wet suit for Coz in Nov

[scubawife]

As has been said...full suit of whatever thickness is good for you for insurance against thimble jellys or an accidental brush of the lower leg against the reef on a "tight" swimthrough.

I get cold easy in local lakes and usually stay above the thermo., but have been using just a lycra in Coz. for about 10 years. Get kinda chilly once back on the boat though if there is a breeze. Brrrr. Thinkin' about gettin' a .05 or 1 mm. for those trips.

You see quite a bit of 3 mm. there, but that's too much for me to mess with in 80* water.

We were kinda worried about the gal from Oz. on a swimthrough, but she did great.

No stings, no fire coral, no jelly stings. But she was used to diving in Austrailia and had good buoyancy control.

For some reason I really don't remember too much about the marine life I saw on that dive.

What? You Texas gentlemen didn't go over and fix her tanks strap? ...and had she gotten scraped or stung I have no doubt that she would have been well attended to. Brave girl. Not only diving in a bikini but one with side ties on the bottoms.

I grew up in the Canadian Rockies and I still dive in a 5mm up to mid-80 water temps. I keep my string bikini's for apre-dive beach and pool deck time.

 

[diveprof]

Unless the water is 98.6 degrees F, you lose body heat. I always dive a 3mm (or 3/2) in Cozumel regardless of the time of year. Yes, if you are doing only 1 or 2 dives a day, less may be fine. If you are doing more dives per day or are concerned about getting the most bottom time (best SAC rate) then think more neoprene. I have had those trips where from nowhere you get 77 degree water - a 3mm feels good.

 

[MMM]

I'm one of those that needs a ton of neoprene, in part because I usually stay for 2 or 3 weeks and dive every day that the weather is good. I am quite smug when others come up saying they are freezing and I am very toasty in my 5mm full suit and 3mm hooded vest. Two additional things for you to consider - will you be diving one of the ops that uses large, steel tanks and therefore permitting more bottom time? Because you'll get colder yet. The good news is that those same ops give you jackets to wear on the ocean after your dive that will keep you nice and warm. If you aren't with them, I always bring a warm, waterproof, hooded, nylon jacket. And finally, I have never been too warm on the boat in my heavy wetsuits. I get into my full suit on land, before getting on the boat, pull it up to my hips and then put my vest on as we get closer to the site, and pull up the rest. On my SI, everything comes off and I soak up the rays. Works like a charm for me.

 

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

I dove Cozumel last November with a Tilos 1mm full suit I got for about $70, was very comfortable. Going to Playa Del Carmen this November and taking the same suit, also it folds up nicely for ease in traveling.

 

[bfisher]

For what it's worth I live in Pa. but don't dive here. I don't handle cold water that well. I've dived Cozumel 4 times in the last year and a half with the same Microprene suit (1.5mm). And the first time was January 2005.

For November you can probably expect water temps of about 78-80 degrees. I was just there in June and it was 83 degrees on my deepest dive of 120'.

 

[HammerNoMore]

an accidental brush of the lower leg against the reef on a "tight" swimthrough.

Sigh.

I pray for the day when marine sancts ban full suits. Jellies, fine. Warmth, great. But wearing a full suit because you might bump somthing is never an excuse. If you damage the environment, you should take the pain.

 

[halocline]

If you dive in 50 degree water with a anything less than a drysuit, believe me you're going to feel like you're in a hot tub in Coz. Temps this year have been running a little warm; I was there in May and it was already 82-83. I'd be surprised if you encountered any water temp under 80. I use a 2ml shorty most of the time in Coz and am perfectly comfortable. I'll use a 3ml fullsuit occasionally in the winter or for night dives. As far as protection from stinging animals, I personally have never had any sort of problem but I hear stories. I'd suggest a thin shorty; maybe a lycra skin if you're really concerned about stinging animals. Most of the divemasters I've seen down there are always in shortys, and they dive everyday.

Have a great time!

 

[TheRedHead]

Sigh.

I pray for the day when marine sancts ban full suits. Jellies, fine. Warmth, great. But wearing a full suit because you might bump somthing is never an excuse. If you damage the environment, you should take the pain.

I took Extended Range in Cozumel and many of the excercises included going through "tight" swimthroughs using the modified flutter or modified frog using breath control and remaining in the correct horizontal position with hands extended. None of these exercises were done in the well known swimthroughs, but mostly at Paso de Cedral and Santa Rosa in more like tight, winding cuts through the reef open at the top.

I'm not even giong to discuss how the current can push even the best of divers into a bushy hydriod extending well above the reef. If you think divers "deserve pain" when they make every effort to observe correct bouyancy and good practices, then that is just self-righteous. I certainly don't think new divers trying to learn to control themselves in a current deserve pain.

 

[Firefyter]

I took Extended Range in Cozumel and many of the excercises included going through "tight" swimthroughs using the modified flutter or modified frog using breath control and remaining in the correct horizontal position with hands extended. None of these exercises were done in the well known swimthroughs, but mostly at Paso de Cedral and Santa Rosa in more like tight, winding cuts through the reef open at the top.

I'm not even giong to discuss how the current can push even the best of divers into a bushy hydriod extending well above the reef. If you think divers "deserve pain" when they make every effort to observe correct bouyancy and good practices, then that is just self-righteous. I certainly don't think new divers trying to learn to control themselves in a current deserve pain.

I have to agree with TRH on this one. I pride myself on my bouyancy, but I can't tell you how many times I was crashed into by newer divers (or older divers with bad bouyancy) that just happened to be on the same boat we were on. I'd be looking at something, or setting up to take a picture, and it was like bodies were raining on me. I don't know how many times I cussed people through my regs on this last trip, but it was a bunch. If I had to endure stings because I couldn't wear exposure protection, there might have been a few fights topside. As it was, I just let it go (except for the swearing underwater).

 

[HammerNoMore]

The point is that I see posts here at least once a week where people are touting the virtues of full suits based on the protection they give you from things like fire coral.

IMHO, it's better to be aware and not run into the fire coral. I know it's not all, but many divers misuse a device ment for thermal protection to protect themselves from their own indeference or lack of skills. Meanwhile, who's protecting the reef?

James