It’s an unusual sight for January, but on New Year’s Day, the Southampton beach will be momentarily packed full of people for a good cause.
A polar plunge is being held, where those who are brave enough to take a dip in icy water can bring a Salvation Army donation, and then plunge into Lake Huron alongside hundreds of other people.
The Polar Bear Dip is set to happen on January 1st at 2 p.m. at the beach by the big Canadian flag on High Street in Southampton.
Co-organizer, and co-owner of Refresh Smoothie and Juice Bar in Southampton Jeff Cody plunges into cold water regularly with a group of about a dozen people a few times a week. “Just general overall health benefits. You feel great once you get out of the water.”
He says the event is really about non-perishable food bank item donations and Salvation Army cash donations. “They’ll have their van down there for donations. That’s the main driver for the dip itself,” says Cody.
He warns, that’s weather permitting, of course, and notes rain and snow aren’t a big problem but if the water is too wavy, they won’t be doing the plunge that day.
He says you can find updates on the Southampton Polar Bear Dip Facebook page, and he’ll also share them to the Facebook pages Everything Southampton! And Out and About in Southampton.
The Southampton Rotary Club will be there with Tim Horton’s drinks to help warm everyone up, and there will be local police and firefighters will be on hand. “They’ve set up each year with their rescue suits on a d they’ll set up an area for people to go in that they’ve essentially roped off.”
Cody suggests, “If you do have something you can wear on your feet, whether it’s a water shoe or a dive shoe, anything of that nature. I would recommend putting that on.”
He says you want to be ready for when you get out of the water too and suggests having warm, loose baggy clothing over your swimsuit so you can easily put your dry clothes back on without struggling. “Once you get out of the water you’re going to want to put your clothes on fast, so if you have a housecoat or if you have a baggy hoodie or baggy pants, that would be recommended,” says Cody.
The last Polar Bear Dip saw about 200-250 people plunge into the chilly water, and about 500 on the shore cheering them on.
He reminds everyone to keep an eye on those Facebook pages mentioned earlier in case conditions become unsafe if the waves are too big.
