Polar Bear Plunge

The Coney Island Polar Bear club was founded in 1903 by Bernarr MacFadden, a fitness buff who believed that "a dip in the ocean during the winter can be a boon to one's stamina, virility and immunity." The 114-year-old club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the US and they swim in the Atlantic every Sunday from November through April. Every year, on New Year's day, thousands of people join the club in taking the Polar Bear Plunge.

This year the weather was very cooperative—45 degrees and sunny—and more than 2,500 people took the plunge, including my dude. He'd done the plunge a few years ago, and this year I volunteered to hold his towel while silently hoping he didn't shock his body into premature cardiac arrest. I am normally freezing while fully-clothed snuggled under a pile of blankets and I finally got up the courage to swim in the ocean this summer for the first time in 20ish years (on one of the hottest days of the year), so I was more than happy to offer assistance from the sidelines.

The main plunge takes place at 1pm, but people were running in and out of the Atlantic the entire time we were there. Seeing so many people taking the plunge (even children) almost made me wish I had brought my swimsuit—until of course, people emerged seconds later, running for their towels and yelling obscenities (but laughing, mostly).

I'd been to the Polar Bear Plunge once before as a spectator, and even if you have no interest in taking the plunge, it's worth the trip. Like anything at Coney Island, the event feels a little scrappy and very New York. I never need to be asked twice to spend an afternoon at Coney Island, even in the off-season, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to start 2017.