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A guy I used to dive with in Galveston told me he never logs bottom time on his surface days and it's been bugging me for 3 weeks
Bear with me here because this is half a question and half a warning. I ran into an old dive buddy at a supply shop in Galveston last month, guy has about 12 years in the Gulf doing mostly shallow pipeline and platform work, and he mentioned offhand that he quit logging any bottom time on days he only does surface stuff and short bounces. What got me is he said his company told him it was fine because the tables only count dives past a certain depth, so his logbook looks way lighter than the work he actually did. My gut says that's a bad road for a few reasons. If anything ever goes wrong and there's an incident review, or if he ever has to prove his record to a new outfit or for a physical, that paper trail is what saves you. I have always logged everything, even 15 minute bounces to 20 feet, because a dive supervisor once told me a logbook is the only lawyer you can afford. I am not claiming to know everything about the regs and your mileage will vary by outfit and region, but this one sat with me. Anyone else hear of crews doing this, or is it just a Gulf thing?
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simon37822h ago
Logged everything for 18 years offshore so I'll tell you straight. That company line about the tables only counting past a certain depth is half true and that's exactly what makes it dangerous. The tables are for staying alive during the dive, but your logbook is a legal record of exposure, and a review board or a doctor looking at decompression sickness is not reading the tables, they're reading your history. Short bounces and surface days still add up over 12 years and your body keeps the score even if the paper doesn't. I've watched guys get denied work or fight a medical claim because their log was full of holes, and it's a bad spot to be in when you can't prove what you did. Tell your buddy to log it all, takes two minutes, and the day he needs that book he'll be glad it's there.
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