Water Temps - December?
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Bratface
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Where will you be diving?
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Coming from Toronto, he'll probably board the plane in shorts. Tolerances vary with individuals, tho. I once knew a gal who wore a dry suit in Coz, in August...!
Pelagicsal
Dedicated Dive Bum
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78-80F. I'm generally comfortable in a 3mm with a slightly insulated hooded shirt underneath. A hood can make a good bit of difference. I like a boat coat or fleece lined jacket on the surface, especially for cloudy or rainy days. Then I am already warmer for the next dive.
I'm not very cold-natured, overall.
Hope that will help you decide on your neoprene needs!
I'm not very cold-natured, overall.
Hope that will help you decide on your neoprene needs!
Skittl1321
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Most of our December/January dives show 80F.
We (my husband and I) both dive in 3 mm. I sometimes wear a beanie on the second dive.
At the end of a very long dive it can get a little chilly, especially if there was enough current that we did no swimming at all. But more often I find myself flushing my wetsuit with water to cool myself down a bit. We are used to cold local waters.
There have been a few days when I wanted a coat on the boat though.
Your mileage may vary- I've seen some shivering in 7 mm.
We (my husband and I) both dive in 3 mm. I sometimes wear a beanie on the second dive.
At the end of a very long dive it can get a little chilly, especially if there was enough current that we did no swimming at all. But more often I find myself flushing my wetsuit with water to cool myself down a bit. We are used to cold local waters.
There have been a few days when I wanted a coat on the boat though.
Your mileage may vary- I've seen some shivering in 7 mm.
DjDiverDan
Contributor
I've been diving during the early half of December each of the last 5 years, and according to my Dive Computer the water temps ranged from a low of 77 deg. F (only twice) to a high of 81, with the norm being 79-80. I'm perfectly comfortable diving 3-4 days in a row in just a "skins plus" - a Henderson with 0.5 mil Neoprene. If I was going to dive 5-6 days in a row, I'd probably go with a 2mm full wetsuit. But I'm pretty cold-tolerant. Unless you are very sensitive to cold, I think you'd do just fine with a 2 mm suit, or even just skins (mostly for protection from reef rash) and a 2mm or 3mm shorty. A full 3mm suit should keep you nice and toasty; you may even need to let water in occasionally to keep from overheating.
