Bonaire-Late March-Wetsuit??

[Boat Chick]

The temperature will vary from winter to summer:
Winter months (approx. December-March): 78-80 degrees F. / 25-26 degrees C.
Summer months (approx. April-November): 81- 84 degrees F. / 27-29 degrees C.

I will not be bringing a wetsuit or a skin. I dive nekkid in Bonaire. I average 3-5 dives per day and have never been cold. Our last trip one of the guys wore his 3mm on the first dive (so, we knicknamed him Nancy) and he said he was hot in the wetsuit on the first dive... He never wore it again on a dive while we were there (we still refer to him as Nancy... lol)

My husband sweats in his BC on Bonaire, nekkid or not ;-) And as I mentioned, I wear a thick skin and 3mm in January, March, and other times I wear a thin skin and 3mm. Beanie all the time and am comfortable. A year ago january and this last january i wore my dry suit hood on my night dives...beanie wasn't enough.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

My husband sweats in his BC on Bonaire, nekkid or not ;-) And as I mentioned, I wear a thick skin and 3mm in January, March, and other times I wear a thin skin and 3mm. Beanie all the time and am comfortable. A year ago january and this last january i wore my dry suit hood on my night dives...beanie wasn't enough.

Ahhh, I have not been there in March. I took my stats copy and past from the bonaire tourism pages... Since you have been there at that time, I will defer to your experience.

nekkid diving is not "naked" diving. Diving nekkid is diving without a wetsuit, so... you dive nekkid on Bonaire most of your dives .... Next time, we want pictures

 

[Boat Chick]

Ahhh, I have not been there in March. I took my stats copy and past from the bonaire tourism pages... Since you have been there at that time, I will defer to your experience.

nekkid diving is not "naked" diving. Diving nekkid is diving without a wetsuit, so... you dive nekkid on Bonaire most of your dives .... Next time, we want pictures

thanks for the clarification...on some boards you can't say "naked" so i thought "nekkid" was a way of spelling it and getting away with it...LOL! I don't think you'd want to see the pictures...lol...

 

[rakay]

I used a 5 mm in Feb. Also a 3mm beanie. I do get cold easy but this works well for me on long dives.

 

[DiveMaven]

I'll definitely defer to your experience Boat Chick....plus, with differences in computers who the heck really knows what the water temperature is sometimes!? Sadly, I'm actually considering taking my 5mm full suit for our July trip this year since last year I was cold enough to call a couple of dives while wearing a 3mm (by the end of the second week of 4 dives per day).

 

[Boat Chick]

I'll definitely defer to your experience Boat Chick....plus, with differences in computers who the heck really knows what the water temperature is sometimes!? Sadly, I'm actually considering taking my 5mm full suit for our July trip this year since last year I was cold enough to call a couple of dives while wearing a 3mm (by the end of the second week of 4 dives per day).

You're right about the computers. I have an old Sunnto console, and my ScubaPro Extender wrist...and they never agree!

A year ago January I started getting cold midweek and drug out the dry suit hood. A friend who lives on the island had told me the water had been unusually "cool" so I brought it just in case. Glad I did! My 3mm is OLD and I could probably use a new one...might not need to wear the skins. We only do 3 dives a day (I'm old...lol) so I can imagine that 4 a day would bring the core temp down a bit. A lot of locals wear 5mm or even 7mm on Bonaire I'd DIE gearing up if I had to do that...LOL!

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

OOoooo, that brings up another tip... If you have a second computer take it with you and dive with it in a pocket. If your 1st computer dumps (happened to us), you have a second and don't have to worry about the diving you've done so far.

My girlfriend's computer died on the third day and I had my backup. We were diving the same profiles, so it was easy to change one for the other and be a little conservative for the rest of the day. The rest of the week went without issue from the computers.

It means less when you are making two dives a day, but when you are making 4-6 dives, that's a big difference if you want to continue diving that day... and saves the cost of purchasing one on the island

 

[helimvee]

I just retruned from Bonaire, temps on my computer were showing 78 - 80. I wore a 3 mm (it is old and more like a 1mm). I was cold on the first day, due to being tired. My GF wore a newer 3mm and would get cold after 30 - 40 minutes. Others in the group wore 3 mm, 5 mm and 7mm - one with a hood. We met one diver with a drysuit.

It really depends on the person, how rested you are, how much you have eaten, how much you move around, etc

If you kick a lot you might be warner than most. If you kick less or hover while taking video or photos you might be cooler than most.

I think that it is fair to say that a 3 mm is a good starting point. You can always add a vest or hood if needed or shorten your dive time.

Personally, I would never wear a hood or beanie on Bonaire. I have to wear a hood diving in Canada and refuse to do so on Bonaire.

Have a great trip.

 

[keithdiver]

OK, even though I have a little bit of time to plan, is a 3 mil wetsuit enough, too much, not enough for diving in late March?

If you are planning on doing more than 3-5dives a day, i would strongly suggest a 5mm and a beanie like Vince& Boat chick mention. That is just MOI

 

[DeputyDan]

I take 3 and 5 mm suits on my trips . My rule of thumb is 80 degrees and warmer is 3mm , 79 and lower 5 mm . I always use a beanie . In March the water will probably be below 80

This works for me - but my daughter always wears a 5.