Good Morning Everyone!
I am up checking for school closing......it is snowy, blowy and 18F here........school is cancelled for today....I'm going back to bed

Good Morning Carol and everyone!

It's 0F (that's zero degrees) with -20F wind chill here in Indianapolis. Most of the schools are on a 2 hour delay so the kids can wait for the bus in sunlight.

Bonaire looks beautiful, though!

Sally

I'm getting ready to go to Bonaire for some diving. I see a lot of divers wearing shorty's. I see the water is 78, That seems a little cold to me. I was going to take a 3 mill. What do most divers wear there in February?

Good Morning! I'm new to this board, but excited as we are heading to Bonaire on the 12th of March. My husband and I are both celebrating the big Four OH, and thought a nice dive trip in order.

It's 14 degrees here in Virginia today... brrrr...

18 degrees huh?? That must be nice...Here in Vermont we're in the middle of a nice cold spell. Haven't seen the mercury climb above 5 degrees in about a week and a half. Its -5 below here now, and wind chill of about -25. Brrr.....Dreaming of warm climate...ahhh much better

Butch - The wetsuit debate has happened many times on Bonairetalk with many varying opinions. I'll offer mine:

Trip Number 1: March. I had my 3ml with me on every dive and started to get cold by the end of the week (18 dives total). I would have been very happy to have my 7ml with me on that trip.

Trip Number 2: August. Wore the 3ml on every dive and was quite comfortable. I never felt overheated at all (except on the boat getting ready).

I suggest taking a full 3ml if you've got it. It only takes up a little room in the suitcase compared to everything else and you'll be miserable if you decide you need it and it's not there.


By the way.... -10 degrees with a -30 wind chill this morning. Winter sucks.

Michael

Hello....???

let me ask for clarification... you are really saying that a skin is not nearly enough? We're used to diving in the Caymans and from Roatan, and will need to invest in a wetsuit if it's really recommended.. hate to be cold.

thanks

Well warmed up a bit now. Up to -2 degrees, -17 with windchill. Brrr. So any of you guys ever go ice diving? Our divers here look like they are gonna go out this weekend. I need some more practice before I do anything like that. But next year I'll be with them. Check it out if you want. www.victorysports.net Stay warm everyone

Welcome to the board, Stephanie! You will, no doubt, fall in love with Bonaire just like the rest of us. You are lucky to be leaving soon...we have to wait until the end of May, but at least we are headed back to our little piece of paradise on earth...even if it is only for a short time. Carole

Stefanie - When we dove in the Caymans many years ago all I had on was a swimsuit and gear and was fine. When we got to Bonaire the water seemed pretty warm at first (and relatively speaking, it is). It's just that after 15-20 dives I believe my core body temp started to drop a little bit and it was harder and harder to keep warm.

I always dive with a skin and 3ml, as does my wife. On our last dive of our March trip it was a night dive in front of Captain Don's and we were so cold when we got out we could barely undo our gear.

I certainly don't want to sound an alarm and make people think the diving is miserable... it most certainly is NOT. Just make sure you've got the gear to deal with the cold if you're prone to losing body heat like I am. 78 degrees may seem warm at first, but that's 20 degrees colder than the human body normally runs and we all know how water sucks heat from your body faster than anything.

Butch: If you want a little more warmth without added boyancy wear a skin under your 3mm. It also make it easier to get it on and off.

Welcome Stephanie, You'll find that the water can be "cool", but last year I wore a lined skin and was comfortable until the end of the dives. A few minutes in the sun was all it took to warm up. Be sure to use plenty of Sun block! you can get crispy real quick and ruin your fun.

Kevin

Stefanie,
In 29 days, we'll be arriving for our 6th Feb/Mar visit to Bonaire; I've done all my dives with only a fleece-lined skin, and have never felt the need for anything warmer. The only times I've felt cold is after a night dive; when you don't get the sun to counter-act the chilling breeze. But, Jean has dove with a combination of a 0.5 mil full wet-suit plus a 3 mil shorty; and has been cold. So, it totaly depends upon your individual tolerance for cool water. Also, we've usually average less than 2 dives a day during the two weeks.
Chet

Thanks for all the recommendations!

The coldest I've ever been was in the Red Sea off Hurghada, Egypt. It was an afterthought, so we had only our bathing suits, but the sea life was so incredible that it was worth the popsicles we came to be! I've not seen anything to compare to it since - although I'll never stop looking ! We've also done some extremely chilly dives in the keys, which were not worth the cold.

Looks like a trip to the local dive shop is in order.. my husband will be so dissappointed at having to buy more dive gear (NOT!!!).

