Wet Suit OK for NE Coastal Diving?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

scubaran

Guest
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
Bennington, VT
Hi,

I've PADI AOW certified out of Vermont and I normally do my
summer diving in fresh water in Lake George, NY, Lake
Champlain and the St. Lawrence River in Canada with my
Ocean diving in the Caribbean in the fall/winter. This year
I'd like to dive in the NE Atlantic to check out all there is to
see there. For local diving I've got a 7mm farmer john with
associated hood, gloves, boots, etc. Is it possible to dive
in the ocean with this gear in the summer or is the water
still too cold (I know that the 7mm starts chilling around
45-50 degrees in the lakes). I've been researching the
INET for sites and I'd probably be inclined to go with a charter
the first time or two out until I learn the lay of the land.
Any recommendations on charters out of Boston/Gloucester/lower Maine?

Thanks,
Randy
 
Randy,

Summer water temps at the surface will range from low 70s south of Cape Cod and in RI to the high 50s/low 60s up around Gloucester/Cape Ann. On deeper dives close to 100 feet it is common for water temps in the Cape Ann area to remain in the 40s even at the end of the summer.

I find a 7mm wetsuit to be more than comfortable, especially on shallower dives.

I use Cape Ann Divers for charters (Gloucester) -- 2 well-run, comfortable dive boats. The CAD site has descriptions of the charter sites they often visit, as well as descriptions of area shore sites. Cape Ann is one of the more popular dive locations in the Boston area due to a variety of accessible shore sites, at least a few of which will be divable regardless of wind/sea conditions.

If you are looking to get started with ocean diving, one idea is to hook up with an area dive shop or dive club for a "group dive". CAD and many other Boston area shops and dive clubs coordinate groups dives at shore diving spots, helping new and experienced divers to pair up with buddies, provide a briefing on the dive spot, etc. It's also a great way to meet more potential buddies.

Hope this helps.

http://www.capeanndivers.com/

-Chris
 
Last year, I never saw water temperatures above 54 degrees in the shallows and 48 degrees deeper (90-100ft). Apparently, last year was the exception, not the rule, but I've only been diving up here for 2 years.

What you need to decide is, what kind of diving you are doing, when you want to do it, and what your comfortable temperature range is. You say you get chilled around 45-50 degrees. Is that shallow or deep? Your 7mm wetsuit is probably closer to a 4mm at 100ft, so 45 degrees is going to feel a lot better at 20 ft than 100ft.

Are you diving deep or shallow? Active swimming or floating along with the current? Wreck diving or just looking to see the geology, fauna, and flora?

I freeze my butt off year round in a wetsuit, but I have very little body fat. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).
 
Also, what time of year do you want to dive? Last Sunday, it was 38 degrees at 90 ft and 41 degrees on the surface. By June, the surface temperatures might make it into the mid-40s. A drysuit greatly extends your season, but they also cost money.

Try diving in a wetsuit...if it sucks and you're cold, pony up the money for a drysuit. If you are comfortable, GREAT. Lots of divers up here are perfectly happy with their 7mm 2-piece suits.
 
Also, if you're interested in shore diving and looking for people to show you around, there's a group from MetroWest Dive Club that meets every Saturday morning at the Burger King on Rt.128 (everyone going to Cape Ann will go past it, it's right past Exit 19). They usually decide on a particular spot to dive that morning based on weather, conditions, and divers' skills if there are beginner divers in the group. Good people.

http://www.mwdc.org/DateAtEight.html

Call or e-mail whoever the coordinator is for the Saturday you want to dive, so that they know you're coming. Shorediving may be a better bet vs. charter in case you find the water is too cold, gear problems, etc. You get to try out the NE diving without shelling out the $60 for a charter and then forcing yourself to dive if you're cold or not comfortable, simply because you already paid. Hope this helps!

-Roman.
 
notabob:
Also, if you're interested in shore diving and looking for people to show you around, there's a group from MetroWest Dive Club that meets every Saturday morning at the Burger King on Rt.128 (everyone going to Cape Ann will go past it, it's right past Exit 19). They usually decide on a particular spot to dive that morning based on weather, conditions, and divers' skills if there are beginner divers in the group. Good people.

http://www.mwdc.org/DateAtEight.html

Call or e-mail whoever the coordinator is for the Saturday you want to dive, so that they know you're coming. Shorediving may be a better bet vs. charter in case you find the water is too cold, gear problems, etc. You get to try out the NE diving without shelling out the $60 for a charter and then forcing yourself to dive if you're cold or not comfortable, simply because you already paid. Hope this helps!

-Roman.

Hi,

Thanks for the valuable information. I probably wouldn't dive
the ocean until summer (July-Sept) since spring requires a lot
of my time (mud season in Vermont, gotta get the yard going
after all that snow!). 90-100 ft. doesn't thrill me that much
as far as diving goes since I do a lot of underwater photography
to give me some meaning to be under in the first place
(usually over 80 ft. and murky water doesn't come out
well on my camera). Anyway, thanks for the links, any others
are greatly appreciated, and look forward to running into a few of
you this summer on the beach.

Randy
 
You should be fine doing shore dives on warm days in July-even early October with a 7mm.


While I dive dry year round, I do decent ammount of free diving wet and during those times a nice fitting 7mm should be fine for you. As Soggy said, those of us that dive dry LOVE it, but, tons and tons of people do fine diving wet every year.
 
Randy,

A lot of it depends on your personal tolerance for cold. I dove up here in southern Maine (Kennebunkport) two weeks ago in 39 F water in a good-fitting 7mm farmer john and was pretty comfortable, except for the blue lips. Granted, our max depth was 30 fsw.

DSAO,

Anthony
 
Randy,

I probably should have added that the temps I mentioned in my earlier post are the HIGHEST surface water temps experienced at the warmest part of the year (usually mid-late September depending on weather).

-Chris
 
I grew up swimming in the ocean in a bathing suit (cutoff jeans actually) up here... you know, for fun. If you dive it in Vermont, a wetsuit should be fine.

If you're interested in good photo opportunities, I recommend a shore dive at Old Garden Beach on Cape Ann. Go to the left. The depths will stay <30 fsw, so plenty of light gets in on a good day.
 

Back
Top Bottom