Wearing a wetsuit in Cozumel in June? Water Temp 82 deg

[John A Bayless]

Hello all,

We're going to Cozumel June 24 to July 1. We are going to stay at the
Presidente.

1) I need advice as to whether or not it is necessary to wear a wetsuit
while doing the
drift dives? If so, what thickness should be worn and whether it
should be a shorty
only or full.

2) Is there a depth in Cozumel at which the water temperature changes,
if so, how much
of a drop?

Thanks in advance for the information, John :-)

[Aquabrodjr]

All I have ever used at any time of yearin Cozumel is a diveskin. However, my
dive buddy wears a Polartec as she starts to feel chilled at the end of her
dives. Not only is the water in the 80's, the surface temp is in the 90's and
humidity around the same.

[Gordon in Austin]

In article <370FC283...@ix.netcom.com> John A Bayless,

I dove for years (usually in late May and/.or early June) around Cozumel
in just trunks and a Tshirt, and the only time I was ever even a little
bit cold was sometimes during safety stops on repetitive dives. I have
lately started wearing a 3mm shorty, and I'm comfortable all the time.
The water temperature is pretty much constant @ 83-84 degrees F no matter
what the depth; I assume that this is because of the current.

Gordon in Austin

[Ray Cardinale]

In article <370FC283...@ix.netcom.com>, John A Bayless
<jbay...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> We're going to Cozumel June 24 to July 1. We are going to stay at the
> Presidente.
> 1) I need advice as to whether or not it is necessary to wear a wetsuit
> while doing the
> drift dives? If so, what thickness should be worn and whether it
> should be a shorty
> only or full.
> 2) Is there a depth in Cozumel at which the water temperature changes,
> if so, how much
> of a drop?
> Thanks in advance for the information, John :-)

I have never used any suit or skin in 10 trips to Coz. The water temp.
doesn't vary.
In my experience (usually Jun. or Jul.) it has been the same at the
surface as it was at 100 ft. (85 degrees).

Ray Cardinale

[DH]

Depends on how you. Personally, I have dove Cozumel many times to 90
ft. with just a bathing suit and was quite comfy the whole time. My
girlfriend tried it and was cold as soon as she hit the water. She was
much more comfortable in a wetsuit. I have also been on dives in Ciz
where everyone had a wetsuit and looked at me like I was crazy for even
suggesting that I might dive without one. More recently I've shrugged
and donned the wetsuit and was fine.

I think it depends on the individual. I don't get cold too quickly (one
of the few side benefits of many years of Mexican beer and
chimichongas). Other get cold much easier than me tho.

[Jay Lee]

I haved dived Cozumel for 15+ years, logged hundreds of dives there, and
have never even taken a wetsuit down there. My wife wears one only on
night dives and she wears a diveskin during the days. She get cold on
repetitve dives.

I once watched a couple of guys wear wetsuits from the pier to the reef.
They just sat on the boat and rendered till one of them felt he might,
"faint." I think he was much better after he was in the water.

Having first learned to dive in the Pacific off California, my current
philosophy about cold water is to drink rum, watch the sunset and hope the
water is warmer tomorrow. (Before I get spammed for pooing-pooing wet
suits and diving, I'm writing tongue-in-cheek.)

Jay Lee

--
wet...@jetson.uh.edu

[Dr. Joe P. Koontz, Ph.D.]

Gladys wears a skin and she is good down into the 140fsw. range (she
normally gets cold easier than me - except when we dive). I wear a lined
skin. At night we might put on a polartec if we have been diving all day.
The ops we dive with do a pre-night dive on the same location where you do
the night dive so you lose a lot of body heat with the short surface
interval between twilight and night.

joe

[BrettM]

I think you will find that you will be comfortable with anything from a dive
skin to a shortie 3mm or a full 3mm wetsuit. It is up to your own tolerance for
water temp and if you tend to get cold toward the end of your dives. I dove
Cozumel with my 3mm full suit in February and with my 3mm shortie last
September. The water temp is very similar down to 160 feet with no noticable
thermoclines probably due to the consistant currents that mix things up. Have a
great trip!

[RBARDIVER]

John
We will be there in may. Last year at this time all we wore were shorties or
polartecs. There are no thermocline at depth. We went down to 97ft and did
not experience a change.
Have a Great trip!!!

rbardiver

[NaLaniF]

A skin is a good idea even if it is warm enuf for you - keeps those @#$^
jellyfish from causing too much damage.

nalani