“I Thought the Water
Would be Warmer…”
Experienced divers know that latitude may have little impact on water temperature. Case in point:
The Galapagos are located directly on the equator; however, water temperatures can still be in the low- to mid-60s, thanks to currents that come in on a direct pipeline from Antarctica.
Hawai’i is the southern-most state in the USA. Nevertheless, water temperatures in the summer are seldom above 78 degrees and can be as low as 71 degrees in the winter. In contrast, the Florida Keys, which are further north, enjoy mid-summer temperatures well into the 80s.
This difference in temperature may not seem all that much…but it is. Where divers may be comfortable in 85-degree water wearing a 3mm shorty or jumpsuit, our staff found that water in the 75- to 78-degree range required at least a 5mm jumpsuit, and that water colder than 75 degrees could easily mandate a 7mm jumpsuit or farmer john.
Despite this, we’d have customers show up all the time thinking, “Hawai’i is tropical. I won’t need anything more than a shorty — assuming I even want that much.” As you can imagine, these folks were in for a rude awakening.
What was particularly frustrating for us is that we would try our best to educate divers ahead of time. It’s amazing the number of visitors who refused to believe us. After all, what would we know? We only lived there…
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