Hi everyone,
yes, I am aware that Steve probably doesn't read these comments... oh well, they're for everyone!
In his newest show he talked about surfing in different countries and expressed surprise that people would actually swim or surf in the North Sea. Yeah, that's what you get when you visit only Bavaria! ;-)
You may be even more surprised that I would much rather go swimming without a wet suit in the North Sea than in the Pacific Ocean. You may not be aware that the North Sea is actually a lot warmer than the Pacific Ocean along most of the California Coast. Due to the Gulf Stream, we have water temperatures of 18-20°C (65°-68°F) in summer, which you would have to go pretty much all the way down to San Diego for to get in the Pacific.
This may seem all the more surprising if you consider that San Diego is pretty much on the same latitude as Morocco while the North Sea is on the same latitude as British Columbia.
Anna