Yeah, not all waters are nice and warm like in Florida. Here in No. Cal. the surfers have to wear wetsuits to keep from hypothermia. It also helps disguise them as sea lions, so the sharks get tricked into biting them.

I suppose not swimming in the ocean is a good thing for people who aren't acquainted with it's tricksiness. Every so often a visitor from the Midwest or back east drowns on the California coast, because they don't know anything about rip currents or sleeper waves.