Winter in South Carolina = lows in the 20'sF and highs in the 50's F from Late November to late March. Mix in some 70 degree days here and there, Sunday we saw a high of 74F.
Its possible to sail all year and swim in the lakes from May to October with no wetsuit. The kids are in the lake in April, but not me, too much shrinkage.
Still not Florida!

water is around 60 currently here in the tampa/gulf area.
not bad but I purchased dry bibs a few years ago. makes sailing much more enjoyable for me in the winter


http://kokatat.com/products/bibs-and-pants/hydrus-3l-whirlpool-bib-men.html

I understand that you want to protect your suit underneath with a separate exterior layer. But if you are wearing a modern frontzip wetsuit, you stay abolutely dry inside your wetsuit with catsailing. So, normal sailing trousers above that, would also do the trick i.m.h.o.

But what suit are you wearing exactly underneath?

You are on the wrong coast. Water temp is 76 here. About the same temp as the air temp:
http://www.pbcgov.com/parks/beach_conditions/#.VJCPrntDFc8

I walked south until someone asked what (the snow-shovel) was on my shoulder. Only then did I know I found a good home.

The shallow water here loses and gains temp faster.......and you have Sea Lice. Never heard of that pest before. I read that they bite where the sun don't shine.

Sea lice is not that common here unless you go digging in seaweed. The 16 degree difference in water temp is a combination between gulf stream and latitude. The gulf stream is only about 5 miles offshore and you are central Florida, not South Florida.

Of course you would.

I HATE wetsuits. I feel like 200 pounds of fat stuffed into a 60 pound bag....

My dry bib has socks and keeps me 100% dry. This makes launching off the beach and anchoring (and sitting on a wet boat) totally dry and comfratable. It's more about the dryness than the warmth.

On a real cold day (by my standards - 55%) i will wear fleece pants underneath (think thermal underwear) but normally I just wear a regular bathing suit

My family has had a place in boynton for over 30 years. My sis lives in Miami. I have been down there many, many times. I know there is mast up storage in Delray (looks more like a place to leave and forget your hobie)

I strongly prefer to sail in the gulf enjoy all islands and protected bays we have here ... but to each their own.

btw the water temp is up to 64 and should keep going up while we have some have warmer days... .

O.K. thanks for the answer. As I expected, we seem to live in a different world with regard to weather and temperatures. I have 6 different wetsuits and 2 different dry-suits, all used and needed for the different circumstances.

I envie you.

The screen of my Davis windmeter on the top of my roof told me this morning: Happy Solstice today.

So, I like to bring this happy message to this forum.

The longest summerdaylight for the lucky guys in the Southern hemisphere and the shortest winterdaylight for the guys north of the equator.

(And the greater distance to the equator, the greater the impact.)


For me, as a northsea sailor, this gives me a very small time window. And because this week the tidalstreams in daylight are just wrong for the winddirection, it sucks. And it sucks even more because the wind really blows this week, in fact for weeks already. I can't remember a period with so much on-going wind.

Those there were some really funny replies to my OP.

Had me laughing allright.

Here's one;
If you use gallon jugs filled with water to weigh down your tarp in the winter......you might be a RedNeck!

What happens to that bib ikf you capsize, are you socks still dry when you're emersed in deep water? Does that waistband keep the water out of the pants?
I just read the product info at the website.
Bur what happens if you go swimming? Do the legs stay dry?