Wet Suit Advice

  It gets really cold out on Monterey Bay, and if you're just sitting there, you don't generate much heat.
I don't have a lot of built-in insulation, so I wear a 3 mil FJ, but I wear 2 pairs of synthetic long johns under, one thin, one medium. On top, I have a thin fleece Mysteriosa rash guard under.  On top of that, a NRS Hydroskin (thin neoprene/lycra).  Then splash pants and jacket over all of it.  If it gets really cold (hardly ever) I put a thicker fleece top on as well under the jacket, but what works most of the time is a surfing hood that covers the head and neck- and you can still wear your sun hat on top of that for those bright overcast cold days.  Oh, and 5 mm dive socks inside 7 mm dive booties.  Maybe I should look into a dry suit - it'd sure be easier to rinse/ dry off than all my usual stuff.