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Diving Bonaire: Water temperature in march
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives 1999-05-18 to 2000-12-28: Water temperature in march
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By malek sedira on Thursday, February 3, 2000 - 10:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

hello

what is the water temperature in march ?

what kind of wet suit ? 3mm or 7mm ? I don't
have 5mm.

thanks

malek

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clay Lansdown on Friday, February 4, 2000 - 10:29 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Water temp usually varies between 78'F and 82'F.
My wife and I both use 3/2 mm wetsuits and are comfortable doing two dives a day for two weeks.

Clay

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Diane Chambers on Monday, February 7, 2000 - 10:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I may be a little crazy but the temperatures you guys are talking about seem like bath water to me. We have been to Cozumel, Belize and Tobago and have never worn a suit. Our average depth was 85 ft. but we have never been cold(deepest was 130 ft.). I am wondering if this is a accclimation situation - our warmest lakes might get to 65F and we have spent hours swimming. Is it really necessary to wear a wet suit? Serious question - what is the temp. at -100 ft.? In case you are saying "well you have not stayed down long enough" I can asssure you that my wife and I are the furthest things from air hogs. Our current altitude is 2400 ft. and have found this to be an advantage when diving at sea level (red blood cell count is high) Not trying to brag but really how cold is the water at -100 ft. since we have never even considered the need for wet suits in the Caribbean?

Thanks
Russ & DIane Chambers

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Niki Harris on Tuesday, February 8, 2000 - 12:29 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Funny how bodies hold heat differently. I, for one, hold none of my body heat whatsoever. From the moment I enter 80 degree water, I'm chilling down from 98.6. It doesn't take long before I'm shivering. I use a full wet suit and a beanie on my head! You can be trusted to do what feels comfortable for you since you are experienced Caribbean divers. Skin protection is a wise precaution, by the way -- temperatures aside.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antonio Ferrer on Tuesday, February 8, 2000 - 9:58 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is not only how different people feel the cold, but also how the same people feel the cold in different circumstances. It is a fact (which I confess I don't understand) that if somebody dives several times a day for a week he/she will start feeling much colder (at least it is true with many people). But I have seen many people diving in Bonaire wearing bathing suits only. From the Canadian Mountains, may be? :-)
By the way, Russ and Diane, you are lucky people: you experience all the fun and beauty of the snow fields and then you get to dive in Bonaire!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clay Lansdown on Tuesday, February 8, 2000 - 11:05 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We live in NH and the ocean temps in the summer sometimes get all the way up to 65"F, at which point we unzip our 7mm wetsuits to let some cool water in. Most of the summer it's around 50 to 60'F, so we are somewhat acustomed to cold water diving.
Still on Bonaire, we wear 3/2 mm full wetsuits and towards the end of a two week stay, they feel pretty good.
We might not really need that much thermal protection but neither my wife or I have never felt too hot wearing it. Also there was a period a few years ago where the temp was down around 76'F and the 2mm I was wearing at the time was not quite enough.
I guess my point is that since people differ so much in their temperature comfort zone range, it's better to err on the side of caution when it comes to wetsuits.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Deal on Wednesday, February 9, 2000 - 3:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

During our recent stay (Jan 15-29) AIR temperature dropped to 72 F. for the first few days so jumping into 82 degree water at the surface was a relief. The coldest digital read-out for temp I got during this time was 78 (Salt City at 85 feet). I use a polartec, dive 3-4 times a day, and begin to feel the cold by the end of it. I'm thinking of stepping up a notch. Look to the locals...most of the dive professionals I see on the island use 3mm farmer john or shorty with full sleeves. As always, its a personal call. I agree with Clay...err on the side of caution, and pull down the zipper if you get too warm.

 


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