exposure suit for northern outer banks in August

[gregor1234]

Guess I should've thought to ask this in my previous post on the subject...

I'll be going to KDH area in mid-august. what sort of exposure suit will I need?

 

[mike_s]

I've dove the northern Outer Banks (near Nags Head) in July/August in a 3mm shortie, but sometimes the water is a bit chillier, especially at deeper depths. I'd have a 3mm full suit handy also.

-mike

 

[Allison Finch]

HMMMM.... i dive the southern area of NC because I like the Gulfstream=warmer and clearer. Up north NC you have the Labrador current=colder and less clear.

I only ask for a few things in life. Water should be warm, clear, and smooth. That's why I travel so much!

 

[KidK9]

I dive there every year. I'd take a full 3mm.

 

[jeadiver]

Boy, you all must be tougher than me. In August I would dive a 5mm with a 3mm hooded vest, but I get cold very easily. I'll dive a 5mm without the hooded vest in Hatteras/Morehead/Carolina Beach. Heck, I'll dive dry in VA in August because I hate being cold.

 

[diveh3]

I hate getting wet.
Last year I used a 7mm shorty and was fine for 30-45 minutes bottom time. but the last dive I did the surface was cloudy and cooler so I opted to use the drysuit. Didn't regret it, even chuckled at a few shivering folks during the surface interval. (payback for commenting on me being the only one in a dry suit)
I will opt to leave the wet suit at home.


Gregor1234
I will be in Duck 8/13-20 if your looking to do the triangles shore dive let me know.
Dan

 

[gregor1234]

O.K. so now I've so far got answers that range from " 3mm shorty" all the way up to "a drysuit". I have a 6mm semi-dry suit and a 2mm thinsuit and nothing in between. Im actually going to buy something specifically for this trip... And so far I'm leaning toward a 5mm full suit as being between the extremes suggested here.

Diveh3-

Since the triangle will be 1/2 mile from where I'm staying I intend to dive there several times over the week... possibly a night dive if conditions allow. If you want to get together we should be in contact closer to the travel dates.

 

[mike_s]

Well, I'm the one that said 3mm shortie. These were beach dives. The past few times I've been up there the water has been colder, but I didn't dive. This is also why I reccomended a 3mm full.

You could always check the NOAA bouys to see what traditional water temps are for that time of year.

At buoy 41025 off the coast of NC, the temp for August is 27c to 29c in 2004.
That's 80.6f to 84.2f.

Temps from historical Data at
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=41025

 

[gregor1234]

The bouy data is interesting but not entirely as useful as I would have hoped. Bouy 41025 lies about 15 mi SE of Hatteras. Bouys closer to Kitty Hawk report temperature ranges for August with lower limits in the low 70's. There's quite a difference between 70 and 85 degree water.

At any rate, these are surface temperatures (in the case of bouy 41025, taken at a depth of 0.6 meters). What we really need is the depth at the bottom which can be in the 60-100 ft range depending on which wreck you're diving.

Thanks for the good intentions, though.

It sounds as though I migh be best off with a set of layers that could be used to cope with varying conditions. Sounds like the beach is always warm but out on the boat, one day it could be quite warm, but the next the gulf stream could shift and it can be very cool.

My response would be to get a 3mm farmer john w/jacket and a 3mm vest so I can just wear the jacket (or pants ) for the shore dives or put on both with the vest (9mm total) for the wreck dives off the boat if it promises to be cold there.

Sound like a plan?

 

[Jason B]

Hatteras is where the cold northern Labrador current meets up with the warm Gulf Stream. As a result, anything north of Hatteras will be colder, anything south of Hatteras will be warmer.

Jason