By christin slough (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 2:30 pm: |
My family and I are leaving for Bonaire in three weeks and I was a little concerned because the comments on the webcam pages say that the water is 52F. We were thinking we would just buy thin skins to wear down there... are we going to be warm enough?
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By Freddie (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7299) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 2:35 pm: |
Welcome Christin, you will have a wonderful time in the over 80F degree water.. it is always over 80f degrees. you may need a bit more than a skin if you are planning alot of diving as your body core temperature decreases with multiple dives.. HOWEVER a few people only wear skins and some where full 3 mils with hoods YMMV
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By James J Cavness (BonaireTalker - Post #12) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:15 pm: |
I am a little confused. I just read that the water was in the 50's. It was posted in the webcam section under the "sleepy sleepy sunday" topic on top. Maybe I am misreading it. It is several posts down. There is a comment about it being 52degreesF and needing a 7mil wetsuit or something like that.
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By christin slough (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:17 pm: |
We are just planning on snorkeling. If some of the members of my family do a resort course, they might dive, but not every day or anything.
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By christin slough (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:19 pm: |
Hi Daddy! LOL Hopefully someone will see our distress call!
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By Nathalie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #152) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:33 pm: |
That post is referring to water temp where the poster lives, so. California. Never fear, the water in Bonaire is always within a few degrees, up or down, of 80 degrees F
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By christin slough (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:35 pm: |
Nathalie... whew! Thanks for clearing that up! We were freaking out for a minute!
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By MARTHA CAVNESS (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:41 pm: |
Do we need a skin suit if we are just going to snorkel? What about if we do a night snorkel?
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By christin slough (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 3:46 pm: |
From the other posts I've seen, you still need a skin suit to snorkel. If not because you might be bumping into corral and stingy things but also because we will be so close to the equator that they provide good sun protection.
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By Debbie Babcock (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3284) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 6:48 pm: |
Hi Martha, Welcome to BT! You don't need a wet suit/skin if just snorkeling. Some folks like the added protection from a jellyfish, sun protection, etc., but I don't. Now, as for a night snorkel, definitely would have one for that. If you don't own one, you can rent them on island if just for night snorkel now and then. If you get cold easily, you may want to wear one later in the day on your third time in and for night, then I would invest in one as the rental fee can add up. It's all a matter of personal preference. I wear a skin when diving always, but not for snorkeling. That's just my personal preference.
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By Tom Whitney (BonaireTalker - Post #53) on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 11:47 pm: |
Hi Martha
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By James J Cavness (BonaireTalker - Post #15) on Monday, May 1, 2006 - 10:48 pm: |
My wife is considering a dive skin for our trip to Bonaire the end of this month. We were both wondering, do you wear a dive skin instead of a bathing suit or over a bathing suit?
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By Tom Whitney (BonaireTalker - Post #56) on Monday, May 1, 2006 - 11:02 pm: |
Hi James
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By William Gates (BonaireTalker - Post #17) on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - 12:04 am: |
Dive Skins: Amazon.com has "6oz Lycra Men's assorted Skins" in sizes XS-3XL at 50% off retail. For snorkeling how critical is a good fitting skin verses the nine [9] sizes fit all?
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By James J Cavness (BonaireTalker - Post #16) on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - 1:32 pm: |
Tom,
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By Walt III - www.RecTekScuba.com (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #281) on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - 2:59 pm: |
Water temps Today 82 at the surface slowly fading to 80 at 180 ft. No hard thermal just a slow cooling.
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By William Gates (BonaireTalker - Post #18) on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - 3:29 pm: |
James: below is a link to the Lycra 6oz Skin on Amazon. I am a relative Newbie and know nothing about skins other than what I have read on BT. Hopefully some of the more experienced BT'ers will tell us whether an OceanTec, Inc skin is worth $30. I, at most, snorkel one week out of the year so the price was right.
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By Debbie Babcock (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3298) on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 - 3:40 pm: |
When diving, I use a 3mm dive skin that is flexible and I would have to try it on and not purchase it over the web as not all skins are created equal. Mine is full length. Hubby is happy with his shortie, but is considering a full length in the future as after multiple dive, it does get chilly. He is much more hot blooded than I, who get cold quickly. Yes, you wear a bathing suit under the skin or wet suit. There is a lot of discussion on these in the archives if you do a search on the bottom of the page....
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By Lorraine Meadows (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1005) on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - 7:59 am: |
Most people who snorkel don't really need a wet suit. It is nice to have.
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By Brian (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1517) on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - 8:08 am: |
I have seen the young ladies snorkeling at Barcadera and they were definitely not wearing wet suits either.
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By bob (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1513) on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - 4:38 pm: |
???
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By Ron Gould (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #509) on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - 7:21 pm: |
Just keep in mind If your core temp reaches 85d you are dead... Ron
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By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5569) on Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 1:11 am: |
Hi, Lorraine! Here I am....the fish out of water! LOL. Yup...when I get into the water I never want to get out...Lorraine is 100% correct....no wet suit, just sunblock and sometimes a hat so as not to burn the top if the head whiles snorkeling for 8 hours plus each day (and night, too!)
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By John Carter (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #137) on Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 7:57 am: |
We were there in August a year ago and to be honest my wife and I both got cold every time we snorkeled. The water seemed much colder than in the Gulf Of Mexico. Next time I would definitely use a 3 mil farmer john with a jacket
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By DIANE AND BEA (BonaireTalker - Post #74) on Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 10:12 am: |
Just returned from Bonaire and we are snorkelers. All we had was a t-shirt over our bathing suits. The ocean was just wonderful. Not cold at all
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By Carole B. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5572) on Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 6:07 pm: |
Hi, John...Joe and I have plenty of "natural" insulation to keep us warm, too! LOL. Carole
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By John Carter (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #138) on Friday, May 5, 2006 - 8:22 am: |
It was interesting to me that I did get cold because when I dive in the Gulf of Mexico waters I usually am fine in August timeframe and In Cozumel just wore a bathing suit in November. But for some reason snorkeling in Bonaire, I and my wife got cold. To be fair I must point out we usually snorkel for a few hours at a time. Also when I get in the water say at Gulf Shores I like for the water temp to be in the upper 80's.
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By Lorraine Meadows (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1012) on Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 8:21 am: |
Masha danki, Carol.
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