[Fondueset]

25c <insane laughter> that generally does not occur here. Even when the surface temp is around 70f (rare!) there are pretty much allways thermalclines that are significantly colder - even mid-summer - I mean cold enough to make your ears burn if you don't have a hood.

You get used to it though - I dive alot without a wetsuit - my daughter even more so. (I have very little body fat) You develop the ability to relax almost instantly in contact with cold water - this seems to create what I call 'the boundary layer effect' - it's like an area of comfort just over the skin and it keeps you comfortable and relaxed even in pretty cold water. It comes at a price - after I get out I usually shake for about 15 minutes - and get some numbness in my hands and feet - but the dive is generally pretty comfortable. When I dive like this I don't stay in to the point of feeling deep chills - otherwise recovery takes quite awhile. I never experience this kind of recovery when wearing a wetsuit - even my 3mil suit in temps in the 50s.

Anyway - I think the trick is to bodily 'welcome' the sensation of cold - and to relax into it. Eric F. has done alot of work with this - much more than I.

I'm pretty excited to do more winter diving!