All seasons come with their pros and cons. In summer the water is warm and beautifully clear, but also full of people and boats that scare the fish away, as well posing an actual threat of running you over. In spring, the water is cold, but on the other hand you have it more or less for yourself. There’s plenty of fish around too, and that we all like, freedivers and spearfishermen alike.
Diving in colder waters takes a little more preparations. But if you do it right it’s truly enjoyable. First of all you need to make sure you have a suitable wet suit to keep the cold out for the full time in the water that you have planned for. Ideally you dive with a two piece open cell suit to maximize thermal efficiency without needing too much neoprene, which would require a lot of extra weights in turn. Long John pants is a good way to get extra warmth around the torso without adding too much neoprene.
Personally I’m diving in a 5mm open cell suit in April and May where temperatures range from 14°C early April to about 19°C late May. Come June and the temperature climbs above 20°C I switch to 3mm which is good throughout summer and fall till the end of October. Earlier than April I prefer 7mm if I’m planning for more than an hour in the water.
Make sure you wear warm enough dive gloves and socks to keep your extremities warm and functional.
But apart from bringing the right gear, keeping warm on the way to the dive site and while you’re getting into your suit also has a big impact on your dive experience. Especially on boat trips it’s important to protect yourself from cold air and winds with a warm jacket and a hat. Equally important is to make sure that you keep fingers and toes warm during transport. They won’t warm up as you get in the water, quite the opposite.
A big bottle of warm soapy water is gold worth for donning an open cell suit without cooling down in the process. Bring enough and keep it warm if the transport is long.
After diving get out of your suit and into warm dry clothes as soon as possible to avoid getting cold down by winds and cold air.
Do it right and spring offers some of the best dive experiences of the year.
