It seems that as soon as October is over, HK diving heads straight into winter territory. Sure, you get lucky years where the warm weather lasts until November, but often the moment the air temps drop below the regular summer highs of 30°C plus, a lot of divers head into their self-imposed winter break. Some of you may be asking why? Isn’t Hong Kong a tropical country?
In short, yes. Hong Kong lies just under the Tropic of Cancer at approximately 22°N. Most, however, describe this as sub-tropical. Without getting into a meteorological discussion, the result of being where we are means we get quite distinct seasons. Summer is hot and humid, winter is cooler and drier, with some winter days dropping into single figures in celsius. Why does this matter? Because it affects the sea temperature quite significantly. In the summer, we dive like any other tropical location; 3mm wetsuits for the majority of divers, with some in rash vest and swimmers only in water temps of around 28-30°C. When winter approaches, the water temps drop to around 25°C by November. For a lot of divers used to the warmer waters, this is considered quite cool, and some people (especially children and those with less bioprene!) start to get quite cold on a 40-minute dive (myself included).
“So just buy a 5mm” I hear you say. Some do. The problem is, the sea temp starts to drop quite quickly throughout November and by Christmas, you can expect the water to be around 20°C. Again, for a lot of tropical based divers, a 5mm is not enough to keep warm, therefore you’re into 7mm territory. Most divers don’t really want to have multiple wetsuit options, especially when some are only used for a few weeks in a year. Dive centres, likewise, would struggle to get the use out of a rental fleet of 5mm or 7mm wetsuits to make the investment worthwhile. Therefore, those who do want to dive in Hong Kong in the winter generally go down the dry suit route. The expense of this option alone puts off quite a number of divers, especially for new dry suit divers who need to do the very strongly recommended course as well.
So what is in it for people who do opt to continue diving in Hong Kong in winter? Firstly, we get to keep diving from December through to April, when most other people don’t. I don’t know about you, but a five month break from diving seems like a daunting proposition! Secondly, we see a different underwater environment. Often, visibility is much better in the colder water, not to mention different plant and animal life. Thirdly, the dive sites are often a lot quieter. Being off peak, you can find yourself on a dive boat or a dive site with just a handful of other divers, making for a really relaxed day out.
I always look forward to the winter diving season. Sure, there are some drawbacks compared to summer diving, but there are also excellent reasons that make winter diving very enjoyable.
What do you do when it comes to the off season? Are you lucky enough to live somewhere with year round, warm water diving? Let me know in the comments below.