Will soon be joining you :)

[mislav]

Hello all!

Just wanted to say I'll be arriving in Phuket in late October! I'm planning on staying there from three to six months, depending on money reserves and how much will I like being there.

I hope I'll be able to meet some of you while there, and of course - dive, dive, dive!

Never been to Thailand before, so I'm very much looking forward to this. One mild warning though: I may have some questions popping up and won't be shy to post them here.

 

[Ringo]

Hope you have a good trip Mislav!
Feel welcome to pop in at anytime.
Regards
Chantal

 

[mislav]

Thanks Chantal, will do.

I plan to stay in Kata area, so I suppose I'll definitely meet you guys. What's the water temp from Oct to Jan over there?

 

[Arizona]

The water is always warm 28-29 should be about right. Welcome to Thailand.

AZ

 

[mislav]

Thanks, but what about the thermoclines?

I'm trying to figure out whether my 7mm wet suit might be an overkill or not.

 

[Arizona]

I would say overkill! I generally wear a skin. I bought a Mares monsuit. It is basically a full body rash guard. It is made in Thailand, but I could not find here, so I ordered it in from the US. Most go 3-mm or lighter. I am sure others will post soon to give greater opinion on this.

 

[smartecosse]

a lot of the guides that are in the water most days wear 5 mm or 7mm and its not that unusual to see semi dry's !!

personally I am blessed/cursed with some "natural padding" and only use shorts and a rash vest

was a bit chilly in the thermo clines sometimes last season in the similans tho - at one point computer said 25 degrees

 

[Diver_City Boys]

Thanks, but what about the thermoclines?

I'm trying to figure out whether my 7mm wet suit might be an overkill or not.

7MM too much, 5MM is fine. i looked at my log book, we had many days where temp droped to 23 at phuket daytrip sites around mid dec to mid jan

 

[stevenl]

Last year there were lots of thermoclines in the Similans, up to 24 degrees, and occasionaly even lower. Those were exceptions though, and at the standard daytrip sites like Racha Yai, Shark Point etc. we did not experience those extreme thermoclines. For most people a shorty or 3 mm full suit are sufficient.

Also, normally we do not experience thermoclines of more than 2 degrees, and I see no reason why we should this year experience them again.

 

[mislav]

Thanks guys, I'm getting an idea what to expect now.

Here in Croatia, we have the same temp at the surface but there's a throughout the year constant 12ºC thermocline at 30m depth. So, I was expecting a bit larger drop off over there as well.

I guess Phuket diving is comparable to Red Sea diving then. That's good.