Dry-suit during summer?

Hey, guys. Just a quick question regarding dry-suits. For the later months, I clearly need a drysuit. But, during the summer, are most of you still wearing your dry suits? I'm not trying to be a hard-ass, but it feels pretty unrealistic to suit up, even right now. I understand the water temp is pretty low, I'm fishing in straits around Whidbey. Just curious about what everyone else is doing, I guess. Thanks in advance!

-Andrew

If you fall in and get separated from your boat (not a trivial probability around Whidbey) how long do you want to survive before someone notices you and rescues you (or recovers your body)?

I've crabbed off Camano plenty of times without dry suit, but currents are benign there, it was roastingly hot even without it, and the water wasn't all that cold. 

You're an adult and can make your own decisions.  But I would not go out around Whidbey, knowing the currents and water temps, if a dry suit was too hot to wear.  If water temps came up above 60 that would change.

As long as the water is cold, I wear a dry suit.  I don't think this is unrealistic.  I think that it increases my chances of surviving a kayak wreck.  I don't start kayak fishing without a dry suit until the water warms up quite a bit and the weather is reliably warm and calm.  But even then, I recognize that I could be in trouble if I end up spending very much time in the water. 

However, when the water is cold but the weather is hot, I will admit that I may only wear a thin layer of polypro under my dry suit.  When I do this, I recognize that even when wearing a drysuit, if I don't have enough insulation under the drysuit, I'll be in trouble if I end up spending very much time in the water.  I often cool down by splashing some water on my drysuit and dunking my hat in the water.

I know how much insulation is required under a drysuit to keep warm at various water temperatures, because I snorkel and speargun for pike in a drysuit in Montana.  I have a thermometer mounted on the butt of my speargun so I can monitor water temperatures.  In the spring, I may start snorkeling at temperatures below 50 degrees, and I typically spend 4-6 hours a day in the water while spearfishing.  With enough insulating layers of clothing under my drysuit, I can stay quite warm and comfortable at these temperatures.  With insufficient clothing, I would get cold even while wearing a drysuit.

I like life, and I have 3 kids I need to feed. Therefore, I wear a drysuit all summer while on the ocean. I also wear it in the lower Columbia River fishing for Fall salmon. Lots of folks out there think they are strong swimmers and they don't wear life jackets while in a boat. The ones that make the news/obituaries are the ones not wearing when they finally have that accident they thought would never happen to them.

I'll repeat what everyone else has said, especially in big water, be sure to dress for the water temp, not the air temp.
It's always easier to cool off than warm up, if I'm getting toasty I'll splash some water on my lap, arms, and legs, but a really breathable drysuit material like goretex also goes a long way towards maintaining the ideal body temperature. If you're like me and can't quite swing a goretex suit, pay extra special attention to your layers, because your shell layer won't release as much of the moisture that you're actively creating while fishing(sweat).
 An acronym that has helped me in choosing immersion wear based on the water temp is WISE

W: Wicking-Usually my skivvies/base layers, in slightly warmer water some sort of poly pro, in colder water merino wool. sometimes I'll combine this with my insulating layer, you just want to make sure it's a material that will wick moisture away from the skin.
I: Insulating- This is where you get your true warmth, one of the best purchases I've made is a one piece base layer made of fleece from Immersion Research, it has a stretchy neoprene neck and a fleece body, super warm, super comfortable. I'll throw on another layer like a fleece jacket if it's really cold
S: Shell- Usually a drysuit, depending on where I'm going, always a drysuit in the salt. if I'm in freshwater in swimming distance to shore it might be a drytop and or drypants. Whatever it might be this is your waterproof, breathable layer.
E: Extras- Beanie, wool socks, gloves, etc.

As long as I have all of these bases covered in some way, I'm usually pretty well prepared. What form this takes just depends on the conditions and your preferences.

Basically the thing to keep in mind is that your drysuit or shell will act as your water repellent, but not really as much of an insulator. You'll get your warmth from wearing insulating, breathable materials underneath. Lots of non breathable layers under a drysuit that doesn't breath well will have a negative effect, you'll get sweaty, so you'll get wet, which will make you cold.

You can go into hypothermia and die in 70-degree water on a warm day.  It takes longer than if the water is 40-degrees, but you're just as dead.

It makes no sense to not wear immersion gear in our area in any situation where you might be in the water for an extended period of time.

Thanks for the input, guys. In a previous life, I was a SAR swimmer, so I get the mechanics. I was just curious what everyone else was doing. I have a dry suit, and I plan on wearing it. Maybe I'll need some advice on proper layering. I thought I was going to be cooked alive the other day, and we're not even in May yet.

-Andrew

Some poor gal fell off her SUP yesterday at Sauvie Island and never resurfaced. Somebody on reddit put this up and it's got good info for those who don't have SAR training.

http://www.coldwatersafety.org/WhatIsCold.html

Some poor gal fell off her SUP yesterday at Sauvie Island and never resurfaced. Somebody on reddit put this up and it's got good info for those who don't have SAR training.

http://www.coldwatersafety.org/WhatIsCold.html

I literally just got done reading that from the Portland reddit.  Great info!!

Well at least my BMI is good for something.

Well at least my BMI is good for something.

I was thinking the same thing.

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There's a segment in a Smithsonian production about the Titanic where they put a person in good physical condition into 60-degree water.  Twenty minutes later and far from hypothermia, the person could not do the simplest mechanical tasks and was shivering uncontrollably.  What I found odd was that when they had them swim in the tank, it took 10 minutes because the exertion causes more blood flow and more rapid cooling.

Just saying that hypothermia is a clinical condition, but the loss of motor control that starts well before a person becomes hypothermic happens much faster and at a significantly warmer body temperature.

There's a segment in a Smithsonian production about the Titanic where they put a person in good physical condition into 60-degree water.  Twenty minutes later and far from hypothermia, the person could not do the simplest mechanical tasks and was shivering uncontrollably.  What I found odd was that when they had them swim in the tank, it took 10 minutes because the exertion causes more blood flow and more rapid cooling.

Just saying that hypothermia is a clinical condition, but the loss of motor control that starts well before a person becomes hypothermic happens much faster and at a significantly warmer body temperature.

I went snorkeling in La Jolla about a year ago and experienced exactly what you've described. The water temperature was 65-68 and about 10-15 minutes in I began shivering uncontrollably. about forty minutes after that, I cramped up so bad that I could barely kick my fins around. The water, as we know it, is pretty unforgiving.

http://www.ktva.com/ast-suspends-eklutna-lake-search-for-missing-kayaker-360/

Last month we lost a young Airman to a drowning when he overturned in his kayak at a local lake. He had his girlfriend with him in a second kayak, but she was unsuccessful in getting him to shore in time before hypothermia set in. Keep in mind it's May, and the lake's water temp was still very cold(39-42 degrees).

Don't plan around the surface temperature...it's the water temperature that counts.

No matter how willful or determined you are, you can't beat thermodynamics.

Also wear your flotation (PFD). The cold-water gasp response can drown you as sure as hypothermia. Your face hits the cold water unexpectedly, you reflexively gasp, sucking in a breath of water. Immediately you go into spasmodic coughing and retching, slip below the surface, and you are gone in a few seconds.