Hi Steph,

In November a .5mil fullsuit did the trick, BUT I also wear a 3mil "Beanie". You'll lose more heat from your head than anywhere else they say, and the warmth and protection of the beanie is well worth the small cost. Plus, here in Chicagoland the quarry fish will nibble the heck out of your ears if they're not covered, so in warmer waters I'll always wear a lycra hood or the neoprene cover.

You are going to LOVE Bonaire,

Good day all,

It's really cold here as well, but nothing like what some of you are saying. ( i live in dallas Texas) I am getting so jealous that some of you are counting down the days till your vacation, URGH I have a few more months to even start a countdown. Thanks to all gave me more info on the niht dives, I am really getting less jitters about it. When I was in the Caymans my boyfriend dove with just his swimsuit, me just a skin suit, no mil. I think our deepest dive was 90 feet, and we did up 3 dives a day. I never got cold, I guess that's cause I was so caught up in the underwater world I did not have time. Have a great time, hopefully you'll get some great pics.

Stefanie...after years of diving in Bonaire in a 1 ml suit we switched over to a 3 ml full wetsuit because of the amount of diving we were doing..3 dives a day and you start to lose your body temp...I also find I wear a "vest" with hood, for the night dives..just keeps my neck and body heat in longer...made a big difference in being comfortable..and thats half of diving(maybe 1/4...smile) finding your comfort level the Henderson hyperstrech suits are great

Thank you all for all of your info. I think I'll take my 3 mill and my 7 mill and my skin. Were planing on doing a lot of diving so we can add it as we need it. My wife and I are looking forward to diving there, This is are first time there. I know it sure going to beat this 0 weather here in Ohio. LOL Thank again.

Hi all, I will add my 2 cents worth. We will be there (BON) in 23 days so I need to plan... :-)

My best combination for lots of diving in moderately warm water is a nylon skin with a fleece-lined "triple skin" over that, and a fleece-lined hood added as the amount of underwater time builds up. We don't dive at all here in Colorado, just on our travels to tropical locations, so I don't own any neoprene attire. But I would happily rent something there in Bonaire if needed to add to my warmth & keep on diving!

another view point...a full length wetsuit can be hot out of water and also can be a "pain" to get in and out of, especially while boat diving. another reason i prefer the outside "shorty" portion of my heavy two piece (6/5 mil w/titanium) - which is also long sleeved for additional warmth. easy to get into, leave unzipped on shore so it is not too hot, then in water the extra mils feel really good where it counts...i'm even thinking i wasted my money getting the one piece full 3mil for tropical diving...

i still don't think one can put on too much neophrene but one can make wearing/putting on the stuff a little easier...

Wow.... while we're all sitting here debating the pros and cons of various wetsuits.... nothing seems to be happening on Bonaire.

All I got out of this mornings archives was this front door visitor.

hi michael, here is a rainbow parrot, i love these guys and you don't see them too often!


and just another fish

Have just done some research on the 3mm Henderson hyperstrech... I am assuming that it's going to be more like pulling on a skin than on a wetsuit?

I don't recall getting cold diving on Roatan with 3 dives per day (my records show the water was 81 at 100 feet), but I do remember being so waterlogged by the end of the week that I skipped a few dives. Any suggestion to avoid that?

Hello... what's all over the reefcam?

looks like the reflection of the sun overhead... oh, to feel that sun right now!

Looks like moisture on the inside of the lens.

Jake: is this normal? I don't remember seeing it yesterday.

Kevin

kevin, it is fish lips residue on the lens...needs a good wipe...

Hello everyone. Yes, Ohio is quite cold. I drive a school bus and we didn't have school because of the cold. The last time this happened was 1994.
Oh, the wetsuit debate, go in October you can dive in a bathing suit. At least if your blood is thick!!

That would be siltation on the ReefCam lens. Another project for the weekend...

Jake

Greetings BT'ers, and Jake!! Just checked last night's - sort of thought it was stuck, Jake lol - glad to hear the weather station is back. Bet you're even happier to have Linda back. Regards the lens, too bad you can't give Charlotte a handy wipe, or something like that...she was close enough this morning to take care of the whole thing for you!!

Later gang

Bill

Siltation. Now there's an new word ! I thought it might be parrotfish poop (can I say poop?)

KM

Kevin, no, but you can say p**p.

I'll remember that.. no potty mouth in the chat area.

first of a nice sunset...and blijke on the post...

Hey Blinkje, Mom's home..

Linda, can you BELIEVE how cold it is up here...??

NOT HAPPY

The sunset was so nice tonight! I need to learn to make a panorama for Annie to enjoy.

Kevin. This one is for you and your wife. I thankyou greatly for your support. Annie B.

For James and Margarite.

This one is for everybody. Lurkers, chatters, and especially Jake and Linda who take the time and trouble to put up with us all. Without them, we would never have known each other. I don't know how they do it. Thank you. Annie B.

Annie,
been thinking about you and Emma - hope all is going well.

Carol