Unseasonably cold temperatures in Bonaire right now

[staggsSevin]

Kob posted on BT this evening and said the temp have been 27-28c to 30m deep. I'll take the 80-82 sounds much better to me. I'll report in Saturday or Sunday after I arrive with the temp on my computers.

 

[darook]

I have to believe these cooler than normal temperatures will be good to the coral. Now that we are into summer the temps should still be sub-critical for bleaching even after the rest of the warm months.

 

[staggsSevin]

Kob was right on with the temp. I've dove from witches hut down to Vista Blue and have seen 80-81 on my Oceanic, and 82-83 on my cobalt. While I wish it was 83 it does feel more like 80-81.

Temps aren't bad, I can just go In board shorts w/rashgaurd and be fine. I did wear my 3mm today though.

I will say that the vis is down, this marks my 5th trip here and the worst I've seen the visibility. Not sure really sure what the deal is other than its supposed to have been really windy.

 

[redacted]

On the bright side, lower vis should help you find frogfish and seahorse.

 

[Manual]

Kob was right on with the temp. I've dove from witches hut down to Vista Blue and have seen 80-81 on my Oceanic, and 82-83 on my cobalt. While I wish it was 83 it does feel more like 80-81.

Temps aren't bad, I can just go In board shorts w/rashgaurd and be fine. I did wear my 3mm today though.

I will say that the vis is down, this marks my 5th trip here and the worst I've seen the visibility. Not sure really sure what the deal is other than its supposed to have been really windy.

Did it stay consistently 80-81 to depth? Say 30m? or did it drop a few degree's. I've been watching the weather and the past few weeks have been ridiculously windy! :depressed: That said, forecast from now on has it settling to usual conditions... Famous last words What sorta distance you getting on Viz? Hopefully come August, things will be back to normal!

 

[lexvil]

Did it stay consistently 80-81 to depth? Say 30m? or did it drop a few degree's. I've been watching the weather and the past few weeks have been ridiculously windy! :depressed: That said, forecast from now on has it settling to usual conditions... Famous last words What sorta distance you getting on Viz? Hopefully come August, things will be back to normal!

On Bonaire now, viz has been 40 to 60 feet average, wind has been strong causing some white caps but died down overnight for the first time since saturady. temps have been 81º and 82º on every dive so far, using a 1 mil and not feeling cold at all.

 

[wwguy]

I've dove from witches hut down to Vista Blue and have seen 80-81 on my Oceanic, and 82-83 on my cobalt. While I wish it was 83 it does feel more like 80-81. Temps aren't bad, I can just go In board shorts w/rashgaurd and be fine. I did wear my 3mm today though.

On Bonaire now, viz has been 40 to 60 feet average, wind has been strong causing some white caps but died down overnight for the first time since saturady. temps have been 81º and 82º on every dive so far, using a 1 mil and not feeling cold at all.

I can't help but be curious about limited gas consumption and/or bottom time for folks diving with thin or no insulation. My wife and I both need 5mm wetsuits on Bonaire to enjoy 60 to 70 minutes bottom time in 80 degree water, and sometimes also wear 2mm beanies. We've seen many Bonairean divemasters and local divers similarly attired over the years, which is where we first picked up on the advantages of extra insulation. I used to wear 3mm shorty on Bonaire back in the 90's, but could only get ~45 minutes bottom time due getting cold or the cold causing me to consume more air.

Bonaire's gentle shore dive profiles and inexpensive readily-available nitrox make it possible to easily and regularly exceed 60 minute bottom times without pushing your dive computer to the limits. I'm not saying others are doing anything "wrong", but I genuinely believe that most folks wearing minimal insulation are missing opportunities for extended dive times and/or more efficient gas consumption.

One of these days I'm going to try one of RJP's tropical drysuits.

 

[staggsSevin]

I'm wearing a 3mm with no hood. I'm only doing around 60min dives from the shore. I wouldn't say that I'm warm but wouldn't say that I'm cold either. Last August I did not put on a wetsuit at all and averaged around 75min dives and did 24 that trip.

This trip it looks like I'm on pace for 20-21 dives, but since the visibility is down and it's not as warm it's easier to call the dive.

Interesting that the visibility is real similar to what we saw at roatan (ccv) back in January.

 

[Bubbles below]

I hope the visibility improve by mid Aug. I hope to do at least 24 dives. I wore 1mm when I was in Cayman Islands w 78-83F and was chilly on my second dive,however, I managed 50-70 mins dives. I'm thinking I should wear 3mm shorty for boat dives, 1mm for shore dives, and 2/3 for night dives. This way my wetsuits will be dry for the following days.

 

[redacted]

I hope the visibility improve by mid Aug. I hope to do at least 24 dives. I wore 1mm when I was in Cayman Islands w 78-83F and was chilly on my second dive,however, I managed 50-70 mins dives. I'm thinking I should wear 3mm shorty for boat dives, 1mm for shore dives, and 2/3 for night dives. This way my wetsuits will be dry for the following days.

Are you planning on bringing a separate surface activity armoire?