Groups in Port Angeles, Neah Bay and those near Lake Pleasant will start their New Year with a splash on Thursday.
The three Clallam County polar bear dips include community members racing into chilly bodies of water in celebration of a fresh start.
In Port Angeles a group of citizens — possibly 100 or so — will participate in the 21st annual Polar Bear Dip.
The event will kick off at 9:30 a.m. for an optional warm-up jog beginning at Hollywood Beach before participants go for their dip at 10 a.m., said Dan Welden, who has participated every year.
“The jog helps get a little sweat going to make the cold blast even better,” he said.
No group officially oversees the event, but it was originally started by the now-defunct Port Angeles Sports Club.
When a person rushes into the water in the Strait of Juan de Fuca — which averages about 43 degrees this time of year — the chill is barely noticeable at first, Welden said.
“Once you go in, you barely notice anything after that,” he said.
“It just brings the blood right to the surface of the skin.”
Welden makes up certificates to give to participants to show that they survived the cold swim.
The goosebumps-inducing event is also titled the Polar Bear Triple Dip because many participants run in and out of the water three times, said bobbi flabellano — who said she has legally changed her name to all lowercase letters.
Flabellano has participated for about 18 years, she said.
“I was president of the Sports Club back then, and I thought I should set a good example,” she said.
“It was also a little bit so I could tell people that if I could do it they could do it.”
And she plans to continue.
“It is tradition,” she said. “Even though I don’t like water, much less cold water, it is a way to start the year out clean.”
Lake Pleasant dip
Those on the West End can head to Lake Pleasant or Neah Bay for a cold dip on New Year’s Day.
The Lake Pleasant plunge — which will start at 10 a.m. — is in its third year, Forks City Event Coordinator Pat Soderlind said.
“It is so much fun,” she said.
The event, which is near Beaver, drew about 14 people last year — most in costumes.
“We encourage people to dress up and to have a little fun with it,” Soderlind said.
Last year’s costumes included a full-body suit with a depiction of a woman in a bikini, a football jersey and Santa costumes.
Neah Bay
Neah Bay will hold its dip at noon, said June Williams, the founder and coordinator.
Last year, about two dozen people leaped into the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the beach near the Neah Bay Senior Citizen Center, she said.
Williams said she began the dip when her asthma had gotten out of control in 2001.
“I thought that, if I die, I wanted to know why people did that,” Williams said.
“Since then, it has really developed into a way to wash off the old year and start the new one fresh.”
Spectators are welcome at all of the events.
“We’ll have people there for moral support and to cheer us on,” Williams said.
Said Welden: “The spectators this year will be next year’s participants because they’ll just have to do it after witnessing it.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
