Exposure protection for Sal, Cabo Verde

[ckheng]

Hi. I'm looking to dive Sal next month but have been having conflicting reports as to the water temperature. The dive operators report temperatures of 27-28C but also say they dive 5mm full length wetsuits. I do understand everyone is individual with regards to exposure protection but that doesn't seem to make sense to me. 27-28C should be perfect for a 3mm or less. Is there like a wicked thermocline or something?

Our feeling is that if the temperature is going to be below 23C at any point of the dive, we would bring our dry suits instead.

 

[dbulmer]

Hi. I'm looking to dive Sal next month but have been having conflicting reports as to the water temperature. The dive operators report temperatures of 27-28C but also say they dive 5mm full length wetsuits. I do understand everyone is individual with regards to exposure protection but that doesn't seem to make sense to me. 27-28C should be perfect for a 3mm or less. Is there like a wicked thermocline or something?

Our feeling is that if the temperature is going to be below 23C at any point of the dive, we would bring our dry suits instead.

I have literally just got back from Sal. The sea temp was 26/27C on most days. On one dive we did have a thermocline from 23 to 27 but most of the dives you were looking at 27C. I took a 5mm with me and did not use it opting for a 3mm shorty instead. Most dives were 45 mins - a drysuit would be overkill there - air temperatures are 27C (min and it feels warmer). A full 3mm would be sufficient.

 

[ckheng]

Thnak you dbulmer! That is reassuring.
May I ask if the temperature was quite stable throughout the water column? How deep did you need to go to hit the thermocline?

 

[dbulmer]

The thermocline was from 16m to about 9m. This was a one off - I dived the same site twice on 2 different days - the first time it was a uniform 27C whereas the second time was a thermocline.

As I mentioned, most of the time the water was 26/27C from the surface to about 16m. I did not dive deeper than that. You will not be getting cold there. One thing to bear in mind is that the boats are very basic - to return to shore you typically wear an empty BC, jump into the water and then wade through the surf - the lighter your exposure protection the easier that will be.

BTW I dived with Scuba Caribe and it's a good operator with several types of wetsuit for rent just in case you were wondering - they have a mixture of wetsuits ranging from 3mm shorty to 7mm full suits - they seem to favour Mares for rental gear and the gear is in good condition. With Scuba Caribe, nitrox is free for those with the cert. I didn't use Nitrox myself but the fills were generally 200bar.

 

[ckheng]

Many thanks again dbulmer for the reply. We're going with 3mm full length given the aggregate opinion from various sources. We're diving with Santa Maria diving as logistically it's easier (saves on waiting for transfers) and they were quick with responses. They suggested thermoclinces with water temps of 24-25C.

I'll report back mid november and add to the collective experience.

Thanks again!