PORT ANGELES — Jumping into icy water in the height of winter may seem crazy to some, but for many across the North Olympic Peninsula, doing so on New Year’s Day is a way to cleanse the spirit of 2015 and to emerge clean and ready for the days ahead.
“You tell every cell in your body that the coming year is going to be really exciting,” said Dan Welden, an organizer of the 28th annual Port Angeles Polar Bear Plunge.
Some 250 people plunged into the new year with a dip in cold water Friday during the four Peninsula plunges.
Port Angeles plunge
The Port Angeles plunge drew the most people of any of the four plunges on the Peninsula, with about 150 people charging into the water off Hollywood Beach at 10 a.m.
Most ran into the 48-degree water three times, shrieking in delight each time they entered.
“This is one of the few times, except when you go to a Seahawks game, where you can scream and yell and act crazy in public and not get arrested,” Welden said.
“You can just let her loose.”
Participants began gathering at the beach at about 9 a.m. — building bonfires to stay warm after exiting the water.
Then, they lined up on the beach — clothed in attire more appropriate for tropical weather — and charged headlong into the surf.
Travis Titterness, 37, of Port Angeles dove in for the full-body experience and swam a few strokes.
“I enjoy it. It is invigorating,” he said. “It is a good way to jump- start the year.”
It was the third time Titterness had participated in the Port Angeles Polar Bear Plunge, he said, adding he also has been in a similar event in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
While Titterness is a veteran of such trials, this was the first year his 8-year-old daughter, Ralyn, went in beside him, he said.
“She thought it was pretty cold,” he said.
“She is sitting in the car right now warming up and drinking hot chocolate.”
Friday’s plunge at Hollywood Beach was the fourth for Gery Gudgell, 68, of Port Angeles.
The chilly water was “shocking,” Gudgell said while warming next to a campfire on the beach in a bath robe.
“It shocks the system, but it is really not that bad today with the sun out.”
Welden was pleased with the clear skies that greeted the participants at the beach, he said.
“This is about as good as it gets,” he said.
“In all 28 years, I don’t think we have ever had it this good. The beach is nice and clean and there is lots of room for everybody. No logs, no sewage, no seaweed.”
Polar Bear Challenge
The Polar Bear Challenge, held in conjunction with the plunge, raised well over $800 during the event, Welden said.
The money will benefit Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
A final tally of the money raised will not be available for about a week, Welden said.
Participants in the plunge were not required to be a part of the challenge.
As part of the game, individuals and organizations challenged others to make the plunge — and pledged a dollar amount to make the challenge.
If the challenged person or business accepted, challengers donate that amount to the agency that provides free care for eligible terminally ill patients and their families.
Nordland
The 22nd annual Mystery Bay Polar Bear plunge on New Year’s Day may have drawn fewer participants than in past years but their eagerness was undamped.
“This is my third time,” said Megan Hudson of Port Townsend.
“It’s better on a clear day with no wind, but it doesn’t get any easier.”
According to the sign-in sheet at the dock across from the Nordland General Store, 87 people participated, down from last year’s total of 130.
Organizer Tom Rose, owner of the store, said he had expected more to come out on Friday because the weather was clear and low-40s temperature relatively balmy.
But it was “still really great,” he said.
Participants lined up on the dock just before noon. The horn sounded and they all jumped at once.
Most of the jumpers were in and out of the water in 10 minutes.
Some even returned for a second dip.
One of those, Chuck Sparks of Portland, said he was “going in for the Ducks,” referring to the University of Oregon’s football team.
The attire varied from street clothes to spandex, bathing suits to bare chests.
Some wore socks, and there was one skinny dipper.
Children got into the act. Meghan Corotsby of Seattle, Rose’s daughter, dipped her 3-year-old daughter, Campbell, into the water for a few seconds.
The child was not pleased.
Rell Lennox, 11, of Port Townsend, jumped in for the second consecutive year.
She said the second time was no easier than the first, and that it didn’t change her outlook on the year.
“It made my head hurt,” she said.
Beaver
Out at Lake Pleasant in Beaver near Forks, eight people jumped into the cold water at 10 a.m., said Carin Hirsch, an organizer.
Carin Hirsch, 58 — the mother of the plunge founder, Sonja Hirsch, who has since moved to Seattle to start a family — said the water temperature in the lake was about 32 degrees.
But that was nothing compared to the wind chill, she said.
“There was a 20 mile per hour wind blowing,” she said. “It was cold. Very cold.
“I think it was colder waiting then it was when you went in,” she said.
Neah Bay
Five people participated in the 15th annual Neah Bay Polar Bear Dip, said June Williams, event founder, on Saturday.
The dip is “quite a way to bring in the New Year,” she said.
Williams founded the dip in 2001. She was experiencing health issues and said she “had nothing to lose.”
Williams, who did not go in the water this year because it was too cold, has said her first jump was shocking but cathartic.
“I got better every year after that,” she said.
The dip was held at Front Beach on Bayview Avenue near the senior citizens building.
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
