Posted by Jon on April 13, 2005 at 11:41:09:
In Reply to: It is the Pacific Northwest posted by kylecawaza on April 12, 2005 at 22:33:35:
Kyle,
You're absolutely correct!
A few years ago, I spent a week in the summer diving around Campbell River and Quadra Island, BC, and the water in the Discovery Passage was a fairly brisk ~50 degrees.
On the way back to Victoria, we stopped in Courtenay which is only about 10 miles south of Campbell River, and there were people on the beach swimming in swim shorts and bikinis! I put it down to "crazy Canadians" but my kids insisted on getting into the water. It turned out to be very comfortable -- high 60s or maybe even 70s. It was in a very shallow bay and apparently it only takes a week or two of sunshine to warm up the water.