kook virus :/

[bohdidontsurf]

^^^^

Obviously never surfed in cold water before?

I don't like them either but they become essential in winter if you don't want your feet to go numb and cause cramps.

not sure what you call cold water ... I surf all winter in Sydney and occasionally surf in new Zealand when we visit family ... I must say though I don't think I feel the cold as much as some of my mates

[dUg]

the water in Sydney in winter is not cold.

I have never surfed Sydney metro in winter... I've heard it actually can get colder in summer when those freaky upwellings happen? Pretty sure it doesn't get much below 17°C based on what I've read... but anyone who has some hard science that counters my wild guestimate is welcome to chip in.

bohdi / hatchy ... about 15 years ago I ditched booties. I mean literally. I lost one duckdiving a set that ragdolled me a bit one mid-winter's day, so I went "ahhhh fcuckit... one's no use to me now" and I ripped it off and threw it away. Next wave I had this revelation... suddenly I was accutely aware of all the board sensitivity I'd given up. So I did plenty of SA winters ( 12 - 13°C water ) after that with no booties... got chilblains, fridgid blisters and a couple of sea ulcers... but I was happy to cop those in favour of surfing ( a bit ) better.

I was the same this winter, no booties... up until a dawn session about two weeks ago when I just lost all feeling in my feet after just over an hour. I stayed out, but from that point on I had no feeling for the tailpad arch and no sense of "lock" on my front foot - so I was shuffling around constantly instead of actually surfing the wave. I didn't even start getting pins and needles until I'd been out of the water for 90 minutes, and in the shower for 30. After that I had a couple of surfs on my quad in booties and they weren't too bad - certainly not as good as "au naturel", but a compromise I was happy with. 2 Hours plus and I was still comfortable.

Of course, the other option is just to cut my (bootyless) sessions short, i.e. pack it in once the feet go completely numb. Sounds good in theory... but with zero crowds due to the cold and plenty of waves to myself, this is much easier said than done.

[dUg]

No the water in summer is never colder than in winter but it rarely gets below 16 in winter. Which is about SA in summer right?

February here ( in the gulf at least ) can get around 23°, and around 21° over at Yorkes and on the South Coast.

I look forward to 16°... but we probably won't see the likes of that until November. Takes longer to heat up in Spring than it takes to cool down in Autumn.

Hatchy are you in a hood down the Peninsula at the moment? Or toughing out the icecream headaches?

[dUg]

OK. It was booties.

Thrown the fcuking things away...

Mods, you may close this thread.

[alakaboo]

No the water in summer is never colder than in winter but it rarely gets below 16 in winter. Which is about SA in summer right?

Dino, the water temperature in January 07 was only 17 for a week or so, for exactly the reason Dug mentioned.

I remember this because I went for a bodysurf at Bondi, saw the temperature on the lifeguard board and thought they were taking the piss. Ran into the water, my legs seized up and I fell flat on my face in a pile of kelp.

That was my first summer in Sydney, bloody rude introduction!