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Old 03-08-2010, 06:01 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,391,849 times
Reputation: 1802

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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyway31 View Post
Bottom line on this for most people:
Water temps ANYWHERE in California are likley to be too cold to comfortably swim without a wetsuit any time of the year. Needing a wetsuit to swim in the cold waters of Northern or central California isn't a heck of a lot different than needing a wetsuit to swim in the cold waters of SoCal. Even in August when many people swim without a wetsuit in SoCal, I'm too cold to do it. If warm ocean water to swim in is a must for you, don't move to anywhere in California.
Sounds like sour grapes! and so untrue! Maybe its Nor Cal angst!

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Old 03-08-2010, 09:31 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,982 posts, read 32,663,382 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vdy1985 View Post
Your link is an average temp of day and NIGHT temperature. The sun has a little bit of a warming effect, maybe a degree or two. So it is pretty normal to see many SoCal beaches get to the mid-70s every summer. Definitely a lot warmer than the warmest NorCal and central Coast beaches which hover around high 50's and very low 60s.
This is true and I've said this many times in the past when someone shows me that NODC link, water temp usually drops at night and can change quickly from day to day. Last late June/early July I saw the water temp observed in Mission Beach go from 69 to 59 one week then back up to 69 a week later. It got really cold for the 4th of July weekend then shot right back up by weeks end. Sucked for the tourists I'm sure and the same thing happened the year before for 4th of July, it can be really annoying when that happens. South OC and North SD county seem to have the warmest water temps overall, a little warmer than Central and Southern SD County.

I constantly check water temps over the summer all over San Diego and Southern CA b/c temps can vary 5-8 degrees at beaches just 5-10 miles from each other and from day to day. It always gets into the low to mid 70's during summer, some summers it's warmer than others. This summer it was pretty warm through out b/c of El Nino. We had a thread over the summer talking about the water temps,it was up to 76-78 in SD over the summer. And most places stayed above 70 the vast majority of summer.

Most people usually go w/o a wetsuit for summer:



Last edited by sav858; 03-08-2010 at 09:42 PM..
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:01 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,391,849 times
Reputation: 1802
I have never seen people go swimming with a wet suit [even in NorCal]. Only surfers wear wetsuits because they are in and out of the water so much. If you are wet sitting on a surfboard on a windy day it becomes chilly even in 80F water. But swimmers\ body surfers stay in the actual water up to the neck most of the time and don't get hypothermia even in water temps well below 65F. What's different from NorCal and SoCal is that the coastline is very sharp and deep along much of the NorCal beaches. There are also mountains that decend into the ocean in SoCal [i.e. Malibu] but overall the beaches are wide and the water fairly shallow in SoCal. People swim in the ocean all year long in SoCal though I personally prefer the water temp to be near or above 70F before I feel really comfortable swimming and that occurs from late June to early October.
Long Beach

Malibu

La Jolla

Solana Beach
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:04 PM
 
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Given that I've lived in SoCal for the last 7 and a half years-and have never lived in NorCal-, I'm not sure how I could have sour grapes or "NorCal angst". LOL.

Nice pics of the beaches. BUT, ya don't see many of those people in regular suits actually in the water. And of those who do go in, the vast majority will have very harsh facial expressions as they cringe while adjusting to the cold water. Then, after a couple minutes, they get out of the water
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:10 PM
 
Location: West Coast
1,310 posts, read 4,139,491 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
This is true and I've said this many times in the past when someone shows me that NODC link, water temp usually drops at night and can change quickly from day to day. Last late June/early July I saw the water temp observed in Mission Beach go from 69 to 59 one week then back up to 69 a week later. It got really cold for the 4th of July weekend then shot right back up by weeks end. Sucked for the tourists I'm sure and the same thing happened the year before for 4th of July, it can be really annoying when that happens. South OC and North SD county seem to have the warmest water temps overall, a little warmer than Central and Southern SD County.

I constantly check water temps over the summer all over San Diego and Southern CA b/c temps can vary 5-8 degrees at beaches just 5-10 miles from each other and from day to day. It always gets into the low to mid 70's during summer, some summers it's warmer than others. This summer it was pretty warm through out b/c of El Nino. We had a thread over the summer talking about the water temps,it was up to 76-78 in SD over the summer. And most places stayed above 70 the vast majority of summer.

Most people usually go w/o a wetsuit for summer:

Lovely photos. Being a Bay Area native, I remember the first time visiting SD back in high school. The beach experience was amazing for me because the water wasn't the frigid ice cold experience that I always had as a child up in Santa Cruz.
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:14 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,982 posts, read 32,663,382 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyway31 View Post
Given that I've lived in SoCal for the last 7 and a half years, I'm not sure how I could have sour grapes or "NorCal angst". LOL.

Nice pics of the beaches. BUT, ya don't see many of those people in regular suits actually in the water. And of those who do go in, the vast majority will have very harsh facial expressions as they cringe while adjusting to the cold water. Then, after a couple minutes, they get out of the water
Out of all the pictures posted with people in the water on this page so far I can only see two people in actual wetsuits, everyone else is wearing regular swim suits. I live 8 blocks from the beach and am there quite often in summer, what you describe is not common at all. But some people definitely do find the water anywhere in CA too cold anytime of year but they are usually from the east coast or Hawaii. Most Northern Californians usually note how much warmer the ocean is down here in summer in comparison.

@ CA Sur, that pic titled "Solana Beach" is actually Ocean Beach. It was taken from the pier.
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:20 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,391,849 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skyway31 View Post
Given that I've lived in SoCal for the last 7 and a half years, I'm not sure how I could have sour grapes or "NorCal angst". LOL.

Nice pics of the beaches. BUT, ya don't see many of those people in regular suits actually in the water. And of those who do go in, the vast majority will have very harsh facial expressions as they cringe while adjusting to the cold water. Then, after a couple minutes, they get out of the water
You can twist it anyway you want but pictures don't lie. My mom gets silly about the water temps sometimes but the waves bother her more. If you like to swim\ body surf or board surf, SoCa is close to paradise. Ever hear of the Beach Boys?

The beach is the place where people hang out in SoCal because it is the most comfortable place to escape the heat. People in NorCal don't use the beach or seek it out as much. If it were cold than nobody would want to spend the day at the beach.

Del Mar

El Segundo

Venice



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Old 03-08-2010, 10:37 PM
 
1,889 posts, read 3,112,213 times
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Out of all the pics you just posted, only one shows people actually in the ocean. In that pic, 8 out of the 12 people had wetsuits on.

Different strokes for different folks. But, I've never gone in the water here and not had a strong reaction to the cold water temps. You can eventually adapt to it and its not bad, but it's always a nut-shrinker when you first get in.
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Old 03-08-2010, 10:42 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,391,849 times
Reputation: 1802
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyway31 View Post
Out of all the pics you just posted, only one shows people actually in the ocean. In that pic, 8 out of the 12 people had wetsuits on.

Different strokes for different folks. But, I've never gone in the water here and not had a strong reaction to the cold water temps. You can eventually adapt to it and its not bad, but it's always a nut-shrinker when you first get in.
I don't have to prove you wrong. Guess I need to take my camera into the water!

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Old 03-09-2010, 08:49 AM
 
1,889 posts, read 3,112,213 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by californio sur View Post
I don't have to prove you wrong. Guess I need to take my camera into the water!
LOL. What's that going to prove? If you can take your camera into the water and take a few pics......and then prove to me I won't be cold without a wetsuit, you're truly a talented individual!
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