sightings. Add those by hand or in an app.
Who should sign my logbook?
Your buddy, guide or instructor can sign or verify the entry. A signature makes the record more useful when you need to show experience.
When is the best time to log a dive?
As soon as you can after surfacing, while pressure, depth, weights and sightings are still fresh in your mind.
Start filling your logbook with us
Ready to add new pages to your log, or to earn your first ones? Email Elbert at elbertgreer@fastmail.fm or phone 011 (501) 226 2405. Let us know your certification, your travel dates and roughly how many dives you have logged so far.