Raj Ampat water temps in December

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alijtaylor

Contributor
Messages
781
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Location
Wellington NZ
# of dives
500 - 999
I am booked on Mermaid 1 in December, I can't wait, but I am a little uncertain on the exposure protection to take.

I have dived very happily in a skin in the Solomons and PNG in about 28C or 29C and not bothering with a wet suit really appeals.

If you have a record of the temps you encountered in Raj Ampat in December I am keen to hear it (I am less interested in the exposure protection you wore as that is so personal). Our itinerary encompasses both northern and southern sites. I am happy to manage the conversion from F to C!

Thanks for any responses.
 
A fairly consistent 28C according to my computer log. One dive even got to a chilly 27C :wink:
 
In agreement with wet pub :)
 
I was very comfortable with 3mm shorty over a 3mm full in late November. RA trips are long with lots of dives to err on the 'more' side.
Folks with just 5mm full were happy too.

Mid-October to mid-December is the best time to visit RA. Mermaid I is a fantastic boat (I did Komodo on that one) and a great crew. Have a great time.
 
Just back from a trip to Banda sea with a crossing to Papua and Triton bay. Due to the Indonesian haze and El Nino we got unusual cold water temperatures with 22C in Triton Bay. None of our very experienced guides remembered so cold water temperatures in the area. We ended in wearing a 5mm over a 3mm divesuit. On the other side we encountered a hammerhead in 8m depth in the Banda Sea and there were also some sightings of hammerheads in Misool.
On all our other visits in R4 a 3mm was fine. :D
 
I saw a map on tv just after Patricia that showed world ocean surface temps. El Niño was present like a huge red gash next to Central America but looking over at West Papua it was dark blue. At least there will be no coral bleaching like in the red zones.

You can see below just how much colder it is just around the Birds Head seascape

SSTanomaly%20Global.gif


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You'll need a wetsuit. We all, including crew were wearing full 3mm and often our hoods. It wasn't that the water was cold or even chilly but our core temperatures dropped with every dive.

I'm looking at the temperature map and it boggles my mind. Not to mention,I'm unable to make heads or tails of the Celsius scale. :)
 
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That temperature map also indicates that the northern GBR should expect a 1C drop in ocean surface temperatures. Currently they're warmer than this time last year where I live, so I'd take those models with a grain of salt. It's computer modelling, and while there's certainly some good science behind it, the models are grossly oversimplified (I effectively do something similar in my day job). Not to mention that it's modelled at half degree resolution (~55km x 55km grid), and much smaller micro-systems exist almost everywhere in the tropics.

I dived RA with a 2mm full length wetsuit, and had a rashie and hood stuffed in my dive bag just in case. I never needed them - and I'm usually one who is prone to getting cold.
 
Remember you can always cool off underwater so better to air on the conservative side. I am going to Ra in December and bringing my 5mm, and a hooded vest. Repeated dives tend to make me cold.


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https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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