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Diving Bonaire: September Water Temperature
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2002-05-24 to 2002-11-25: September Water Temperature
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By El Caringo on Wednesday, August 7, 2002 - 8:04 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We don't have wetsuits. Does anyone have a feel for expected water temps?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bas on Wednesday, August 7, 2002 - 10:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It was 28 celcius today

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian on Thursday, August 8, 2002 - 3:08 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Diving in Bonaire is very good and dive times tend to be more than an hour so you may start to feel cold even though the water is warm.

Last September my Dive computer showed water temps of 82-83F

We tend to do 4 or 5 dives a day and have now switched from shorties to 3mm full wet suits as we were getting cold at the end of dives. Hope this helps.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan Feldman on Thursday, August 8, 2002 - 10:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I really would suggest getting skins, and booties, at least - if you intend to do shore diving you want some protection. Also, even with temperatures around 80, after a while you get cold.

I started with a skin my first time there, and since I was a "new" diver I didn't need much else - my adrenaline kept me pretty warm! Now that I've become a more comfortable diver I find that even with a 3 mm full wet suit, I tend to start getting a bit cold after an hour+ in the water.

It's a shame to have to curtail your dive in Bonaire because you're cold - I've seen some of the coolest stuff in the shallows, just farting around before my air gets low.

Most dive shops on Bonaire have rental suits I believe, so you can always go that route. I've only seen rental shorties, but it's possible they rent full length suits too.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Gaunt on Thursday, August 8, 2002 - 1:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

This is going to sound really lame, and I don't mean to scare you, but I was actually wishing I had my 7mm with me last time. Like Brian, we were doing 4-5 dives per day and by the end of the week my core body temp had dropped quite a bit. Even in the 3mm full wetsuit I was freezing (and my dive computer said it was 78 degrees). Now, that trip was in March, so the water was probably a few degrees cooler, but if I can fit my 7mm suit in the suitcase, I'll take it with me. We're going back in 16 days and I'm already starting to pack.

Oh, and I always have a dive skin underneath. Not that it helps much with insulation.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Becky Grennan on Friday, August 9, 2002 - 10:34 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

OK. I can understand how you would get cold. But isn't the air temp really HOT in Sept? Wouldn't you just warm right back up after about an hour on the surface?

I'm not well educated in "how the body works" so if someone can explain why you wouldn't warm back up, I would appreciate it.

P.S. I dive in the water here in Puget Sound and I have to wait for my face to go numb before I'm comfortable. But I do where a dry suit.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Gaunt on Friday, August 9, 2002 - 11:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Becky - you're right about the air temp, and yes, you do tend to warm up right away once you get out of the water. I'm not sure exactly how the body works but I suspect that even though you may warm up your extremeties, your core temp inside your body is still down a degree or two. It doesn't take a big change in body temp to be noticeable.

The first two days of diving I was fine - even warm in a 3mm. The dives at the end of the week all started out fine, but I noticed getting colder and colder more quickly. By the end of our last dive I was shivering so bad I could hardly grab the railing on the Habitat dock. Of course, it didn't help at all that it was at night, with 3' swells the year after the surge from Lenny wiped out the dock and they hadn't rebuilt it yet.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Magdalena Podoska on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 10:31 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Has anybody dived on Bonaire in a 7 mm full wet suit?
I am going to Bonaire in September. I have a 7 mm suit and now consider buying a 3 mm or 5 mm. I am petite and consequently get cold really quickly so 3 mm would probably be too thin. Now, does it make sense to spend money on a 5 mm if I already have a 7 mm suit? Does it make much difference? Well, maybe 7 mm poses a danger of a heat stroke as soon as go out of the water :-)), so I’d rather hear to some good advice first.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Gaunt on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 1:43 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Wet Suit Discussion

I found this discussion in an Archive thread... maybe it will help.

Michael

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 2:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Linda (my wife), alternates by a metal-lined full 5mm, and a farmer jane/top 7mm combo here on Bonaire, so a 7mm full would not be unusual especially for a cold-sensitive diver (a number of the female professional divemasters dive with thicker suits too here).

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By El Caringo on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 8:45 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Michel, that archive was very helpful. I'm thinking of buying a 5mm suit for my September trip. Thanks

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Magdalena on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 3:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Michael, Jake,
Thanks for your input. I will take my 7 mm with me (it also has a front zipper, so no problem with cooling down just in case).
Magda

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By CMOH on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 11:48 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Magdalena -

I also get cold quickly and for the last few years I've been diving in Bonaire with my 3 mm wetsuit and a dive skin. We go in October every year. This year I will be purchasing a 5 mm and will likely still use the dive skin so 7 mm might be the right way to go for you. My husband and I tend to dive 3-4 and sometimes 5 times a day so by the end of the trip I am REALLY chilly. As long as I am able to at least get my torso out of the wetsuit in between dives I don't usually get too hot.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Renee Bayes on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 11:13 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Steve (my husband) dives with his 3mm and a shortie on top. He is susceptible to cold though. It seems to work out well, because he can choose to skip the shortie if he's feeling warmer or towards the beginning of the trip.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By lonnie hoover on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 5:23 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Unless you are cold natured you should have little difficulty diving without a skin in Sept. The water in Sept. is near the warmest of the year, around 82degrees. The temp. in march is near the coolest of the year, around 78 degrees. Happy diving!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde Lee on Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 1:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

ok, gonna throw my $0.02 in...we were there last september, and yes it was 82-85 degrees. I wore a full 3mm with no dive skin and it was perfect. my husband michael, wore a t-shirt and shorts and was hot all the time...it is really a very individual thing...if i had only had a t-shirt and shorts, i would have probably suffered hypothermia! lol!...locally we dive in 55-69 degree water with full 7mm, 7mm hood, 7mm gloves, and 7mm booties and a skin to boot. i think the longest I have lasted when the water was 69 degrees is about 47 minutes, and at that point i was getting cold...i must be "cold sensitive" like linda:)...i'm gonna remember that one jake and use it next time someone calls me a wooss when i have more on than michael:)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DARLENE ELLIS on Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 8:37 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I get cold easily and only snorkel and I find that I need to wear a 3mm shortie and still start getting chilled after an hour of snorkeling. My husband does not need to wear a wet suit so I guess it is a personal thing.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sylvain Labastrou on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 2:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We where in Bonaire last year in September and the average temp was 78C. My wife and I both wore 2mm skin suits (not neoprene) and it was fine for 1 hour dive. What makes the big difference is the hood. Don't dive without it if you want to stay warm.

 


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