Anyone dived Red Sea in Feb

[Smudger]

Has anyone dived the Red Sea in Feb. Thinking about a trip and trying to get an idea what to expect. Used to a 3mm wet suit. Would this be Ok. Thinking about El Gouna or Marsa Alam. I'm sure the air temp would be Ok it's the sea temp I'm concerned about.

Any thoughts


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[MB NZ]

yes, sea temp in low 20s. everyone is different when it comes to exposure protection. i was in a drysuit, other people were happy in shorties, or so they said.

 

[Hintermann]

I have done 3 liveaboard cruises in the Red Sea and while 2 were in mid-summer, one was in November. This was the Northern Wrecks & Reefs trip and the water was around 25*C. I was OK in a 5mm full suit but some others who had opted for 3mm fulls felt cold. In February the Red Sea water temperatures are their minimum and IMO a 5mm full would be best, even in the more southern itineraries.

The other thing you have to remember on Red Sea trips is the wind chill factor in the evenings. This quite significant after the afternoon dive and certainly for the night dive. If you are already cold coming out of the water, removing the wetsuit and drying yourself can be a very "Brrrr!" affair. I had found a comparatively warm nook on the dive deck to do this but even then it was not comfortable.

 

[kmckay]

I'm in Sharm in Feb; I'd expect 22/23 dec C and I'll be in a 5mm.

 

[AJ]

Been there in Nov. 25 degrees celcius water temp. I had my 5 mm wetsuit with me and felt cold after a few days of diving. But then again, I am cold quite fast. Others were in shorty and were happy.

 

[colbar]

I did a 7 day liveaboard out of Sharm in February 2011. I would strongly recommend taking at least a 5mm wetsuit. The sea temperature is OK 22+ however the prevailing wind seemed to be a northerly, which had a significant chilling effect. Remember also that some dive sites will be a distance from the anchorage and if the mother ship has a full complement of divers, you might be sitting in the RIB for some time after your dive, waiting for the divers who have better air economy than you! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the week's diving which was full on. An additional benefit is the lack of other day boats and liveaboards which meant that you had the dive sites to yourselves - we were the only boat at the Thistlegorm, where we did an afternoon dive, followed by a night dive and then a breakfast dive the next morning.

 

[Scared Silly]

I am going to echo the others and suggest a 5mm suit. That is what I dove many Februarys ago. But I get chilled easily.