[tackleberry]

If you aren't going to be diving at all (or even to limited depths) try a dry suit. A guy I abalone dive/spearfish with uses a wakeboarding drysuit and it works fine. He was going with me to around 30 feet, but that was it (due to the genitalia compression factor). But, because drysuits aren't as bouyant as wetsuits, you would definitely want to wear a life vest. If you don't already have one, some kayak vests are pretty nice, easy to swim in, and allow movement. If you look around, a decent drysuit can be had for a few hundred $.