HA! heat, humidity.... bunch of girly men!
we just left Douala, Cameroon a few hours ago and am I glad. that being said, I work in an engine room that routinely reaches 140 F in some of the spaces (at the moment the average temp is 108 f). I will only wear cotton at work as it really does breath better than the synthetics. another reason, as was mentioned already, is that it does not melt and stick to your skin when it does burn.
Cameroon was actually not the hottest spot I've been to yet. last summer (Aug) I was in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah (not places I want to be) and nearly killed myself with heat exhaustion. THAT, was hot. I have no desire to ever return to the Middle East. yuck. there are places in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf where the sea temperature is over 100F. we have to slow the ship down and shut down all non essential equipment to keep from burning up the engine.
Deepwater