Real wetsuit diving.
By Rusty Miller
Well, it’s wintertime here in North Florida and that means real wetsuit diving. What I mean is wetsuits from 5-7mm along with a good heavy coat so when you get out of the water you will have a coat to put on to protect you from the cold wind. I have the perfect long coat that is specially designed for just such a thing, it’s called a Surf-fur coat. It’s designed to go over your wetsuit and long enough to keep your legs warm even if your wetsuit is wet. It blocks the wind and has pockets designed so you can even take off your wetsuit without removing the coat. You can order them online and I will tell you they are worth every penny, I wear mine on dives in the winter.
I bring this up because I teach scuba classes even during the winter months in North Florida. I have a class right now that is preparing to go to the springs at the end of the month. It’s interesting how the 68 degree water seems warm compared to the 40 degree outside temperature.
Don’t be fooled into believing you’re safe from hyperthermia though. In fact, you’re more likely to get very cold by thinking it’s OK to stay in the water for a long time.
When you first get into the spring it’s a little cold but you quickly start to heat up that thin layer of water in your wetsuit so you start your dive. By the time your done with your first dive you start to get cold because the energy you’re using will start to make you feel the cold, then you exit the water and that cold wind hits you while you’re walking back to the table where you coat is and you’re really cold now.
With a 5mm wetsuit it is OK but I have heard that a 7mm wetsuit is much better and will keep your body warmer for a longer period of time. I use a 5mm wetsuit and coupled with my surf-fur I’m able to stay a bit warmer and ready for my next dive. I would highly recommend that you take a couple of gallon jugs of very warm water with you so before you get in the water you pour it down the neck of your wet suit to help kickstart the warming process in the water that way you won’t have as quick of a heat loss in the beginning of your dive, it will help you to conserve your energy as well.
For those of you who brave the Gulf in the wintertime then for the 56 degree water I would highly recommend a quality drysuit. I keep telling myself to get a drysuit but it’s like hurricane season telling myself to get a gas generator, It hasn’t happened yet.
If you are going diving in the months of January through March please use the wetsuit or drysuit to protect yourself from the cold water, you will enjoy it more. Keep making bubbles.
-Russell Miller #59999
