Do remember that the dive instructor/guides in Sharm live and dive WARM waters year-round so 23c to them might seem like freezing while its hotter than people many places in the world will ever see on their local day-to-day dives..
This is true and for sure, our acclimatisation to hot weather and warm water does make us feel the cold more readily than those hardy souls who visit us from the frozen realms of Scandinavia, for example, but actually, 22 degrees is pretty unpleasant for everybody - and it's been 26 in the water this week and the group I've been diving with, some in 5mm wetsuits, have been complaining about the cold. Regular visitors are bringing at least 5mm + hood, plenty of semi-drys being brought over, although so far the only drysuits I've seen were being worn by techies, and mostly in Dahab, where the water is a degree cooler than Sharm and the nearly permanent wind and the lack of shelter at some of the dive sites makes them much more desirable.
As I posted before, the general consensus is that we are in for a chilly winter. The water is already 3 degrees lower than the same time last year (26 compared to 29), and the temperature has dropped to the point where guests as well as staff are already turning up in the morning with light fleeces and long trousers - although it's the wind, rather than the actual air temperature, which makes the long sleeves a necessity.
Topper - me personally, I don't think a drysuit is necessary to dive here through the winter, and actually most of my friends and colleagues that own them admit that they go dry mostly to deal with the cold when exiting the water. They are an expensive luxury, I think, and they only get used for maybe 2 months of the year (possibly longer this winter!), whereas I wore my semi-dry for maybe 18 of the 22 months I have owned it, and never once was I uncomfortably warm in the water when I used it. Once the temperature hit 27 I started diving back in board shorts and a 3mm vest top + hood, although the hood was mostly for keeping my rather unruly hair under control!
I've just replaced my well-worn semi with the exact same model, but I'm going to wait until the temperature drops another degree before I start using it. I suspect I won't have to wait very long!
I think combo suits are ideal for Sharm because it gives you much more flexibility throughout the year. Friends say it's dropped as low as 18 degrees here and I have personally seen 31 in Na'ama Bay which is a pretty wide change, and a combo suit saves you having to buy three different suits to cover the variation.
If you already own a 5 or 7mm suit then bring it along and see how you get on. There are some good shops here with some quality suits and as a member of staff, you get a discount in all of them so you might save a few Kroner if you buy when you arrive.
Cheers
C.
