Video by Rick Racela, Photos by Lauren Suit

SEA ISLE CITY — A perfect day for a swim?

Maybe if you were at Sea Isle City’s 14th annual Polar Bear Plunge Feb. 16.

The afternoon was sunny, but a chilly 33 degrees. The water temperature was only registering around 34 degrees. But that didn’t stop plungers, some sporting unique swimming attire, from flocking to the 41st Street beach and running into the frigid Atlantic.

Over one thousand people took the plunge, with an estimated ten thousand spectators supporting and cheering on.

“This was my first plunge,” said Valerie Shefield, from Collingswood, as she quickly sprinted back from the water and wrapped herself in two large beach towels. “This year we did it to celebrate our friend’s 40th birthday, but it may become an annual thing.”

Gary West, of Pennsville, told the Herald that he and his wife participated in their first polar plunge here before they got married.
“It was the plunge before the plunge,” he said through chattering teeth.

Now, six years later, they are still making the drive and the dip in the ocean. West added that he can’t wait until his son is old enough to join in on the festivities.

“He keeps asking me and I keep telling him that he can do the plunge when he’s 12,” West said.

Pauline Taylor was crowned the new Polar Bear Queen, a duty relinquished from former queen Irene Jameson,

Sponsored by the Tourism Commission, the event has grown from when Irene Jameson, who retired as the Polar Bear Queen after 13 years, led a handful of participants into the ocean, to over 1,000 plungers and a crowd of spectators.

With the beach and promenade full of people and many businesses opening for the special event, the winter day could have passed for a much warmer day of summer. But for those less than adventurous beach-goers, they’ll have to patiently wait for true beach weather.