Wetsuit for Sea of Cortez

[js1221]

I know that this is subjective but I’m looking for thoughts from those who have been there; I’m doing my first LOB this July in the Sea of Cortez. We will be diving on the Rocio Del Mar, off the Midriff Islands. I have a 3mm ScubaPro wetsuit that I have used in Hawaii and Cozumel, plus a 3mm hooded vest I can add on for the lakes here in Texas. A lot of the online posts I’ve seen recommend at least a 5mm for the Sea of Cortez, some even suggest a 7mm. I don’t want to be cold in my 3mm but I also don’t want to pack more then I need. Thought from those who know?

 

[Hatul]

We dove around La Paz Nov 20 week. I wore a loose fitting 3mm suit with a heated vest and I was cold. Water temp was 78F and air was cool. So I'd recommend a good 5 mm suit with a hood. Also take a bathrobe. When back on boat pull the wetsuit down from chest and put on bathrobe.

 

[elgoog]

I would use a 5mm full suit and the hooded vest for July. I've dove there different times of the year and my log shows July water temps are 77-ish. October was when it got in the 80s and 3mm with a hood was comfy but I think you need more for the summer months.

You'll also be doing more dives on the liveaboard for more days than what you may have done before. For all liveaboards I've done, I always go one suit level higher than "normal". Really starts becoming a factor after 2-3 days and certainly towards the end of the trip. This is assuming you're going to try and do all/most of the dives offered.

Honestly, for any suit thicker than 3mm full body, I never pack it with me. Takes up too much space and weight in my bags. I've always had good luck renting on the liveaboard itself. I'm pretty standard size so YMMV.

 

[peeweediver]

Was on the Rocio for their full-length Sea of Cortez trip last October. In the south it was 82. Some northern sites were as cold as 71 degrees. Average in the north was about 75. Wore a 5mm (more of a 4mm now), a Lavacore shirt and a 3mm hooded vest in the north. Still got cold after 45 minutes except when playing with Sea Lions. It seemed never to get cold when hanging with them. Expect anything. One island the crew was really looking forward to was supposed to be great viz and high 70s. Got there, 15 foot viz, 71 degrees. We left after the two morning dives instead of the four we expected. Crew wanted out of there! Sea Lions and whale sharks made everything wonderful.

Rob

 

[ddavin]

Interesting and helpful thread as I will be doing the trip this July, too. I am planning on taking my 5 mm and adding a hooded vest. Also looking to take a fleece-lined boat coat for post dive. For those of you who have been on this LOB, are there essentials that shouldn't be forgotten? This is my first LOB trip. Is space a problem?

 

[mostlyirish]

I did the full length Sea of Cortez trip on Rocio Del Mar In October 2018. We started at the northern end and worked our way down to San Jose Del Cabo. At the northern end the water temps were in the mid to low 70's. Most on board had at least a 5mm suit. I wore a 3mm full suit with a 3mm front zip shorty on top of it for the dives up north. I took a 5/3 hood with me but never used it. I was only cold on 1 dive where the tea was about 71. I was glad I could remove the 3 mil shorty when we got down south. That combination seemed to work for me. For the snorkel with Whale sharks make sure you take something warm for the stretches when the boat is searching for sharks. Once you are wet and on the small boat looking for the sharks it can be a long ride if it is cold and windy. Highlights for me were: up north on a dive we were treated to a tornado of barracuda.When we swam up inside we were joined by several inquisitive sea lions. Swimming with the whale sharks was a thrill. Pay attention to the instructions about starting to swim as soon as they tell you to get in the water. Down south the sea lions were plentiful and playful. One site had swarms of sardines that blocked out the sun. The vis and amount of sea life down south was notable. The night Mobula Ray dive was great.

 

[mostlyirish]

Interesting and helpful thread as I will be doing the trip this July, too. I am planning on taking my 5 mm and adding a hooded vest. Also looking to take a fleece-lined boat coat for post dive. For those of you who have been on this LOB, are there essentials that shouldn't be forgotten? This is my first LOB trip. Is space a problem?

It sounds like your choice of thermal protection should work for you. In general the air temp was pretty good for my trip and we were all in shorts most of the time but sometimes wore long sleeves in the evening for card games and chats on the aft deck area. I would recommend taking the boat coat with you for the whale shark outing. As far as space it was adequate for me. The dive deck is laid out reasonably well and there are only 1/3 of the group gearing up at a time so as long as you have a reasonable group there is plenty of room. The guests are divided into 3 groups who gear up and depart on the pangas at 15 minute intervals. This keeps the dive deck and dive sites less congested.
The cabins were sufficient for me (of course I used to serve on submarines so your mileage may vary) and far preferable to some other boats I have been on. I particularly liked that they were on the main deck and not the lower deck as was the case on a few other boats I have used.I also liked the availability of using the hot showers on the dive deck for our final evening shower. This helped ensure a tidy cabin bathroom.

 

[drbill]

I worked in the Sea of Cortez during the winter months. I wore everything from a 3mm shortie to a 3/2 full wetsuit with 3mm hooded vest. Your mileage may vary.