Greetings from South Africa - and a question!

[Jassym]

Hi there!

I'm not a scuba diver, I am a thriller writer, but my heroine is doing scuba diving in my latest book, so I have to pretend to be knowledgeable about it! I have a question which will probably seem very silly to experienced divers, but it is often the small issues that can cause the biggest headaches.

At what stage does a diver usually take the wetsuit off, and what would they be wearing underneath? I have my heroine taking her wetsuit off in the boat going back to shore, but the editor is questioning this and I realised I don't have the faintest clue when a wetsuit would usually be removed!

I would love some help on this. Thank you so much.

Jassy Mackenzie.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

At what stage does a diver usually take the wetsuit off, and what would they be wearing underneath? I have my heroine taking her wetsuit off in the boat going back to shore, but the editor is questioning this and I realised I don't have the faintest clue when a wetsuit would usually be removed!

Jassy,

The wetsuit comes off after the diver exits the water. It can get pretty hot to be walking around in a wetsuit topside. In-between dives (what divers will call a "surface interval"), divers often walk around with their wetsuit halfway down around their waist. This is kind of a compromise between dealing with the hassle of taking off the suit completely and overheating in it.

Most people wear a swimsuit underneath the wetsuit. In addition, some wear a rashguard to mitigate friction between the skin and the wetsuit. Some men wear cycling shorts or speedos (yikes) so that too much material doesn't bunch up under the wetsuit. Women will wear one- or two-piece swimsuits. Some people don't wear anything at all underneath.

The scenario you described, with the character doffing her wetsuit in the boat going back to shore, is possible. It probably depends on the size of the boat and the length of the ride back to shore. If it's a relatively short ride (20 min.?) or the boat is very small (dingy/zodiak/panga), then I could see a diver just pulling the wetsuit down halfway, toweling off the upper body, and putting on a sweatshirt/windbreaker for the ride back. If it's a long ride back (1 hr. or more?) and the boat is large enough (or has a restroom) to change out of the wetsuit, then I could imagine a diver changing into dry street clothes to be comfortable on the ride back to shore.

Since you mentioned that your protagonist dives, this would be a perfect opportunity for you to do some firsthand book research and get scuba-certified. You never know. You just might like it. (In the U.S., I think this would qualify as a tax-deductible, work-related expense.)

Good luck with the novel...

 

[Jassym]

Thanks so much for this, Bubbletrubble - it is exactly what I needed and so helpful. You are right... I will definitely have to try and do some research in person!

 

[k ellis]

It depends on the weather too. If its cold outside then a diver may leave their wetsuit on until they can get to the onboard restroom and change (Usually not advisable) or back to shore and in a shop to change. Often times too as a side note if its between dives many diver will simply peel down their tops of their wet suits to stay cool.

And as Bubbletrubble mentioned most divers will wear a swimsuit underneath though there has been a time or two that I witnessed people of unattractive appearances prove that they themselves did not wear a swimsuit underneath

Bubbletrubble The scenario you described, with the character doffing her wetsuit in the boat going back to shore, is possible. It probably depends on the size of the boat and the length of the ride back to shore. If it's a relatively short ride (20 min.?) or the boat is very small (dingy/zodiak/panga), then I could see a diver just pulling the wetsuit down halfway, toweling off the upper body, and putting on a sweatshirt/windbreaker for the ride back. If it's a long ride back (1 hr. or more?) and the boat is large enough (or has a restroom) to change out of the wetsuit, then I could imagine a diver changing into dry street clothes to be comfortable on the ride back to shore.

Well said!

 

[MkIXI]

In Florida, my wife always wears a thin spandex, long-sleeved top, bikini bottoms and a wetsuit. She's always cold as I guess most women tend to be (or most guys won't admit to).

Unless we're doing another dive right away, she'll takeoff the wetsuit and put on a towel for the boat ride back to shore. Even in the Florida heat, you can get cold very quickly on the open waters if your cloths are wet.

If we're doing another dive, we'll peel down the wet suits to our waists like the others mentioned. That's to stay cool, but also, it's extremely difficult to get a wet wetsuit off from around the ankles. They're extremely tight and the angle of the ankles aren't the best for slipping on a sopping wet wetsuit. Also, many divers wear boots, so it's a lot of gear to take off and on. Sometimes I'll just leave halfway if the boat ride is short and take it off on dry land, where it's a bit more steady and I can get some help yanking off the wetsuit from around me feet.

Hope that gives you a better visual for the book. Good luck!