WARMTH CONTROL; WET SUITS ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT IN WINTER SURF.

Byline: RICHARD COUCH On board

They're a little cumbersome, tough to put on and they take away some of the customary sensation. But they provide the protection Southern California surfers need in the wintertime, especially with a lady like La Nina around.

Rule No. 1 when a weather phenomenon cools ocean temperatures to below 60 degrees: Wear your rubber wet suit.

If you didn't grow up skinny-dipping in one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes, or if you don't have blubber for epidermis, you're going to need a wet suit and booties to surf this year's winter swells.

Los Angeles County lifeguard Capt. Jim Doman is not a physiologist, but he knows what can happen to the body when winter water temperatures drop to as low as 50 degrees at Zuma Beach, where six months earlier highs reached 70 degrees.

``I've been told that you have 12 minutes to live in 43-degree water,'' Doman said, recalling a briefing he received during a Rocky Mountain river-rafting trip. ``Anything below body temperature can cause your temperature to drop.''

That's when hypothermia happens, and this winter, with its La Nina phenomenon, is shaping up to be particularly nasty.

As Surfer magazine put it, La Nina is El Nino's ``frigid sister''; meteorologists predict that Southland ocean temperatures will be much colder than normal for this time of year.

Surfers take heed: ``If you want to stay out there long, you'll need a wet suit,'' Doman said.

A man named Jack O'Neill realized this a long time ago. O'Neill, who founded the wet-suit company that bears his name and was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame in July for his contributions to surfing culture, is credited with inventing the first wet suit for surfers.

Legend has it that up in Santa Cruz in the late 1940s and early '50s, die-hard surfers coated themselves with Vaseline and wore wool sweaters wrapped with duct tape to stay warm in the region's colder waters.

As an alternative solution, O'Neill picked up a Navy dive suit at a surplus store in 1949. While it didn't hold up well in the pounding surf, the inventive waterman knew he was on to something.

A few years later, O'Neill came upon a unicellular-foam material that he used to create and market the first wet suit specifically for surfing.

Today's wet suits are made from a combination of high-tech materials, but the main ingredient is neoprene, said Scott Daley, director of marketing for Body Glove, a company that has been manufacturing wet suits and other surfing products since 1953. The elastic panels of wet suits are held together with glue and specialized stitching.

The way wet suits work is simple. While in the ocean, a thin layer of water is trapped between the skin-tight synthetic suit and the body. That water is warmed by the body and sustained for varying lengths of time, depending on the suit's thickness.

``Basically, wet suits help you retain body heat,'' Daley said.

The evolution of wet suits broadened the scope of surfing around the world. Surf breaks in places once thought to be too cold to surf have been conquered. Grizzlies no longer have a monopoly in Alaskan waters, and surfers have joined the lobsters on the shores of Maine.

O'Neill and Body Glove are not the only ones keeping surfers warm. The November issue of Surfer magazine includes a special advertising section featuring wet suits from 11 different companies.

There are long-sleeve and short-sleeve full suits, spring suits (with short legs) and hooded varieties. They range in thickness from 2 mm to 6 mm. Some have heavy-duty zippers. Most are made with Velcro closures. There are even reversible wet suits - black on one side, blue on the other.

Wet suits are generally priced from $115 to $350. Sales in 1997 were estimated at $100 million, according to the Surf Industry Manufacturing Association.

The immediate goal for wet-suit companies is to continue making products that are as light and offer as much flexibility as possible, Daley said.

After all, when surfers are paddling into 40- to 50-foot sets at Maverick's in Northern California, the last thing they need is being hampered by their rubber suits.

WORDS TO THE WET-SUIT WISE

When surfers plunk down $300 or more for a wet suit, they don't expect it to rip apart after one year of regular use.

Most manufacturers offer reasonable warranties and will repair tears within the first two years of purchase. However, primary care for the wet suit rests with the surfer. They are not indestructible but should hold up for at least three to four years of winter sessions.

A few tips to make them last longer - and to keep you out of jail:

Put on a wet suit when it is completely dry. Putting one on when it's wet can put too much stress on the panels that are stitched together to make it complete.

A wet suit is put on feet first, one leg at a time. To reduce stress on the materials, some surfers put a plastic bag on the foot, which allows their leg to slide right in. When the foot comes out the end, take off the bag and repeat for the other leg.

Rinse thoroughly with fresh water after each use. Saltwater can deteriorate glue and stitches in a hurry.

Let the wet suit drip-dry only, and hang it up in a cool, dry place.

Finally, a word to the wise. There are indecent-exposure laws on the books, so dress accordingly. Most surfers change into their wet suits in parking lots, along the side of a road and other open, public places. Use a beach towel to wrap around yourself while changing.

- Richard Couch

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Wet suits are a necessity for surfers who brave winter's wrath to tackle the swells, especially with a terrible chill on tap this season, courtesy of La Nina.

(2--Color) There is a proper way to put on a wet suit. Jason Oei, an Oregon surfer living in his car while chasing the perfect wave, gets into his garb in Ventura.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

Box: WORDS TO THE WET-SUIT WISE (See text)